Session Types

NyaTerm is not just an SSH client. It is a desktop app that puts multiple terminal and remote-desktop workflows into one workspace. It currently supports six session types:

• SSH
• Local Terminal
• Telnet
• Serial
• RDP
• VNC

Understanding the differences helps explain why some panels or enhancements only appear for certain tabs.

At a glance

Session Type	Typical scenario	Key capabilities
SSH	Remote Linux / Unix administration	SFTP, OTP, resource / GPU / process / Docker monitoring, proxy, jump host, tunnels, algorithm preferences
Local Terminal	Local shell work, scripts, builds	Shared terminal UI, command history, split panes
Telnet	Legacy devices, lab environments, compatibility troubleshooting	Terminal workspace features with Backspace Mode, but not SSH-only features
Serial	Routers, switches, boards, embedded debug ports	Serial port settings, Backspace Mode, and terminal workspace features
RDP	Windows Remote Desktop or graphical administration entry points	Remote desktop display, NLA/CredSSP, certificate verification, proxy / SSH jump host, text clipboard, window fitting, and reconnects
VNC	Raw TCP VNC services, VM consoles, lightweight graphical remote desktops	Raw / ZRLE / Tight / Tight JPEG display, None / VNC Auth, proxy / SSH jump host, window scaling, text clipboard, and reconnects

SSH

SSH is the most capable session type in NyaTerm. It is the best fit when you need to:

• Log in to remote Linux / Unix hosts
• Browse and transfer remote files
• Use OTP, jump hosts, or proxies
• Watch remote resource, GPU, process, and Docker monitoring
• Configure port tunnels
• Fine-tune negotiated SSH algorithms

If you need any of these, use SSH first:

• File explorer
• Auto-upload / round-trip editing
• Remote resource monitoring
• SSH tunnels in the Network panel

Local Terminal

Local Terminal is useful when you want your local shell workflow inside the same NyaTerm workspace, for example:

• Running frontend or Rust builds locally
• Running scripts, reading logs, or using Git
• Comparing local and remote output side by side

Its value is not remote access. Its value is that it shares the same workspace model as SSH sessions:

• Tabs
• Split panes
• Terminal search
• Command history and suggestions
• Optional line numbers, timestamps, and highlighting

When creating a local terminal, you can also choose:

• The shell path, such as powershell.exe, cmd.exe, bash, or wsl.exe
• The working directory

Telnet

Telnet is useful for:

• Maintaining older equipment
• Lab environments
• Compatibility scenarios where SSH is not available

You still get NyaTerm's terminal workspace model, but not SSH-specific security or file features. In practice, that usually means no:

• SFTP file explorer
• OTP binding
• SSH jump host
• SSH resource monitoring

If your goal is simply to open a traditional remote terminal quickly, Telnet can be the more direct choice.

For devices that expect specific erase behavior, Telnet also exposes Backspace Mode so you can choose Ctrl+H (BS) or DEL (0x7F).

Serial

Serial sessions are useful for connecting to:

• Network device console ports
• Routers and switches
• Development boards, embedded devices, and debug ports

When creating a serial session, you can configure:

• Port
• Baud rate
• Data bits
• Parity
• Stop bits
• Backspace Mode

Serial sessions still live inside NyaTerm's tabbed and split workspace, so you can watch serial output in one pane while running commands in an SSH or local terminal pane.

RDP

RDP sessions are for Windows hosts or other environments that expose a Remote Desktop endpoint. They share NyaTerm's saved-connection, tab, and split-pane workspace model, but the underlying session is a graphical desktop instead of a text terminal.

When creating an RDP session, you can configure:

• Host, port, username, password, and domain
• Network Level Authentication (NLA / CredSSP)
• Certificate policy: ask on unknown certificates, strict rejection, or accept for this session
• Network: a saved proxy or SSH jump host
• Display mode: fit to window or fixed size
• Text clipboard mode
• Automatic reconnect attempts

When connecting to an RDP host with an unknown certificate, NyaTerm opens a certificate verification dialog. You can accept the certificate for the current connection only or accept and remember it. If a remembered certificate changes later, NyaTerm prompts again before connecting.

RDP does not provide terminal command history, the SFTP file explorer, or remote resource monitoring. If you need command-line enhancements, use SSH, Local Terminal, Telnet, or Serial instead.

VNC

VNC sessions are for traditional RFB / VNC services such as VM consoles, lab environments, and lightweight graphical desktops. Like RDP, they use a remote-desktop pane and share NyaTerm's saved-connection, recent-use, tab, and split-pane workspace model.

When creating a VNC session, you can configure:

• Host and port
• Security mode: automatic, None, or classic VNC Authentication
• Network: a saved proxy or SSH jump host
• Display mode: fit to window, actual size, or stretch
• Text clipboard toggle
• Automatic reconnect attempts
• Shared / view-only behavior

The VNC protocol layer has no TLS / VeNCrypt support, but its underlying TCP connection can be established through a saved SOCKS5 / HTTP / ProxyCommand proxy or SSH jump host. Classic VNC Authentication passwords are limited to 8 bytes; NyaTerm rejects longer passwords instead of truncating them. Framebuffer encodings are advertised by default as DesktopSizePseudo, ZRLE, Tight, then Raw; Tight JPEG is decoded in the backend into the same RGBA framebuffer path, and Raw remains the stable fallback. CopyRect, cursor pseudo-encoding, and remote resize are not supported. Text clipboard exchange is limited to Latin-1 text so binary or oversized payloads do not enter the VNC protocol path.

VNC Interop Matrix

Scenario	Security	Encoding	Status
Scripted RFB 3.8 fixture	None	ZRLE / Tight / Tight JPEG -> RGBA RawImage	Automated test passed
Scripted RFB 3.8 fixture	classic VNC Auth	ZRLE / Tight / Tight JPEG -> RGBA RawImage	Automated test passed
TigerVNC	None / VNC Auth	Raw / ZRLE / Tight / JPEG	Real server untested
TightVNC	None / VNC Auth	Raw / Tight / JPEG	Real server untested
x11vnc / LibVNCServer	None / VNC Auth	Raw / ZRLE / Tight / JPEG	Real server untested
QEMU / KVM VNC	None / VNC Auth	Raw / ZRLE / Tight / JPEG	Real server untested

How to choose

A simple rule of thumb:

• Need the full remote workflow? Use SSH
• Need a local shell? Use Local Terminal
• Need a traditional remote terminal? Use Telnet
• Need a device console or debug port? Use Serial
• Need a graphical Windows remote desktop? Use RDP
• Need a VNC / VM console graphical desktop? Use VNC

Mix them in one workspace

One of NyaTerm's strengths is that you can mix these session types in the same workspace, for example:

• SSH on the left to watch remote logs
• Local Terminal on the right to run packaging or Git commands
• A Serial tab open to watch device boot output
• An RDP pane open to inspect a Windows remote desktop
• A VNC pane open to operate a VM console

That is why some features are documented as session-specific. The workspace is shared, but the capability boundary still depends on the underlying session type.

Screenshot suggestion

• Suggested image path: /img/docs/session-types/new-session-tabs.png
• Show the SSH / Local Terminal / Telnet / Serial tabs in the new-session window
• Keeping the default field areas visible helps readers understand the differences