Setting up Outrigger.
Nothing here is required; the app works on defaults. These are the five things worth configuring.
1 · First connect
Tap +, give the host a nickname, its address, and your username, then Save and tap the host. Type your password once. Toggle Save — unlock with Face ID or passcode if you don't want to type it again on reconnects; the saved password is encrypted by the Secure Enclave and never migrates to another device through backup.
2 · Switch to a key
While connected, tap the host's name in the title bar to open its detail card. In the key section, generate a key (the default is created inside the Secure Enclave and cannot be exported), then tap Install on server. That appends your public key to the server's authorized_keys over the session you already have open. From then on the host authenticates with the key, and connecting requires only Face ID.
If the server only accepts ed25519, generate the ed25519 key instead. It is a software key (the Secure Enclave only supports P-256), encrypted at rest by an Enclave wrapping key and gated behind Face ID or the device passcode when it is unsealed. Copy public key is there for pasting into config management if you'd rather not touch the server from the phone.
3 · tmux sessions
In version 1.1 and later, tapping a host signs in and shows the shells open in Outrigger and the tmux sessions on the server. Pick a session to attach to it, or create a new one; no shell starts on the server until you choose. If the connection drops, Outrigger reattaches the shell to its tmux session when it reconnects.
In a tmux session, the ✦ assist's Catch me up can fetch the tmux history added since you last looked at the session, including output produced while the phone was disconnected. It runs only when you tap it.
In version 1.0.1, use a startup command instead. Edit the host, open Advanced, and put this in Startup:
tmux new -A -s main
Every connect then attaches to the same server-side session, creating it the first time and rejoining it after that. However long the phone was disconnected, reconnecting puts you back where you left off. In version 1.1 the Startup field is still available, for a command to run when a plain shell starts.
4 · The ✦ assist
On supported iPhones (15 Pro and later) the assist works out of the box, entirely on device. To use a cloud model instead, add your own API key: Settings › Assist › Brain, pick a provider, tap Get a key ↗ (opens the provider's console in the app), paste, Save. Then tap Test connection to confirm the round trip works, and use the ⇅ button beside the model field to pick from the provider's live model list.
Running your own models? Point Base URL at any OpenAI-compatible endpoint — Ollama or LM Studio on your own machine work, and need no key at all:
http://your-mac.local:11434/v1
5 · Snippets
The ⚡ on the key rail. Save the commands you run often: reattaches, log tails, deploys. Tap one to place it at the prompt (you press return); enable Allow long-press to run immediately per snippet for the ones you trust. Snippets can be global or scoped to one host.
The rail, briefly
ctrl taps arm it for the next key; the armed state is shown on the cap. The bottom toggle names the drag mode you're in: hist walks your command history, scrl scrolls the buffer, and switching back returns you to the live line. Every key on the rail is customizable in Settings › Key rail.
Questions
[email protected]. The privacy page covers where your data goes, and the security page lists every algorithm in the app.