STEVEN.JOHNSTON
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№ 02 · SSH Terminal + AI Buddy · 2026

SHELLMATE.

A multi-tab SSH terminal with an AI sidekick that watches your session and suggests the right command before you Alt-Tab to ChatGPT. Cloud or local model — your call.

~/work
core-01
logs
+
$ ssh core-01.lab
Last login: Sat May 02 10:11:42
steven@core-01 : ~ $ show ip ospf neighbor
Neighbor ID Pri State Address
10.0.0.2 1 FULL/DR 10.0.0.2
10.0.0.3 1 FULL/BDR 10.0.0.3
10.0.0.4 1 INIT/DROTHER 10.0.0.4
steven@core-01 : ~ $
buddy · DeepSeek
noticed:
10.0.0.4 stuck in INIT — looks like a one-way OSPF hello. Check the neighbour's interface.
suggested:
show interfaces gi0/2 | i hello|adjac
run edit
ask buddy…
FIG. 01 · STYLISED PREVIEW · DROP REAL CAPTURE HERE
CLIENT
Self-funded R&D
DURATION
12 weeks
ROLE
Sole designer / engineer
STATUS
Beta

THE
PROBLEM.

Engineers Alt-Tab to ChatGPT a hundred times a day to ask 'what was the flag for…' or 'why is this pod crashing?' — pasting context out, pasting answers back. The terminal already has the context. The AI should live next to it, not in another window.

THE
APPROACH.

01

Multi-tab SSH terminal first: profiles, themed tabs, copy/paste, light/dark, tab flash on AI command inject. Treat the terminal as a first-class app, not a wrapper.

02

Side pane runs a chat with the model of your choice — Claude, OpenAI, DeepSeek, xAI Grok, or local Ollama. Unified dropdown so you can switch mid-session.

03

Suggested commands are previewed inline; one keystroke runs them in the active tab. Nothing executes silently — ever.

04

Jira integration so a ticket → terminal → AI loop happens without leaving the app. Token meter so you can see exactly what the context is costing.

SELECTED VIEWS ↓
~/work
core-01
logs
+
$ ssh core-01.lab
Last login: Sat May 02 10:11:42
steven@core-01 : ~ $ show ip ospf neighbor
Neighbor ID Pri State Address
10.0.0.2 1 FULL/DR 10.0.0.2
10.0.0.3 1 FULL/BDR 10.0.0.3
10.0.0.4 1 INIT/DROTHER 10.0.0.4
steven@core-01 : ~ $
buddy · DeepSeek
noticed:
10.0.0.4 stuck in INIT — looks like a one-way OSPF hello. Check the neighbour's interface.
suggested:
show interfaces gi0/2 | i hello|adjac
run edit
ask buddy…
FIG. 02 · PLACEHOLDER
~/work
core-01
logs
+
$ ssh core-01.lab
Last login: Sat May 02 10:11:42
steven@core-01 : ~ $ show ip ospf neighbor
Neighbor ID Pri State Address
10.0.0.2 1 FULL/DR 10.0.0.2
10.0.0.3 1 FULL/BDR 10.0.0.3
10.0.0.4 1 INIT/DROTHER 10.0.0.4
steven@core-01 : ~ $
buddy · DeepSeek
noticed:
10.0.0.4 stuck in INIT — looks like a one-way OSPF hello. Check the neighbour's interface.
suggested:
show interfaces gi0/2 | i hello|adjac
run edit
ask buddy…
FIG. 03 · PLACEHOLDER

THE OUTCOME

Backends
5
Claude, OpenAI, DeepSeek, xAI, Ollama
Latency
p95 < 250ms
for cloud models
Context window
Live token meter
no surprise bills
Shellmate is the AI tool I actually kept using past the novelty week — because the AI is where my work already is.

BUILT WITH.

ElectronTypeScriptxterm.jsClaudeOpenAIDeepSeekxAI GrokOllamaJira API
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STEVIE.JOHNSTON@
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Glasgow · Scotland
UTC+0 / UTC+1
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