Common questions.
What is Vector?
A local-first SSH client for Android and iOS. It’s designed for the way developers actually use SSH today — including long-running Claude Code sessions — without giving up modern terminal features.
Is Vector only for Claude Code users?
No. Claude Code is the workflow we built Vector around — long-running AI sessions from your phone, where a clean terminal and solid reconnect behavior matter. But the core SSH client is general-purpose. If you manage servers, run tunnels, or SFTP files as part of a DevOps workflow, Vector works for that too. The local-first architecture and one-time pricing are useful regardless of whether Claude Code is in the picture.
Why local-first?
Most SSH clients sync your hosts, keys, and sessions through a server. Vector doesn’t. Keys and sessions stay on the device where you created them — there’s no account, no cloud, no server we could leak. You pay once and own the app.
How does the free trial work?
Download Vector and use the full app for 14 days — every feature, no card required. After the trial, a one-time $9.99 purchase opens the full app permanently. No subscription. No auto-renewal.
What does the $9.99 purchase include?
Every feature the app ships with. Future updates ship to you through the App Store or Play Store like any other app. We don’t gate features behind a subscription.
What platforms are supported?
Android first, with iOS to follow. The app is built on Kotlin Multiplatform — one shared engine, native UI shell on each platform.
Does Vector collect any data?
Inside the app: no. Vector is built with a local-first architecture. Hosts, keys, snippets, and session transcripts live on your device’s Keychain or Keystore. There is no telemetry, no analytics, no data collection inside the app. SSH connections are established directly from your device — nothing is proxied through Vector. (This marketing site, vector-ssh.com, uses Vercel Web Analytics for anonymous page-view counts — see the Privacy page.)
Where exactly are my SSH keys stored?
On Android, in the Android Keystore — hardware-backed (StrongBox) when the device supports it. On iOS, in the Keychain, with Secure Enclave–backed encryption when available. Private keys are encrypted at rest and never leave the device.
What happens if I lose my phone?
Your keys go with the phone. Vector has no cloud backup by design — that’s the trade-off for never trusting a server with your secrets. You can export your hosts and SSH config to a file at any time so re-setup is fast, but private keys themselves don’t leave secure storage. On a new device, generate fresh keys and add the new public keys to your servers.
What about feedback and crash reports?
Feedback is always opt-in and user-initiated. If you file feedback from inside the app, we post your message to a public GitHub issues repo — you see exactly what gets shared before it’s sent. We don’t use third-party crash-reporting SDKs.
Is Vector open-source?
No. The app is proprietary — that’s what your purchase supports. We don’t run a cloud sync server, so there’s no server-side component handling your data. The app on your device, the SSH connection, and the storage of your hosts and keys all stay local.
Who’s behind Vector?
Nathan Krebs — independent developer.