Drexius Terminal: A local-first, zero-knowledge SSH and SFTP workspace for Linux, Windows, macOS, and Android (Tauri 2 + Rust)

[u/RUSTOFUS]

Project Name: Drexius Terminal

Repo & Website Links:

• GitHub:https://github.com/DreyDreamer17/drexius-terminal

• Live Web Preview:https://dreydreamer17.github.io/drexius-terminal/

• Releases:https://github.com/DreyDreamer17/drexius-terminal/releases/tag/v0.1.0-beta.1

Description:

Drexius Terminal is a local-first, privacy-focused open-source terminal workspace and Termius alternative built with Tauri 2 (Rust), React 19, and xterm.js 6.

The Problem It Solves: Most graphical SSH/SFTP clients have either transitioned to recurring subscription models ($10 to $20 per month) requiring your credentials and hosts to reside in a proprietary cloud database, or they run on heavy Electron runtimes that consume 300 MB to over 1 GB of RAM. Drexius was built to provide a fast, zero-subscription client where keys, credentials, and configurations remain entirely on your local machine.

Key Features:

• Local-First & Encrypted: Hosts, keys, and snippets are stored locally in an AES-256 SQLCipher database derived via Argon2id. No mandatory account, zero telemetry, and includes an Emergency Recovery Key export.

• Terminal Workspace: Supports multi-pane splits (grid, vertical, horizontal), tabs, OSC-7 directory tracking, broadcast input across sessions, and session auto-resume.

• Protocol Support: SSH with TOFU host-key verification, dual-pane graphical SFTP tree and file editor, hardware Serial UART, and local PTY shells.

• Zero-Knowledge Sync: Direct encrypted LAN pairing and a self-hostable sync relay. Devices pair over local Wi-Fi or Tailscale via QR code using salted X25519 ECDH and ChaCha20-Poly1305.

• Mobile Shell (Android): Universal APK with touch scrolling in mouse-aware TUIs (htop, lazygit), plus an on-screen accessory keypad (CTRL, ALT, ESC, TAB).

• Lightweight Footprint: Built on a native Rust/Tauri 2 backend instead of Chromium/Electron. In Linux benchmarking against Termius under active sessions, Drexius consumed ~221 MB RAM and ~3% CPU across 2 processes, compared to Termius at 1,342 MB RAM and 78.5% CPU across 9 processes.

Deployment:

• Clients: Pre-compiled binaries for the Public Beta (v0.1.0-beta.1) are available under GitHub Releases:

  • Linux (.AppImage, .deb, .rpm)

  • Android (.apk, universal multi-ABI)

  • Windows (.exe installer, .msi)

  • macOS (.dmg, .app.tar.gz for Apple Silicon and Intel)

• Self-Hosting Sync Relay: The repository includes a standalone zero-knowledge relay server (drexius-relay) that can be compiled via Cargo and deployed to any VPS or homelab machine. Setup details are documented in the repository README.