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NeoServer ManualQuick Start

NeoServer Quick Start: Add a Server and Get Connected

Get started with NeoServer in five minutes: install the app, add your first server over SSH, verify the host key, then use the terminal, metrics dashboard, file browser and container manager.

3 min read

NeoServer turns your iPhone, iPad or Mac into an SSH client with a modern terminal, a monitoring dashboard, a file browser and container controls. This page takes you from a fresh install to a connected server in a few minutes; every feature mentioned here has a dedicated manual page with the full details.

What you need

  • An iPhone, iPad or Mac with a supported iOS, iPadOS or macOS version
  • A server you administer, with SSH enabled — any common Linux distribution, BSD or macOS machine
  • The server’s address (IP or domain), SSH port, your username, and a password or private key

NeoServer connects over SSH like any desktop client. It does not make a private server publicly reachable: on your home network use the machine’s local address, and from outside connect through a VPN or another authorized route you already have.

First launch

The first launch shows a short tour of the main features — charts, container management, the terminal, performance diagnostics and terminal customization. If you are not a Premium subscriber, an optional upgrade screen follows the tour; close it and continue — connecting servers and the core features work without it.

On iPhone, the app opens with four tabs — Metrics, Terminal, SFTP and Container — plus More, which holds everything else: Server, Private Key, Script, AI Chat, Forward, Notification and Settings. On iPad and Mac, the same items sit in the sidebar. Prefer a different order? Rearrange it in Settings → Tab Menu Order; the new order applies after restarting the app.

Add your first server

  1. Open More → Server on iPhone (or Server in the sidebar on iPad/Mac) and tap Add Server.
  2. Fill in the form:
    • Name — optional label; leave it empty to show the host instead.
    • Host — the server’s IP address or domain.
    • Port — 22 unless your SSH daemon listens elsewhere.
    • User Name — defaults to root; use whatever account you normally SSH in with.
    • Authentication — Password, or Private Key to pick a key. If your key list is empty, the form links straight to the key manager — see Private Keys to generate one in a minute.
  3. Leave Enable Metrics and Enable Container on (both default on) so the dashboard and container list light up for this server.
  4. Save.

Not sure of the address? Auto Discover at the top of the form scans the local network for machines with an SSH port open and imports one in a tap. Every other option on the form — Mosh, bastion hosts, failover, startup scripts — is optional and covered in Server Settings.

Connect and verify the host key

Open the Terminal tab and tap your new server. On the very first connection, NeoServer shows the server’s host-key fingerprint: compare it with a trusted source (your provider’s console, or ssh-keygen -l output from a machine you already trust) before accepting. After that, you are in a full shell — run anything you would over a desktop SSH client.

Explore the four tabs

  • Metrics — the dashboard collects CPU, memory, disk, network and process metrics for every server with metrics enabled, drawn as live cards.
  • Terminal — open several sessions side by side, with an on-screen keyboard bar for keys terminal work needs. Tap the Copy Mode icon to select output without sending swipes to the running program.
  • SFTP — browse the filesystem and upload or download files. The server’s SFTP Default DIR setting (default /) decides where it opens.
  • Container — lists Docker or Podman containers on servers with containers enabled: start, stop, restart and inspect them. If the list comes back empty, the SSH account must be allowed to run docker info — see the FAQ for the fix.

Where to go next

  • Server Settings — Mosh roaming sessions, bastion hosts, SOCKS5 proxies, failover and batch-adding a fleet.
  • Private Keys — replace passwords with ED25519 or RSA keys and install the public half to your servers in one tap.
  • Terminal Settings — fonts, themes, gestures and the keyboard bar.
  • AI Chat — an assistant that can inspect your servers, run approved commands, transfer files and browse the web.
  • FAQ — troubleshooting, custom metrics commands and Home Screen widgets.