ttyd vs WebSSH
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ttyd | WebSSH |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 74 · Good | 41 · Fair |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | C | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,411 | ★ 5,144 |
| First released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Replaces | PuTTY | PuTTY |
What are ttyd and WebSSH?
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
WebSSH
WebSSH is a simple web application that provides an SSH client in the browser using Python, Tornado, and WebSockets. It supports password and public key authentication.
- SSH in the browser
- Public key and password auth
- Full-screen terminal
- Simple deployment
ttyd vs WebSSH: key differences
Ttyd is written in C, while WebSSH is built with Python. Ttyd is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for WebSSH. Ttyd has the considerably larger community, at 12,411 GitHub stars versus 5,144.
Why pick each one
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
Choose WebSSH if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.1k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is ttyd or WebSSH 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 ttyd and WebSSH free and open-source?
Yes. ttyd is licensed under MIT and WebSSH under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ttyd and WebSSH with Docker?
ttyd: yes. WebSSH: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ttyd or WebSSH?
ttyd has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for WebSSH. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.