Waypoint

Waypoint is a modern, tabbed multi-protocol connection manager for Windows, built with WPF (.NET 8) and the Windows 11 Fluent / Mica design. It handles RDP, SSH, VNC, Telnet and serial sessions, an SFTP/FTP file manager and a built-in REST/API client — all in one window. RDP uses the official Microsoft ActiveX control (mstscax); SSH / Telnet / serial run on an embedded xterm.js terminal. It aims to be a comfortable daily replacement for mstsc.exe, PuTTY, WinSCP and Postman — and a modern alternative to dated connection managers.

Status: early but usable. See the roadmap for what's next.

Download

Grab the latest Waypoint-<version>-win-x64.exe from the Releases page and run it — it's a self-contained single file, no .NET install required (Windows 10/11 x64).

Not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn on first run: More info → Run anyway.

Features

Protocols, one tree

• RDP — Microsoft's official ActiveX control (mstscax): dynamic resolution that follows the window/full-screen size (falls back to smart-sizing on older hosts), clipboard/drive/printer/audio redirection, server-identity verification level, RD Gateway / jump-host and admin session.
• SSH — embedded xterm.js terminal: password and private-key auth (including passphrase-protected keys), host-key verification (trust-on-first-use with fingerprint prompt), local port-forwarding tunnels, copy-on-select, Ctrl+Shift+C/V, Ctrl+wheel font size.
• VNC — connect to any VNC server in a tab, next to your RDP and SSH sessions.
• Telnet & serial (COM) — classic terminal sessions for switches, routers and embedded devices (configurable baud rate for serial).
• SFTP / FTP / FTPS — a dual-pane file manager: browse local and remote side by side, upload and download files and whole folders recursively, with progress.
• REST / HTTP — a built-in, Postman-style API client (see below).
• Web links — open a saved URL / web panel.

Built-in REST/API client

• Collections & folders of saved requests; per-collection environments with {{variables}} substituted into URL, query, headers, body and auth.
• Request history, pretty-printed JSON and response headers.
• Import from Postman — collections and environments.
• JavaScript scripts (Jint) — pre-request & test scripts with a pm.* API (e.g. capture a token into a variable and reuse it in the next request).
• Bearer/Basic secrets go to the Windows Credential Manager, never into the collection file.

Workspace

• Tabbed sessions across every protocol; multiple sessions per server, duplicate tab, tab reorder, tear off a tab into a standalone window and dock it back (seamless reconnect).
• Server list with groups, favorites (pinned), collapsible groups, one-click group rename, a collapsible sidebar, search/filter, drag-and-drop reordering and reachability dots (background TCP probe).
• Full-screen mode with an auto-hiding toolbar and an "other connections" flyout; focus mode maximizes and melts the chrome away — just the tab strip and the session.
• Multi-monitor, mstsc-style — run several standalone session windows across several screens.
• Quick connect — host, host:port, user@host or DOMAIN\user@host without saving.
• Keyboard shortcuts — Ctrl+Tab cycle tabs, Alt+1..9 jump, Ctrl+W close, Ctrl+F/Ctrl+K focus search, Ctrl+±/0 zoom, F11 full screen.
• Dashboard & recents, UI zoom (Ctrl+scroll), dark / light / system theme, English & Polish UI (switchable live), system-tray with a global quick-connect hotkey.

Credentials & migration

• Windows Credential Manager (DPAPI) for all secrets — never written to app files.
• Shared credential profiles — one login reused across many servers.
• Built-in password / token / key generator; credential prompt at connect time and "connect as" for retrying with other credentials.
• One-click migration — import from mstsc history, .rdp files, mRemoteNG (confCons.xml), RDCMan (.rdg) and FileZilla sites; export back to .rdp or a full profile.
• Diagnostics & audit — per-server TCP port test and an optional connection log.

