Introduction to kaiport
What kaiport is, its core concepts, what is free and what kaiport Pro adds, and how this documentation is organized.
kaiport is an AI-first app for SSH, SFTP, FTP/FTPS, S3, WebDAV and Azure Blob Storage, for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone and iPad. Its assistant, AI Pilot, works inside the sessions and folders you have open, with the AI model you choose. kaiport is free to use without an account; kaiport Pro adds AI Pilot and more. This page introduces the main ideas and shows where to find what in this documentation.
What you can do with kaiport
- Work on servers. Open SSH sessions in browser-style tabs, split a tab into panes, and find connections, snippets and commands in the command palette.
- Move and edit files. Browse a server over SFTP right next to its terminal. FTP/FTPS, S3, WebDAV and Azure Blob connections open a transfer view with your computer on one side and the storage on the other. Text files open in a built-in editor.
- Get help from AI Pilot. Describe a task in plain words. AI Pilot runs commands in the session you are looking at, reads the output, asks when something is unclear and shows every step. By default, nothing runs without your approval.
- Keep your data with you. There is no account and no cloud: connections, credentials and chats stay on your device, and credentials are encrypted with your system's keychain.
kaiport runs on macOS 12 or later (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows 10 (64-bit) and 11, and Linux x64. You get it from the Mac App Store, kaiport.dev or the Microsoft Store; see Installation. kaiport for iPhone and iPad is in the App Store; see kaiport for iPhone and iPad.
Core concepts
Start window and terminal window
When kaiport starts, the start window opens. It lists your saved connections with groups, favorites and tags, has a Quick connect field, and holds the Settings. When you open a connection, a terminal window takes over. You can have several terminal windows open at once; ⌘⇧HCtrlShiftH brings the start window back. See Connections and the start window.
Connections
A connection is a saved entry for an SSH server or a storage service (FTP/FTPS, S3, WebDAV or Azure Blob). Passwords, passphrases, keys and tokens are stored encrypted with your system's keychain.
Tabs, panes and sessions
Every tab in a terminal window runs its own session. You can split a tab into panes, side by side or stacked, and each pane gets a session of its own. See The terminal window and Split panes.
File browser, transfer view and editor
In an SSH tab, the file browser ⌘BCtrlB shows the server's files over SFTP in a panel next to the terminal. Storage connections open the transfer view instead of a terminal: your computer on the left, the storage on the right, with drag and drop and a transfer queue. Text files open in an editor window of their own, and saving writes them back. See File browser, Transfer view and Editor.
AI Pilot and Autopilot
AI Pilot ⌘JCtrlJ is the assistant in the terminal, the transfer view and the editor, and part of kaiport Pro. It uses the provider and model you set up, with your own API key or a local model. You approve every command before it runs. With Autopilot on, AI Pilot runs commands without asking, but potentially dangerous commands still need your approval, and on storage connections deleting, renaming and overwriting always ask. See AI Pilot overview.
Free and kaiport Pro
| Free | kaiport Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | €29.99 or US$29.99 per year in the App Store, 14 days free for new subscribers |
| Account | Not needed | Not needed; you subscribe with your Apple ID |
| Terminal, SFTP, FTP/FTPS, S3, WebDAV, Azure, editor, import and export | Included | Included |
| Saved connections | Up to three | Unlimited |
| AI Pilot with your own model | – | Included |
| Jump hosts | – | Included |
| Port forwarding, MCP server, server views | – | Included on the Mac |
kaiport Pro is sold in the App Store on iPhone and iPad and in the Mac App Store, and one subscription covers all three. The download from kaiport.dev and the Microsoft Store version are the free version for now. AI models are not included: AI Pilot uses your own API key with a provider, or a local model, and you pay the provider directly. The details are in Free and kaiport Pro.
Privacy
- No account, no telemetry. kaiport collects no data. The app connects to your servers and storage, to the AI provider you set up and, in the download from kaiport.dev, to the download server
get.kaiport.devto check for updates. In the App Store versions, Apple handles kaiport Pro; nothing about the purchase is sent to us. - Bring your own model. AI requests go straight from your computer to your provider or to a local model server. Your prompts never pass through kaiport's servers. You also decide whether AI Pilot may read file contents at all; see Context and privacy.
- Encrypted credentials. Passwords, keys and tokens are encrypted with the macOS Keychain, Windows DPAPI or the Secret Service (libsecret) on Linux.
The legal details are in the privacy policy.
Languages
The app is available in English and German. By default it follows your system: German when your system language is German, English otherwise. To change it, open Settings → General → Language and choose System, English or Deutsch. This documentation is available in both languages, too.
How this documentation is organized
- Getting started: installation, a quick start for your first ten minutes, and free and kaiport Pro.
- Connections: the start window and connections, SSH, port forwarding, storage connections, import and export.
- Terminal: the terminal window, split panes, the command palette, appearance, shell integration.
- Files: file browser, transfer view, editor.
- AI Pilot: from the overview and the setup to approvals and safety and the tools reference.
- Settings and security: settings, security, updates, keyboard shortcuts.
- Mobile apps: kaiport for iPhone and iPad.
- Help: troubleshooting, frequently asked questions, the glossary and support.
Keyboard shortcuts are shown for the system you are reading on, for example ⌘PCtrlP for the command palette.