Terminal URL Scheme Support

Both macOS and Windows ship with terminal apps. If they support URL schemes, you can start an SSH session from a hyperlink. Here’s what works today.

URL Schemes

macOS

ssh://<username>@<host>:<port>

Click to test

By default this opens Terminal, but you can remap it to iTerm2 or another terminal app via settings.

Windows

No built-in support. You can configure PuTTY or other tools to handle ssh:// (e.g., https://gist.github.com/sbiffi/11256316).

Windows does have other built-in schemes, such as launching the Store to a product page: test link. Also note that Windows 11 ships with Windows Terminal preinstalled; older versions require manual installation.

Final Thoughts

It’d be great if Windows added native terminal URL handling—macOS has a clear edge here.