Bast vs MobaXterm

Bast is a command-line tool and terminal interface for managing SSH hosts and connecting to servers. It uses the system OpenSSH client and relies on the existing SSH configuration as its source of truth. Users can search, sort, group, tag, color, favorite, and hide hosts, then connect through SSH or use port forwarding. A dual-pane Files tab supports local and remote file browsing and transfers through OpenSSH SFTP. The key manager can generate, import, export, and install SSH keys. Bast documents host synchronization with GCP, AWS, Azure, box.ascii.dev, Upstash Box, Vercel Sandbox, and Hetzner Cloud. Its Vault encrypts managed hosts and keys on the client using a passphrase-derived key and XChaCha20-Poly1305; the server stores ciphertext. Users can self-host the web app and keep Vault data on their own infrastructure. Bast is free, with plans for macOS, Linux, and Windows 11. Windows requires OpenSSH Client commands on PATH. Vercel Sandbox sessions are capped at five hours.

MobaXterm combines remote-computing tools and Unix commands in a Windows application. It supports remote sessions over SSH, Telnet, Rlogin, RDP, VNC, XDMCP, FTP, SFTP, Mosh, and Serial, among other listed protocols. Its embedded X server supports OpenGL and extensions for running remote graphical applications on Windows. An SSH session can open a graphical SFTP browser for transferring files between a computer and a remote server. The terminal includes Unix commands, and additional tools can be added through downloadable plugins or the MobApt package manager. The session manager can route connections through an SSH gateway before reaching an end server. MobaXterm is offered as a single executable that can run from a USB stick without admin rights. The Home Edition has limits of 12 sessions, 2 SSH tunnels, and 4 macros; its license does not obligate the maker to provide technical assistance or maintenance. Professional Edition costs $69 per user per year, with first-year updates and optional renewal. The maker, MobaXterm, was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Toulouse, France.