Library

Welcome to Prompt

Getting Started

After the initial launch and intro, Prompt will greet us with the Servers list.

We can configure and save a new server or utilize Quick Connect for quick one off connections.

Creating a Server

The Servers List with no entries.

Let’s tap on the button in the bottom-left corner to create a new server.

Choosing a Protocol

Selecting a protocol during Server creation.

Tap on the “SSH” field at the top to select a different protocol.

Prompt supports:

  • SSH
  • Eternal Terminal
  • Mosh
  • Port Forwarding
  • Telnet

Prompt is not an official Mosh client. If you experience issues when using Mosh in Prompt, please let us know directly instead of filing issues with the Mosh project.

Custom Server icons

Did you know you can change the icon for servers?

Default SSH Server icon. Tap the default server icon to the left of the server type and you’ll be able to select a different icon:

Server Icon: Camera Server Icon: Shipping Box Server Icon: File Cabinet Server Icon: Clapperboard Server Icon: Globe Server Icon: Half Globe Server Icon: Heart Server Icon: Bolt Server Icon: Lock Server Icon: macOS Finder Server Icon: Display Server Icon: Rainbow Server Icon: Soccer Ball Server Icon: Audio Server Icon: Public

Or, choose an image from your photos to use as an icon! Like this image of my cat, Elinor I use as a server icon: Custom icon of my cat, Elinor.

Server Configuration

With the protocol selected, let’s enter the information needed to connect to your server:

Name

The name that is displayed in the Server list. Prompt will automatically display the server address if a custom name is not specified.

Address

The URL or IP address for the remote server that Prompt will connect to.

Port Number

If you have a custom port that you use when connecting to the remote server, set it here.

Username

Used when authenticating to the remote server.

Password

The password required for the above user name.

Keys

To connect using a private key, tap the key icon to the right of the password field, and select the desired key.

If you prefer to not store your passwords in Prompt, leave the password blank field blank. You will be prompted during the connection process to enter the password each time.

Jump Host

Learn more about Jump Hosts.

 The New Server sheet.

🎉 Now we’re ready to save, or connect!

With all the fields configured, tap Done in the top-right to save the server. You can also use the Connect button to save the server and open a new session all at once.

Server Settings

Need even more settings? We’ve got you covered!
Tap on Server Settings to view all of the configurable options:

Text Encoding

Unicode (UTF 8) is the default Text Encoding for Prompt. Tap to view or change supported encodings.

Folder

Use this option to add a Server to an existing Server Group.

Theme

Used to override the default terminal theme. Set a different theme for each server if you’d prefer, rainbow it up!

Terminal Type

Defines how the information will be exchanged with the remote server. You can leave this at the default setting if you are unsure of the connection type.

Startup Command

Set a command that will be sent to the remote server as part of the initial connection process.

Keep Alive Interval

The duration between transmissions of the keepalive messages sent to the remote server.

Use Option As Meta Key

Enable sending the meta command when the option key is pressed.

Delete Sends ^H

Some servers expect a different keyboard command for Delete. If the delete key isn’t working properly, try toggling this setting on.

Send Mouse Events

Enables sending mouse events to programs running in the terminal.

Allow Clipboard Writing

Allows programs running in the terminal to tell the terminal to put data on the clipboard.

Agent Forwarding

Enables agent forwarding for this server.

*

Details about agent forwarding can be found in Steve Friedl’s Tech Tips Guide.*

Close On Disconnect

Closes terminal windows automatically when disconnecting from the server.

 Advanced Server settings.

Quick Connect

Need to connect to a server really quick? Tap The Boltâ„¢ (TTB) icon on the bottom-right, and the Quick Connect view will be displayed as shown below.

Next, enter the following server information:

  • Connection protocol
  • Server address, and port number
  • Username, password, or an SSH key if needed…

…then tap Connect, and Bob’s your uncle!

Alternately, tap the Save this Server button to add it to the Servers list for later use.

 The Quick Connect view in Prompt for iOS.

The Terminal

After the connection is established the Quick Connect panel will be replaced by the Terminal view:

AUTHENTICATION COMPLETE

The terminal after connecting to a Server.

Contacting Support

Have questions or need help with Prompt? Send us an email: prompt@panic.com.

If you’re contacting us with a tech support issue or a bug report, please make sure to include the following information so that we can help you as quickly as possible. Details are important!

  • App version number (Gear icon > About)
  • iOS version number and device type (iOS Settings > General > About)
  • Any connection details, hosting/server type, configuration info, ant keys being used and type, etc.

We always want to help, bugs can be difficult to fix when we can’t reproduce the issue ourselves. If something isn’t working as expected, it helps to tell us:

  • What did you try to do?
  • What steps did you take to do that?
  • What did you expect to happen?
  • What happened instead?

If Prompt is crashing, make sure to add your name and email address to the crash log identifier section of iOS Settings > Prompt, then replicate the crash again. This allows us to identify your specific crash report.

Screenshots or screen recordings of the problem (specifically if an error message appears) are almost always helpful in troubleshooting.

Use the links below for more information on taking a screenshot or video on your specific device: