XPipe 22.0: More flexible authentication and password managers with SSH agents

XPipe is available in version 22.0. The update primarily brings more flexible authentication, expanded integration of password managers, and improvements to containers. The focus is on multi-identities and the direct use of SSH agents from common password tools.

The open-core project is aimed at administrators, DevOps teams, and all users who use many remote connections and shells. It serves as a central interface for starting and managing SSH, container, VM, and other infrastructure connections.

Users can now store multiple identities per target system and switch between them. In team vaults, XPipe automatically selects an available local identity if referenced identities are not available for the current user. Instead of creating multiple connections for the same host, different users or roles can coexist within a single connection.

Password managers with SSH agent support

XPipe now directly supports the SSH agents of 1Password, Bitwarden, KeePassXC, Keeper, and Proton Pass. The tool automatically detects running agents, eliminating the need for manual socket configuration. It retrieves credentials and SSH keys together from the password manager, which can make local key files redundant. Keys can also be referenced in the agent field by their name, provided the password manager used supports this. Furthermore, XPipe now supports multiple 1Password accounts simultaneously, additional packaging formats from Bitwarden, KeePassXC, and Keeper, as well as Proton Pass; XPipe can also retrieve secrets from HashiCorp Vault.

For Incus and LXD, XPipe now recognizes containers across all projects, i.e., separate management areas similar to namespaces. If a container reports an IP address, XPipe can use it to directly open services, such as for RDP or VNC connections.

For Podman, version 22.0 improves the handling of Quadlets, which are systemd-based container definitions. XPipe recognizes associated unit files and allows their editing. A restart correctly accesses the systemd service instead of just restarting the container in isolation.

Extended search and quick access

The search bar now accepts direct commands. For example, entering ssh user@host immediately starts the corresponding connection or leads to a Quick Connect dialog. Filtering is also said to respond noticeably faster with large connection lists.

Categories can now be assigned their icons. Theme changes are smoother, and the new shortcut Ctrl+T opens the terminal dock, which was introduced in the previous version. Additionally, there are numerous bug fixes, including those for SSH aliases, mixed shell environments, and on Windows systems. All information about XPipe 22.0 can be found in the release notes.

(fo)