Questions, answered plainly

HostDock is a desktop app for managing Linux servers over SSH: terminal, SFTP file manager, live monitoring, Docker, port forwarding and an AI assistant that asks before it runs anything, in one window.

HostDock is free to download and works without an account. Sync between computers has a free plan with limits; a paid plan with higher limits is planned.

HostDock runs on macOS 12 Monterey or later. Windows and Linux versions are planned but not available yet, and there is no mobile app.

An SSH server. File management needs the SFTP subsystem (enabled by default in OpenSSH), monitoring works on Linux, and Docker management needs the docker command available to your SSH user. Nothing else is installed on the server.

Yes. HostDock imports ~/.ssh/config (Host, HostName, User, Port, IdentityFile and ProxyJump) and can import and export its own server list as JSON, optionally including passwords and keys encrypted with a password you choose.

Yes. A server can be reached through up to three jump hosts chained together, and each server can use its own SOCKS5 or HTTP proxy.

Not yet. HostDock supports passwords, private keys (with or without passphrase), keyboard-interactive logins for one-time codes, and saved credentials shared by several servers.

Any model behind an OpenAI-compatible chat completions API that supports tool calling, such as OpenAI, DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, Zhipu, OpenRouter or a local Ollama. You enter your own endpoint and API key. Or sign in and use the AI service HostDock provides, with no API key and a monthly token allowance.

Yes. HostDock includes a local MCP server. Create a token for the tool, choose which servers it may use and how much it may run without asking, and paste the generated config into Claude Code, ChatGPT/Codex or another MCP client that supports Streamable HTTP.

No. Locally they are encrypted with a key stored in the macOS Keychain. When synced, they travel in a vault encrypted on your device with a sync password our server never receives.

No, only the vault: servers, credentials and port-forwarding rules. Notes, scripts, File Station files and appearance settings sync through Cloud Space, which is encrypted in transit but stored readable on our server so it works without a sync password.

HostDock does not need our service to work. It only needs a network path to your servers (and to your AI provider if you use the assistant). Without an account nothing is sent to us at all, and with one, sync catches up the next time you are online.

Not yet. Automatic update checks are planned; for now, download new versions from this website.