GenTerminal

What is GenTerminal?

GenTerminal is Genspark's cross-platform SSH terminal client for iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux. Connect to your servers, manage your hosts, and run commands from any device, with your hosts and settings kept in sync through your Genspark account.

Core capabilities:

• SSH terminal — connect to any server over SSH and work in a full-featured terminal, on desktop or mobile
• Host management — save your servers, organize them into groups, and reconnect to recent hosts in one tap
• Cross-device sync — sign in with your Genspark account and your saved hosts and settings follow you to every device
• Encrypted key vault — protect your saved passwords and private keys with a vault password
• SFTP file transfer — browse, upload, and download files on your server
• Port forwarding (desktop apps) — set up local and remote tunnels
• Snippets — save commands you reuse and run them with one tap
• Quick window toggle & system tray (desktop apps) — summon or hide the window with a global hotkey and keep it out of the way in the tray
• Genspark Mesh — put your own devices on a private network so they can reach each other directly
• Terminal sharing — share a live terminal with someone else through a browser link
• Bundled agent tab — a built-in agent in its own tab that can read terminal scrollback and help drive your sessions
• Persistent sessions — your sessions keep running on the host when you disconnect

Quick Start

Download and install GenTerminal

• iPhone — get it from the App Store.
• Android — get the Android app as a direct APK from genterminal.ai — it isn't on Google Play.
• Mac / Windows / Linux — download the desktop app from genterminal.ai. The Linux desktop app ships as an AppImage and doesn't auto-update; get new Linux builds from the same page.

If a desktop installer link doesn't work, you can also get the desktop app from genspark.ai/download. Then open the app.

Sign in with your Genspark account

Sign in with your existing Genspark account. GenTerminal is integrated with Genspark, so no separate registration is required, and signing in is what enables your hosts to sync across devices.

Add a host

Tap or click Add Host (the + button) and fill in your server details:

• Host / address — the server's hostname or IP address
• Port — the SSH port (usually 22)
• Username — your login user on the server
• Authentication — either a password or a private key

Save the host.

Connect

Open the host you just saved to start an SSH session. On the desktop apps you type commands with your keyboard just like any terminal; on iPhone and Android, use the function-key bar above the keyboard for keys like Tab, Ctrl, Esc, and the arrows.

Feature & How-To Guides

Host Management & Groups

The host list is your home base. From there you can:

• Add, edit, and delete hosts — keep all your servers in one place
• Organize into groups — sort related servers (for example, by project or environment) into groups so the list stays tidy
• Reconnect to recent hosts — your most recently used connections are surfaced for one-tap reconnect

Cross-Device Cloud Sync

When you're signed in with your Genspark account, GenTerminal keeps your hosts, groups, snippets, and settings in sync automatically across all your devices. Add a server on your phone and it's there on your Mac too — no manual export or import.

Sync is tied to your Genspark account, so signing in on a new device restores everything you've saved.

Key Vault

The Vault protects the sensitive parts of your hosts — saved passwords and private keys — by encrypting them with a vault password that only you know. Your vault password protects your saved credentials on each device; the Encrypt keys before sync setting below controls how your private keys are protected when they sync. If you forget your vault password, it can't be recovered — you reset the vault instead, which clears the stored credentials; on a current build, the reset is approved in your browser.

• Set a vault password — the first time you save credentials, you'll be asked to create a vault password. This password unlocks your saved keys on any device.
• Unlock on a new device — entering the same vault password on another device decrypts your synced credentials there. Your vault password is never stored on our servers, so keep it somewhere safe; it can't be recovered for you.
• Encrypt keys before sync — a setting that encrypts your private keys with your vault password before they leave your device, so only ciphertext is ever synced. Turn it on if you want your keys protected end-to-end in sync.

SFTP File Transfer

Beyond running commands, GenTerminal can browse the files on your server over SFTP. Open the file browser for a connected host to navigate folders, upload files from your device, and download files from the server.

Port Forwarding

On the desktop apps, GenTerminal can set up SSH tunnels so you can reach a service through your server:

• Local forwarding — make a port on a remote network reachable from your own machine (for example, to open a database or internal web app that only your server can see)
• Remote forwarding — expose a port from your machine on the remote side

Set the tunnel up alongside the host connection, and it stays active while you're connected.

Snippets

Snippets are commands you save once and reuse. If you find yourself typing the same command often, save it as a snippet and insert it into the terminal with a tap or click instead of retyping it.

