Sshwifty vs ttyd
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Sshwifty | ttyd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 74 · Good |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,127 | ★ 12,411 |
| First released | 2019 | 2016 |
| Replaces | PuTTY | PuTTY |
What are Sshwifty and ttyd?
Sshwifty
Sshwifty is a self-hosted web SSH and Telnet client that lets you connect to remote machines from a browser. It is written in Go and Vue and deploys easily as a container.
- Browser-based SSH and Telnet
- No client install
- Lightweight Go binary
- Optional shared credentials
ttyd
ttyd is a simple command-line tool for sharing a terminal over the web, written in C for speed and low footprint. It supports SSL, basic authentication, and full-color terminals.
- Fast C implementation
- SSL and basic auth
- Full-color terminal
- Tiny footprint
Sshwifty vs ttyd: key differences
Sshwifty is written in JavaScript, while ttyd is built with C. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Sshwifty versus MIT for ttyd. Ttyd is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Sshwifty. Ttyd is the more established project (first released 2016), while Sshwifty arrived in 2019. Ttyd has the considerably larger community, at 12,411 GitHub stars versus 3,127.
Why pick each one
Choose Sshwifty if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
Choose ttyd if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 12.4k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Sshwifty or ttyd better?
Neither is universally better. ttyd has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Sshwifty and ttyd free and open-source?
Yes. Sshwifty is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ttyd under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Sshwifty and ttyd with Docker?
Sshwifty: yes. ttyd: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Sshwifty or ttyd?
ttyd has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Sshwifty. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.