pkg⋅mgr²
Remote Hosts
Inspect and maintain packages on Macs and Linux hosts over SSH from the same pkg⋅mgr² window.
A laptop, desktop, build machine, or Linux server can each accumulate a different package inventory. Remote Hosts puts those inventories in one sidebar. Each host gets its own Installed and Outdated sections, with the same package details and search you use for the local Mac.
Select a remote package to update or uninstall it. On Linux, Update System runs the host’s native system upgrade. pkg⋅mgr² runs the work on the remote machine and streams command progress back into the app.
Browse Installed and Outdated packages by host without mixing one machine’s state into another.
Run the native package-manager commands on the selected host and follow their output from pkg⋅mgr².
Confirm the removal in the app, then let the package manager on that host handle it.
Remote Macs need Package Manager Manager in /Applications. Linux hosts are agentless: pkg⋅mgr² reads /etc/os-release, detects APT, apk, DNF, or Zypper, and checks global npm, Cargo, and uv packages when those tools are present.
Configure SSH before opening pkg⋅mgr². The connection must work without a password or host-key prompt. Test the same destination in Terminal:
ssh pangolin true
Verify the host key when SSH asks. Set up a key or SSH agent if the login still requests a password. Aliases from ~/.ssh/config work, including aliases that route over a local network, VPN, or Tailscale.
Choose Package Manager Manager → Add / Edit Hosts…, press Add Host, then enter that SSH destination. You can add an optional display name. The host appears in the sidebar as soon as pkg⋅mgr² loads its inventory.
Your SSH setup
The app uses /usr/bin/ssh with your config, keys, agent, and known_hosts. It stores the host destination and optional display name.
Remote Macs need compatible pkg⋅mgr² versions, and the remote copy must live in /Applications. Linux system-package management supports APT/dpkg, apk, DNF/RPM, and Zypper/RPM. Inventory includes packages that provide commands in standard binary directories.
System-package actions use noninteractive sudo. If sudo -n is unavailable, pkg⋅mgr² still shows system packages but keeps them read-only. Global npm packages use sudo only when npm’s global directory is not writable by the SSH user.
pkg⋅mgr² enables SSH batch mode and strict host-key checking. It cannot answer interactive password, key-passphrase, two-factor, or first-connection prompts. Load passphrase-protected keys into your SSH agent and connect once in Terminal before adding the host.
The remote host must be awake, reachable, and accepting SSH connections. macOS exposes that service under System Settings → General → Sharing → Remote Login. Firewalls, VPN rules, and account permissions still apply.
Remote actions support inventory, refresh, update, system update, and uninstall. Installing a new package on a remote host is not supported yet. Removing a host from pkg⋅mgr² deletes its saved entry; it does not change the host or its SSH configuration.