Known limitations

• Not code-signed — SmartScreen warns on first run (More info → Run anyway).
• SSH host keys use trust-on-first-use with a fingerprint prompt; existing OpenSSH known_hosts files are not imported (yet).
• The embedded terminal (SSH/Telnet/serial) needs the WebView2 Runtime (built into Windows 11; a free Microsoft download on older Windows 10).
• Keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+Tab, Alt+1..9, F11, …) work while focus is on the app chrome. Inside a connected session the keyboard goes to the remote — same as mstsc.

Requirements

• Windows 10 / 11 (x64) — the app relies on the Windows RDP ActiveX control.
• .NET 8 SDK to build (the runtime to run a published build).

Build & run

# from the repo root
dotnet restore RdpManager.sln
dotnet build   RdpManager.sln -c Release
dotnet run     --project src/RdpManager/RdpManager.csproj -c Release

Or open RdpManager.sln in Visual Studio 2022 (17.8+) and press F5.

To produce the self-contained single-file build shipped on Releases:

dotnet publish src/RdpManager/RdpManager.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true `
  -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true `
  -p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=true
# -> src/RdpManager/bin/Release/net8.0-windows/win-x64/publish/Waypoint.exe

Or use the helper script (tests, then single-file publish to dist/):

.\scripts\release.ps1                        # build only -> dist\Waypoint-<version>-win-x64.exe
.\scripts\release.ps1 -Version 1.1.0 -Publish  # build + tag v1.1.0 + push (the Release workflow publishes it)

(Double-click scripts\release.cmd for a guided prompt.)

Code signing (maintainers)

The Release workflow signs the published .exe with Authenticode when two repository secrets are present — without them it still ships an unsigned build, so releases keep working before a certificate is configured:

Secret	Contents
SIGNING_PFX_BASE64	Base64 of the signing .pfx (code-signing certificate)
SIGNING_PFX_PASSWORD	password for that .pfx

A self-signed certificate is enough to protect auto-update: in-app update download verifies that the new build is signed by the same certificate as the copy already installed (publisher pinning / trust-on-first-use), and refuses to install a mismatched or unsigned file. A self-signed cert does not remove the SmartScreen "unknown publisher" warning — that requires an OV/EV certificate from a CA. Each release's SHA-256 is printed in the notes for manual verification.

Tests

dotnet test RdpManager.sln -c Release

Unit tests cover the pure, UI-independent logic (helpers, settings/server-list serialization). UI and RDP-control behavior require a real Windows desktop session and are verified manually.

Security model

• Passwords are stored in the Windows Credential Manager (DPAPI, tied to the current Windows user) under the target RdpManager:<server-id> — the same secure store mstsc uses. They are never serialized to disk by the app. The same store holds shared credential-profile logins and REST auth secrets (Bearer tokens / Basic passwords); REST environment variables are plain config, so keep tokens in the request's Auth tab, not in a {{variable}}.
• Server list (%APPDATA%\RdpManager\servers.json) and settings (%APPDATA%\RdpManager\settings.json) contain only non-secret metadata (host, port, username, redirection flags). The password field is [JsonIgnore].
• In-memory session passwords are cleared on disconnect when they are not saved.
• Server identity verification is configurable per server and defaults to warn on failure (RDP AuthenticationLevel = 2) to mitigate man-in-the-middle attacks. You can raise it to require or lower it to don't check per connection.
• SSH host keys are verified trust-on-first-use: the SHA256 fingerprint is shown on first connect, remembered in %APPDATA%\RdpManager\known_hosts.json, and a changed key raises a warning (defaulting to reject).

Found a vulnerability? See SECURITY.md.

RDP interop assemblies

src/RdpManager/libs/AxMSTSCLib.dll and MSTSCLib.dll are interop wrappers generated with AxImp.exe from the system component C:\Windows\System32\mstscax.dll. They only expose type definitions for the Microsoft RDP ActiveX control that ships with Windows; the control itself is provided by your Windows installation.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please build and run the tests before opening a PR.

License

MIT © 2026 Filip Benklewski