SHSelfHostIndex

WebSSH vs WebSSH2

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
WE WebSSH SSH client running in a web browser via WebSockets VS WE WebSSH2 Web-based SSH client using xterm.js and WebSockets
FeatureWebSSHWebSSH2
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score41 · Fair86 · Excellent
CategoryRemote Access & VPNRemote Access & VPN
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguagePythonTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, source
GitHub stars★ 5,144★ 2,773
First released20172017
ReplacesPuTTYPuTTY

What are WebSSH and WebSSH2?

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

WebSSH2

WebSSH2 is an open-source web SSH client built with xterm.js and WebSockets. It can be self-hosted to provide browser-based terminal access to SSH servers.

  • Browser SSH terminal
  • xterm.js frontend
  • WebSocket transport
  • Docker ready

WebSSH vs WebSSH2: key differences

WebSSH is written in Python, while WebSSH2 is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for WebSSH versus Apache-2.0 for WebSSH2.

Why pick each one

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
WebSSH details

Choose WebSSH2 if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
WebSSH2 details

Frequently asked questions

Is WebSSH or WebSSH2 better?

Neither is universally better. WebSSH has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are WebSSH and WebSSH2 free and open-source?

Yes. WebSSH is licensed under MIT and WebSSH2 under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run WebSSH and WebSSH2 with Docker?

WebSSH: yes. WebSSH2: yes.

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