SSH TUNNEL MANAGER · macOS

Every tunnel, one click from your menu bar.

Pipeworks keeps your SSH forwards alive and a click away — local, remote, and SOCKS — without a terminal window babysitting them.

Download for macOS See what it does
macOS 14+Apple silicon & IntelNotarized .dmgFree · Pro from $19
PipeworksFileEditTunnelView
Pipeworks Thu 9:41
Pipeworks 4 tunnels
Prod API L
127.0.0.1:8080 api.internal:80
2h 14m
Metrics Proxy SOCKS
127.0.0.1:1080 SOCKS
Connecting…
Staging DB L
127.0.0.1:5432 db.staging:5432
Edge Cache R
0.0.0.0:6379 127.0.0.1:6379
What it does

A tunnel manager that gets out of the way.

Everything you'd reach for ssh to do, parked in the menu bar and kept alive for you.

Local, remote & SOCKS

Forward a port inward, expose one outward, or open a dynamic SOCKS proxy. Every -L / -R / -D — without the flag-juggling.

Lives in the menu bar

No window to babysit. Your tunnels sit one click away, and the icon itself tells you whether anything's up.

Autostart & auto-reconnect

Flag the ones you always need. Pipeworks opens them at login and quietly re-dials whenever a connection drops.

Live status & throughput

Connected, connecting, failed — color-coded at a glance, with a throughput sparkline on every active tunnel.

Three kinds of pipe

Forward it any direction.

ssh -L

Local forward

Reach a remote service as if it were running on your own machine.

ssh -L 5432:db.staging:5432 ada@ssh.staging
ssh -R

Remote forward

Expose a local port to the far side — share a dev server or webhook target.

ssh -R 6379:localhost:6379 root@edge
ssh -D

SOCKS proxy

One dynamic proxy that routes everything through the bastion.

ssh -D 1080 ada@bastion
Glance and know

One little pipe, three honest states.

The menu-bar glyph mirrors your tunnels — empty when nothing's up, flashing while it connects, full when you're piped through.

Empty pipe
Idle

Empty pipe

Nothing connected — the menu bar stays quiet and out of mind.

Filling up
Connecting

Filling up

The body holds while the mouth flashes — Pipeworks is dialing in.

Full pipe
Connected

Full pipe

Tunnels are live. One glance at the bar and you know it.

Pricing

Free to start. Pro when you need it.

Run one tunnel free, forever — no account. Go Pro for unlimited: subscribe yearly, or buy a Lifetime license you keep for good.

Pro Annual
$19/ year
Unlimited tunnels, updates while you subscribe.
  • Unlimited active & saved tunnels
  • Local, remote & SOCKS forwards
  • Autostart & auto-reconnect
  • Updates while subscribed
Subscribe
Best value
Pro Lifetime
$49one-time
Buy once. Yours for good.
  • Everything in Annual
  • Yours forever — no renewal
  • All future updates included
  • One machine at a time
Buy Lifetime

Not sure yet? Pipeworks runs free forever — one active tunnel, three saved, no account. Download it and upgrade any time.

Direct from us

Not on the App Store — on purpose.

App Store sandboxing would choke real SSH tunnels, so Pipeworks ships straight from here. It's signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple — macOS verifies it before it ever runs.

Signed & notarized by Apple
1

Download the .dmg

About 4 MB, signed and notarized. Opens to a familiar drag-and-drop window.

2

Drag to Applications

Drop the Pipeworks icon into your Applications folder. That's the install.

3

Open it

First launch, right-click → Open. After that it just lives in your menu bar.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is it a one-time purchase or a subscription?
Both. Subscribe yearly for Pro, or buy a Lifetime license and keep it for good. There's also a free tier — one active tunnel and three saved, forever, no account.
How many Macs does a license cover?
One machine at a time. Move your license between your Macs freely — deactivate on one to free the seat for another.
Why isn't Pipeworks on the Mac App Store?
App Store sandboxing blocks the process control real SSH tunnels need. Pipeworks ships straight from here, signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
Does it store my passwords or keys?
No. Pipeworks drives your existing ssh setup — it reads ~/.ssh/config and uses the system SSH agent. Nothing about your hosts or keys leaves your Mac.
Can I try it before I buy?
Yes — Pipeworks is free to run: one active tunnel and three saved, forever, no account or card. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited whenever you like.
What do I need to run it?
macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, on Apple silicon or Intel.
What's your refund policy?
Email within 30 days for a full refund, no interrogation.
Pipeworks

Pipe it through.

Notarized, out of your way, and free to run — one tunnel, no account. Go Pro for unlimited when you're ready.

Download Pipeworks · .dmg
~4 MB · macOS 14 Sonoma+ · Apple silicon & Intel
Free forever — one tunnel, no account. Go Pro for unlimited.