Better UI, naming and features

[bilogic]

Hi,

After more usage, here's what I gathered, I put it all together because they present a better picture, it would be better to break them up into smaller issues when implementing. Thank you.

WebSSH

Better UI/behavior

1. In Manage Keys, allow renaming the key
2. When creating a new profile with a new key, can we add a new key without losing data already entered into Profiles?
   • OR ask for the password/key as the first question so that if I cannot find my answer, I go and create a new key without giving any info first
   • add a link to jump to create key
3. When I go into Profiles, and click Connect, New Connection dialog shows again
   • It should connect directly and not pause at New Connection dialog
4. When I click a profile from the splash screen, New Connection dialog shows and disappear
   • on fast connections, it confuses me, I wonder if something went wrong, but did not read finish what was mentioned
   • on slow connections, it also confuses me, I wonder what the computer is asking me to do? Only at the bottom, I see "Connecting..."
   • best show only Connecting..., instead of New Connection dialog which has too much information

Better naming

1. Rename Profiles as Connections everywhere
2. Rename top menu New Connection as Quick Connect (Implies no saving)

Better features/product

Key rotation

Since we know which server uses which keys, in keys, can we have Rotate for each key?

1. Login to all hosts using current key, add new key
2. If some hosts have errors, stop and inform user
3. Have a button to retry all failed hosts
4. If all hosts completed without errors, update current key as old key and update to use new key
5. Login to all hosts and remove old key
6. If some hosts have errors, stop and inform user
7. If all hosts completed without errors, remove old key from our records
8. Have a button to retry all failed hosts

[bifrost0x]

HI @bilogic ,

thx a lot for the suggestions! I will look into this today and see how i can implement it :)

[bilogic]

Thanks! 1 more very important point, if implement key rotation, then we should be able to backup our keys from the system

[bifrost0x]

Hi @bilogic,

I reviewed the suggestions against the current UI and backend architecture. Several of the UI improvements make sense and can be implemented independently:

• renaming stored keys
• adding a key while editing a profile without losing the entered profile data
• connecting directly from a usable saved profile
• removing the temporary New Connection dialog flash
• improving the terminology, likely using Saved Connections and Quick Connect

I will split these into smaller, reviewable changes instead of treating the discussion as one large feature.

Automated key rotation across all associated hosts is a much larger security-sensitive workflow. It would require durable progress tracking, retries, rollback behavior, jump-host handling, safe authorized_keys updates, and recovery from partially completed rotations. I therefore do not plan to include it in the UI improvements.

WebSSH already provides an offline backup that includes the encrypted stored keys and, depending on the deployment, the persisted application secret. A user-facing private-key export would be a separate security decision and should not be added implicitly as part of rotation.

Thanks again. The UI points are useful and actionable, while the deeper rotation workflow needs separate design work.

[bilogic]

1. I did not know/read about offline backup until now
2. But it gave me an idea, how about rebooting the container into backup mode, after backup it reboots again into normal mode?
3. This way, backup can become automated daily

[bifrost0x]

Hi @bilogic,

Quick update: the agreed UI scope from this discussion has now been implemented and merged in two pull requests:

• #69 - Improve saved connection workflows adds direct connections from usable saved profiles, removes the temporary Quick Connect dialog flash, supports inline key upload without losing profile data, adds atomic key renaming, and introduces consistent Saved Connections and Quick Connect terminology across all supported languages.
• #70 - Preserve key usability after mutations is the focused follow-up that keeps a stored key immediately usable after upload or rename acknowledgements.

This completes the UI improvements we committed to in this discussion. Automated cross-host key rotation remains intentionally outside this scope because it requires a separate security and recovery design.

One further update: since my earlier comment about the existing offline backup, backup and restore has been implemented comprehensively as a native part of WebSSH itself in #71 - Add admin backup and restore workflow. This is not merely the previously mentioned offline backup. Administrators can now create, download, upload, verify, and restore backups directly from the Administration interface. The implementation uses online-consistent SQLite snapshots, strict archive validation, administrator-only and session-bound access, maintenance mode, rollback protection, and a controlled restart after restore. The existing CLI backup and restore commands remain fully supported and archive-compatible.

[bilogic]

oh online-consistent that's nice!

[bilogic]

wonderful work! the new upgrades are amazing!

[bilogic]

Key rotation

Since we know which server uses which keys, in keys, can we have Rotate for each key?

1. Login to all hosts using current key, add new key
2. If some hosts have errors, stop and inform user
3. Have a button to retry all failed hosts
4. If all hosts completed without errors, update current key as old key and update to use new key
5. Login to all hosts and remove old key
6. If some hosts have errors, stop and inform user
7. If all hosts completed without errors, remove old key from our records
8. Have a button to retry all failed hosts

This has been taking up space at the back of my mind and felt I should share my thoughts :)

1. It is not feasible to rotate keys using another app unless it is able to update the keys in webssh
2. If there is a simple and secure way to update keys in webssh, then rotation can be outsourced to another app
3. But the other app, will have to replicate the SSH automations that might already exist in webssh

Ok, that sums up my thoughts these 2 weeks. Thank you.

[bifrost0x]

A draft implementation is now available in #96. It adds a Replace action for stored SSH keys while keeping the stable key ID, so existing profiles and jump hosts continue to reference the key. The replacement must use the same actual key type, inconsistent legacy metadata is rejected before writing, and the encrypted key file is replaced atomically with rollback on write or verification failure. The UI also warns that the matching public key must be installed on all targets first. Active sessions stay connected; future connections use the replacement key.

[bifrost0x]

Update: #96 - Add stored SSH key replacement has now been merged into main.

Stored SSH keys can now be replaced while retaining their stable key ID, so existing saved connections and jump hosts continue to reference them. Existing installations and stored data are not modified automatically - the new code path runs only when an administrator explicitly uses the Replace action.

This intentionally remains separate from automated cross-host rotation. The matching public key must first be installed on every target. Active sessions remain connected, while future connections use the replacement key. All CI, browser, SSH integration, container, and security checks passed.