Technology1 min read

Osewa – An open-source alternative to SSH and Mosh

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The architecture maintains a single host-side process per session to retain the pseudo-terminal, screen state, and unacknowledged inputs. It handles data transport over QUIC or TCP without manual configuration, using a WebSocket fallback whenever UDP traffic faces network blocks. Furthermore, command execution and port forwarding run simultaneously across the exact same underlying connection. To preserve responsiveness under constrained bandwidth, keystroke delivery takes priority over bulk data so clients see current screen updates rather than delayed logs.

Key points

  • A single host process per session retains the PTY, current screen state, and unacknowledg…: A single host process per session retains the PTY, current screen state, and unacknowledged user inputs.
  • Keystrokes are strictly prioritized over bulk data transfers to keep terminal interfaces…: Keystrokes are strictly prioritized over bulk data transfers to keep terminal interfaces responsive on slow connections.
  • Users can switch between phones and laptops across varying networks without losing their…: Users can switch between phones and laptops across varying networks without losing their running terminal sessions.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The terminal protocol for the age of agents. Your agent runs for hours on the host; check in from a laptop or a phone, on any network.

The session is its TCP connection: it dies when the network changes, and each key waits behind the download.

Survives roaming, but its own emulator can garble your screen. UDP only, no forwards, no scrollback.

The session lives on the host with Ghostty's engine. Forwards and exec share the connection, over QUIC or TCP.

CONNECT + RUN A COMMAND · LOWER WINS

QUIC gets a 300 ms head start; if UDP is blocked, the WebSocket wins. Nothing to configure.

One process per session on the host keeps the PTY, the screen and your unacked input.

Keystrokes go ahead of bulk, and a slow link gets the latest screen, not a backlog.

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