parasite

Parasite

A secure remote server management tool with a terminal-based UI. Connect to remote agents over TLS, open shells, browse files, sync editors, and launch VS Code — all from a single TUI.

Quick Start

Agent (remote server)

cargo build --release -p parasite-agent
./target/release/parasite-agent

The agent will:

• Generate a self-signed TLS certificate on first run
• Generate an authentication token (printed to stdout)
• Register itself via mDNS for automatic discovery
• Listen on 0.0.0.0:4444 by default (configurable via config.toml)

Client (local machine)

cargo build --release -p parasite-client
./target/release/parasite

The client will:

• Open a TUI in your terminal
• Auto-discover agents on the local network via mDNS
• Allow manual connections via host/port/token

Configuration

Parasite uses a TOML config file auto-generated on first run:

• Unix: ~/.config/parasite/config.toml
• Windows: %APPDATA%/parasite/config.toml

See Configuration for all available options.

Features

• Encrypted connections — All traffic over TLS with certificate pinning (TOFU)
• Multiple sessions — Connect to several agents simultaneously
• Shell access — Full PTY terminals with VT100 emulation
• File browser — Navigate, create, rename, and delete remote directories
• Editor sync — Mutagen-powered file synchronization for local editors
• VS Code integration — Launch VS Code Remote-SSH sessions
• Agent management — Install, start, stop agents via SSH
• mDNS discovery — Agents are discovered automatically on the LAN
• Cross-platform — Unix (Linux/macOS) and Windows support

Architecture

Parasite is a Rust workspace with three crates:

Crate	Description
parasite-core	Shared protocol, config, scripts, crypto, auth, discovery
parasite-agent	Remote service — PTY, file ops, system info
parasite-client	TUI client — ratatui-based interface

Documentation

• Architecture — Crate structure, data flow, patterns
• Protocol — Wire format, message types
• Security — TLS pinning, SSH hardening, path validation
• Client Architecture — Components, dispatch, actions
• Agent Architecture — Server, PTY, file operations
• SSH Operations — Install, connect, shutdown
• Configuration — Config file, runtime directory, scripts
• Development — Build, test, extend