Let’s be real: managing a production VPS from a smartphone is usually a nightmare.
A few weeks ago, I had a runaway Docker container eat up all the RAM on a client’s server at 2 AM. By the time I got to my laptop, the damage was done. I tried using some of the "big" mobile SSH apps, but they all had the same problems:
- They felt like they were designed in 2012.
- They were bloated with features I didn't need.
- The biggest red flag: They wanted to sync my private SSH keys and server IPs to their cloud.
As a developer, handing over my "keys to the kingdom" to a third-party cloud never sat right with me. So, I decided to build ServerGlance.
The "No-Cloud" Architecture
My first rule was simple: No credentials ever leave the device. Period.
I used flutter_secure_storage for local AES-256 encryption. When you connect to your server, the iPhone talks directly to the VPS via SSH. No middleman, no telemetry, no "syncing" to my servers.
Solving the Keyboard Agony
Using a terminal on a touchscreen is painful because standard keyboards lack Esc, Tab, Ctrl, and arrow keys. I built a custom keyboard accessory row and "Quick Actions" so I could run htop or df -h with a single tap.
Docker Visibility at a Glance
Instead of just being a terminal, I wanted to see my containers without needing a full SSH session. I implemented a view that surfaces your Docker containers directly on the dashboard. At a glance, I can see which containers are running, which have exited, and which image versions are live—all without typing a single command.
Who is this for?
If you manage a handful of VPS instances (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, AWS) and you actually care about where your private keys are stored, give it a look. It’s built by a developer who got paged one too many times.
I’m looking for feedback from fellow SysAdmins and DevOps engineers. What’s the one feature that would make you actually leave your laptop closed during a minor server crisis?
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