Why Portway
The need
Section titled “The need”Anyone who runs a few Linux servers, such as virtual private servers for a product, a client or a home lab, repeats the same small tasks every week: reading a log, copying a file, restarting a service, checking whether a certificate is about to expire, or reaching a database that listens only on the server. Each task needs a different command, and each command is easy to mistype.
Two kinds of problems appear in daily work.
- Scattered tools.
ssh,scporsftp,docker,systemctl,nginx,ufworfirewalldandcurleach have their own syntax and output. Keeping several terminal windows in sync for several servers is slow. - Silent mistakes. A port that is open to the internet, a Docker container that bypasses the firewall, a site whose upstream stopped answering, or a certificate that expires next week do not announce themselves. They are found by reading and comparing the output of several commands.
Portway is built to remove both problems without adding infrastructure: it uses SSH, which is already available, and it shows the state of a server in a form that can be read at a glance.
Who it is meant for
Section titled “Who it is meant for”- Developers and freelancers who maintain their own servers.
- Small teams that do not have a dedicated operations platform.
- People who run a home lab and want a graphical view of it.
- Anyone who works on both macOS and Windows and wants the same tool on both.
Typical tasks
Section titled “Typical tasks”| Task | Where in Portway |
|---|---|
| Check whether a server is healthy | Overview |
| Upload a release or download a backup | Files and Transfer |
| Edit a configuration file with a local editor | Edit files locally |
| Reach a database that listens only on the server | Tunnels |
| Find a crashing container or read its log | Docker containers |
| Check which sites are served and when certificates expire | Nginx |
| Find ports that are open to the internet | Firewall |
| Test an internal API from the server | HTTP |
| Move files and text between two of your own computers | Connect |
Where its scope ends
Section titled “Where its scope ends”- Portway manages servers that people operate by hand. It is not a tool for configuring hundreds of machines, and it does not keep a history of metrics. Use a configuration management system or a monitoring system for that work.
- The targets are Linux servers with OpenSSH. The application itself runs on macOS and Windows.
- Some features are limited by what the server provides. For example, pending package updates are read from
apt(Debian, Ubuntu) andapk(Alpine), and firewall rules are edited only forufwandfirewalld. Plainiptablesrules are not read yet, and only the listening ports are shown for such servers. - Scheduled jobs (cron and systemd timers) are not available yet.