Frequently asked questions

Shely is an SSH client with an AI assistant built in. You save your servers, open a real terminal, move files over SFTP, keep your keys in an encrypted vault and share what you choose with a team. The assistant helps with commands and with working out why something broke.

No. Sign in from any browser and you can start working. If you prefer an app, there is one for Windows and a native app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. They all use the same account.

Yes. In the browser, your keystrokes go through the Shely gateway to your server. Native direct SSH and SFTP connect from your device without the gateway. Account synchronisation and AI requests still reach Shely, and AI providers receive the context you submit.

It depends on what it is. Your Shely account password never leaves your device, and neither does the key that opens your vault. SSH keys, certificates and other keychain items are encrypted on your device first, so we hold only a scrambled copy that we cannot open. A password you save for a server is different. We encrypt it and keep it so Shely can connect for you without unlocking your vault, which means our gateway can decrypt it. A private key used for a browser connection can reach the gateway in memory for authentication. Native direct connections use credentials on your device. Storage encryption does not protect against every compromise.

Shely helps with commands, with troubleshooting and, on the higher plans, with bigger multi-step jobs. Every plan comes with a monthly allowance of AI credits, and the assistant uses them as you ask for help. Unused credits do not roll over. Pro, Max 5 and Max 20, and the Pro and Business team plans, will be able to buy extra credits, which do not expire and are used after the month’s credits. The AI is rolling out in stages, so you will not see all of it on day one.

A reply costs only what it uses. A credit is about 10,000 tokens of work, counting what Shely writes back as five times what you send, so there is no minimum charge. A short question with a paragraph answer costs roughly a quarter of a credit, and a long troubleshooting reply a credit or two. These figures are our best estimate and may change as we measure what the models really cost before launch, so read them as a sense of size, not a promise.

That is what Sync is for. Free keeps your hosts, keys and vault on the device where you add them. Sync, and every plan above it, keeps them in step across all your devices. Sync is coming soon.

Free. It has the terminal, files, keys, a local encrypted vault and basic AI command help. Sync, Plus, Pro, Max 5 and Max 20 for individuals, and Startup, Plus, Pro and Business for teams, are coming soon. What they include may still change.

Make a team and invite people by email. There are three roles: founder, admin and member. Members can connect to the team’s shared servers without being told the password. We store that password encrypted on our gateway, and only admins and above can reveal it. SSH keys are not shared with a team yet. Team plans are priced per seat with a two-seat minimum, and the AI credits are pooled across the team. Team admins can never see your personal hosts, vault or AI history.

Yes. Turn on two-factor sign-in or add a passkey in your account settings.

Yes. The SFTP browser handles uploads and downloads, and you can edit a small file in place without copying it to your machine first.

Only the admins it is sealed to. The gateway seals each recording to your organisation’s admins and then discards the key, so we cannot play it back later. While a session is running, the gateway does handle it, because that is how it reaches your server.

Not from the outside yet. A penetration test is still to do. We would rather say that than imply a review that has not happened.