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Tessera docs

Tessera is an SSH, Mosh, and tmux terminal for iPhone and iPad — fast, keyboard-first, and private by design. It connects directly to servers you own or control; there is no Tessera backend, no account, and no data collection.

Tessera is free with every feature included; a one-time purchase lifts the one-saved-host limit. Mosh and tmux features require mosh-server / tmux installed on the server.

What Tessera does

  • SSH and Mosh. Password and key authentication; Mosh keeps your session alive across Wi-Fi ↔ cellular roaming and sleep/wake — with real scrollback, which no other iOS mosh client has.
  • tmux integration. Native control mode — auto-attach on connect so a dropped connection never loses your work; windows and panes are real UI.
  • Secure by design. Keys live in the iOS Keychain; Secure Enclave–backed P-256 keys never leave the device and can require Face ID to use. Host-key verification with a persistent known-hosts store, plus an app lock.
  • Local port forwarding to reach services behind your server.
  • Files beside your shell. A remote file panel that tracks your shell's directory, over SSH and mosh alike.
  • Agent center. Watch and answer Claude Code and Codex sessions across all your connections from one page (experimental).
  • Across your devices. Hand off a live session between iPhone and iPad, and set up a new device over the local network — no cloud, and credentials never move.
  • Built for iPhone and iPad. First-class hardware-keyboard support with remappable and custom shortcuts, a configurable swipe pad for the touch screen, Stage Manager / Split View, session restore, find-in-terminal, themes, and optional on-device dictation.
  • In your language. English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese — the whole interface, following your device language.

The guide