Connections

Select a host and press Enter to connect. On narrow terminals, click or tap the Connect button in the detail panel instead.

Bast clears the terminal, shows a short connection banner, launches ssh with that host's config, and returns you to the picker when the session ends.

Connection banner

Before ssh starts, Bast prints:

 BAST   Connecting to server…
 Stuck? Press Enter, then ~. to return to Bast.

The same banner appears for TUI connects and direct shell connects (bast <label> / bast connect).

For cloud-synced hosts, Bast may print muted progress lines under the banner while it prepares access. This includes GCP key registration, AWS EC2 Instance Connect, Azure Microsoft Entra certificate requests, Box SSH key authorization, and Upstash Box API-key SSH. See the GCP, AWS, Azure, box.ascii.dev, and Upstash Box pages for exact behavior.

Direct connect from the shell

You can skip the TUI entirely:

bast production_web
bast "Production web"
bast connect production_web

Labels with spaces work when quoted. Bast resolves them to the correct SSH alias under the hood. Cloud hosts get the same banner and access-preparation steps as in the TUI.

Native OpenSSH

Bast always launches your system's ssh binary. There is no proprietary runtime or custom transport. Whatever works in your terminal with plain ssh will work through Bast.

If a host has a password stored in Bast, connect (and Files/SFTP) set SSH_ASKPASS so Bast types that password. Hosts without a stored password still prompt in the terminal as usual. Stored passwords are for password-only hosts without a second factor. Jump-host passwords and OTP prompts are not filled.

For browsing and transferring files without a full shell session, use the Files tab (OpenSSH SFTP over the same host config).

During a session

Typing exit ends the SSH session and returns to the picker. From the picker, press q to exit Bast.

If a session gets stuck, press Enter then ~. to force-close SSH and land back in the picker. That is the standard OpenSSH escape sequence.

Connection tracking

Each successful connection updates last-used time and connection count in Bast metadata. That feeds into smart sort so your frequent servers stay at the top.