Plain OpenSSH through a bastion (jump) host is the classic way in, with tmux to keep work running. Paperboat keeps SSH working and adds terminals that survive disconnects, files, secrets, previews and tunnels, with no open port to maintain.
Checked against SSH + bastion's own documentation and pricing, November 2026. Sources are listed under the table.
A bastion needs a public address, an open port 22 and someone to keep it patched and its keys in order.
Paperboat machines make only outbound connections and reach each other directly or through relays; there is nothing to expose.
$ ssh -J bastion.example.com dev@10.0.1.5$ pb ssh devboxWith SSH you add tmux or screen on every host to keep work running and to share it.
Paperboat terminals run on the machine and keep running when your laptop sleeps or the network drops. When you come back, from the same computer, another one or a browser, you see what happened while you were away, and you can let someone watch or type along.
$ ssh devbox -t tmux new -A -s work$ pb devboxPaperboat generates SSH host names, so plain ssh, scp, rsync, VS Code Remote-SSH and anything else built on OpenSSH work as before, without keys to copy around.
$ ssh devbox.{localDomain}
$ rsync -a ./site devbox.{localDomain}:siteReverse forwarding (ssh -R) needs a public server you run.
pb preview gives a port a public HTTPS link in one command, and pb tunnel keeps a permanent address with your own domain, on every plan.
$ ssh -R 80:localhost:3000 server.example.com$ pb preview 3000Every answer in the SSH + bastion column carries a number that links to the page of theirs that says it. Put a second tool beside it
A shell on your machine that you can leave and come back to.
Run one command on another machine and get its output and exit code.
Use ssh and the tools built on it, without managing keys or opening ports.
Send a file to a machine without setting anything up.
The secrets your programs need, delivered to the machine that runs them.
The same settings on every machine, from a repository you control.
A public link to a port on your machine, for as long as you need it.
A public address for a service that stays the same.
Your machines reach each other's ports without exposing them.
Who could read your traffic on the way.
Working with other people, and deciding who may do what.
Which parts you can run on your own servers.
Where it runs.
How you pay, and what is free.
What each product does, from its own documentation, as of November 2026. “No” means its documentation describes no such feature. Found something out of date? The other product's page wins; tell us and we fix ours.
www.openssh.org/, November 2026
No. It uses it: pb ssh and the generated host names run your normal ssh with keys and host trust handled.
Install Paperboat here, then on a second machine. Free for personal use, no card needed.
$ curl -fsSL https://get.pprbt.dev/install | bash > irm https://get.pprbt.dev/install.ps1 | iex