Quick Window Toggle & System Tray

On the desktop apps, GenTerminal stays handy without cluttering your screen:

• Global hotkey — press a keyboard shortcut from anywhere to instantly show or hide the GenTerminal window. You can change the shortcut in Settings.
• System tray — closing the window keeps GenTerminal running in the tray (menu bar on Mac), so your sessions and quick toggle stay available. Quit fully from the tray menu when you're done.

Function-Key Bar

On iPhone and Android, phone keyboards don't have the keys a terminal needs, so GenTerminal adds a function-key bar above the keyboard with Tab, Ctrl, Esc, the arrow keys, and other special keys, so you can run interactive tools and shortcuts just like on a desktop terminal.

Genspark Mesh

Genspark Mesh puts your own devices on a private network so they can reach each other directly, over WireGuard — with no public IP, no exposed ports, and no separate VPN setup. Once a device is on your mesh, it appears in the sidebar ready to connect, and you can open an SSH connection to it from any other device on the same mesh.

Set it up on each device. In Settings → Genspark Mesh, turn on Genspark Mesh. To let the device accept SSH connections from your other mesh devices, turn on Allow incoming SSH connections as well.

Approve each device in your browser. When you add a device, Genspark shows a pairing code and an approval link; approve it in your browser, and it joins. A device you've already enrolled reconnects on its own — no repeat approval. Re-enrolling a device replaces its earlier enrollment.

Limits and cost. You can have up to 50 devices on your mesh per Genspark account. Genspark Mesh is free.

Terminal Sharing

Share a live terminal with someone else through a browser link — useful for pairing on a problem or giving a colleague a look at a session.

Start a share. Right-click a connected tab and choose Share Terminal. GenTerminal creates a browser link you can send.

Who can join. Viewers sign in with their Genspark account and enter the share password you send them. You can also restrict access to specific email addresses or domains. Sharing is read-only by default; turn on the optional allow-input switch if you want viewers to be able to type.

While a share is live. The link survives an SSH reconnect, so a dropped session doesn't break the share. Disconnecting doesn't immediately revoke it — a share expires about 24 hours after you stop sharing, and you can keep up to five shares active at once. Terminal sharing is free.

Bundled Agent Tab

GenTerminal includes a built-in agent in its own tab. The agent is scoped to the terminal it's attached to: it can read that tab's scrollback and work with your session, so you can ask it about output that's already on screen, or have it help drive what happens next. The terminal itself is free; the agent runs on Genspark's LLM proxy, so its responses use credits from the Genspark account you're signed in with.

Persistent Sessions

GenTerminal runs your sessions on the host, so they keep running when your client isn't connected. Closing the tab or losing your network doesn't stop the session — when you come back, it's still there.

Troubleshooting

On iPhone, my SSH session disconnects shortly after I switch away from the app — why?

This is expected behavior on iPhone, not a bug. iOS limits what apps can do in the background, so after GenTerminal has been in the background for about 30 seconds, the operating system suspends it and the SSH connection drops. When you return to the app, simply reconnect to the host. To avoid an interruption during a long-running command, keep GenTerminal in the foreground. (The desktop apps are not affected by this limit.)

FAQ

Which platforms does GenTerminal support?

GenTerminal runs on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux. Get the iPhone app from the App Store, the Android app as a direct APK from genterminal.ai, and the Mac, Windows, and Linux desktop apps from the same site. Your hosts and settings sync across all of them when you're signed in with the same Genspark account. Port forwarding and the global hotkey / system tray are available on the desktop apps; the function-key bar is on mobile.

How do I send diagnostic information when I report a problem?

If you hit an issue and our support team asks for logs, you can upload diagnostics from inside the app:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap or click Send diagnostics.

This uploads recent app logs so we can investigate. Mention the approximate time the problem happened when you contact support — it helps us find the right logs.

How do I get support?

Email us at [email protected]. Include what happened, which device and OS version you're on, and, if you've already uploaded diagnostics, the approximate time of the issue.

How do I delete my account?

You can delete your account from inside the app. Open Settings, find the account section, and choose Delete account. Deleting your account removes your synced data; this action cannot be undone.

Do my saved hosts sync across devices?

Yes. As long as you're signed in with the same Genspark account, your hosts, groups, snippets, and settings sync automatically across iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux. To decrypt synced passwords and keys on a new device, enter your vault password there.