Moving over
What it takes
Your sessions map one to one onto connection definitions, and the folder you put them in can hand down the route so you set it once.
You already pick speed over ceremony
WindTerm is fast in a way only a carefully written native client can be. Vandle chases the same feel and puts the routing and the inventory on top of it.
Credit where it is due
WindTerm starts quickly, handles serial and SSH without fuss, and its integrated file pane and session tree give you most of a workspace for free.
What changes
Four things you get that you did not have.
- Connection definitions in a central store, so the same inventory appears on every machine you use.
- A route object per connection or per folder rather than settings repeated per session.
- Remote desktops and real browsing on the same shell, reading the same connection records.
- Encrypted secrets with the key derived from your passphrase and plaintext only in memory.
Side by side
WindTerm and Vandle
| Aspect | WindTerm | Vandle |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory | Local session tree | Central store, live-synced across devices |
| Routing | Per-session proxy | Per connection, or inherited from the folder |
| Range | SSH, Telnet, serial, SFTP | SSH, SFTP, WebDAV, RDP, the web and local shells |
| Secrets | Stored locally | Encrypted at rest, plaintext only in memory |
And the rest of it
Four more protocols came along
Replacing one tool gets you five. Whatever else that machine speaks is already a row on the same record - and every one of them takes the route you assigned.
Web
Real browsing, properly routed
SSH
A terminal that keeps up
SFTP
Two remote panes, no detour
WebDAV
The other half of file transfer
RDP
Desktops on a native surface
Local
Your own machine, in the same list
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