Quickstart
Welcome to zmtlabs Term. This page gets you up and running in under 5 minutes.
💡 zmtlabs Term is a portable .exe - no installation needed. Just download and run it.
1. Start the app
Download the portable .exe and run it. On first launch you will be asked to set an app password. This password protects the app on startup and is stored locally on your machine.
2. Add a host
Click + Add Host in the sidebar or press Ctrl+T. Fill in the connection details:
- Hostname / IP - e.g.
192.168.1.42orweb01.example.com - Port - default is
22 - Username - e.g.
rootorubuntu - Password - your SSH password
3. Connect
Click the host in the sidebar. A new terminal tab opens and connects automatically.
root@web-01:~$ echo "Connected!"
Connected!Installation
Windows - Portable .exe
zmtlabs Term is a portable app. Download the .exe from the Download page and run it directly - no installer, no admin rights needed.
You can place the .exe anywhere on your system. Your data is stored in %APPDATA%\zmtlabs-term.
🗺️ macOS and Linux builds are planned for a future release.
Updating
Download the latest .exe and replace the old one. Your hosts, snippets and settings are kept. All updates are free for all license holders.
First Connection
Adding a host
Press Ctrl+T or click + Add Host in the sidebar to open the host dialog.
Required fields
- Hostname - IP address or domain name of the server
- Port - SSH port, usually 22
- Username - the user to log in as
- Password - the SSH password for that user
Opening a connection
After saving the host, click it in the sidebar. Right-click to see all options - open as Terminal, SFTP or DB.
📌 Your host credentials are stored locally in %APPDATA%\zmtlabs-term.
Terminal Basics
Tabs
Each SSH connection opens as its own tab. Open a new one with Ctrl+T and close the active tab with Ctrl+W.
The tab shows the connection status: ● connected, ● connecting, ● error.
Clearing the terminal
Click the Clear button in the tab bar or run clear in the terminal.
Connection types per host
- Terminal - full SSH terminal session
- SFTP - file manager for the server
- DB - database editor
Keyboard Shortcuts
Global
Using SFTP
Right-click a host in the sidebar and choose Open SFTP. The file manager opens as a new tab.
Browsing files
The file manager shows the directory tree of your server. Click folders to navigate into them.
Uploading files
Use the upload button to select files from your local machine and transfer them to the server.
Downloading files
Click a file and use the download option to save it to your local machine.
File actions
- Rename files and folders
- Delete files and folders
- Create new folders
- Change permissions (chmod) — right-click a file and choose chmod
Quick Preview
Right-click an image (PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, SVG) or PDF and choose Preview to view it inline without downloading.
File Diff
Right-click a file and choose Diff with... to compare it with another file on the server side by side.
Remote Search
Click the 🔍 button in the SFTP panel header to open Remote Search. Search the entire server by filename or by file content. Works on both Linux and Windows servers.
📁 The SFTP tab and the terminal tab share the same SSH connection to the host.
Snippets
Snippets let you save commands and send them into a terminal with a keyboard shortcut.
Creating a snippet
Click the Snippets tab in the sidebar, then click + Snippet. Give it a name, an optional group and the command text.
Using a snippet
Press Ctrl+Space while a terminal tab is active. Type to filter, then press Enter to send the command into the terminal.
Groups
Click + Group to create a group (e.g. "Docker", "Git", "Nginx"). Assign snippets to groups when creating or editing them.
Snippet Variables
Use variables in snippet text to insert dynamic values at send time. Built-in variables are replaced automatically; custom variables prompt you to enter a value before sending.
${hostname}Server hostname${username}SSH username${port}SSH port${date}Current date (YYYY-MM-DD)${time}Current time (HH:MM:SS)${myVar}Custom — prompts for input💡 Example: tar -czf backup-${hostname}-${date}.tar.gz /var/www — the hostname and date are filled in automatically when you send it.
Monitor & Processes
The Monitor panel shows live server metrics for the active SSH session. Open it from the sidebar or the tab toolbar.
Metrics
Process Manager
The process list shows running processes sorted by CPU or RAM. Click a process and choose Kill to terminate it.
📊 Each SSH tab has its own monitor — metrics update every few seconds automatically.
Command History
Press Ctrl+R to open the Command History palette. Every command you've sent into any terminal is stored here (up to 500, deduplicated).
Using the palette
- Start typing to fuzzy-search your history
- Use ↑ / ↓ to navigate results
- Press Enter to send the selected command into the active terminal
- Press Esc to close without sending
💡 Command history is shared across all sessions — if you ran a command on any server, it shows up here.
Database Editor
Right-click a host and choose Open DB. The database editor opens as a tab.
Browsing tables
Select a table from the list on the left to view its data.
Running queries
Switch to the query editor and write your SQL. Run it to see the results.
🗄️ The database editor connects through your existing SSH session to the host.
Host Management
Adding hosts
Press Ctrl+T or click + Add Host. Fill in the host details and save.
Groups
Click + Group to create a host group (e.g. "Production", "Staging"). Assign hosts to groups in the host dialog.
Import
Use the import option in the sidebar menu to load a host list from a JSON file.
Export
Use the export option to save your host list as JSON. Passwords are not included in the export.
🔒 Passwords are stored locally on your machine and are never included in exports.