Watch remote processes through SSH in CTK

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1. Establish trusted SSH access first

Prepare the host in your normal SSH workflow on the Mac. Verify its fingerprint through a trusted channel before adding or accepting a host key. CTK rejects unknown or changed keys instead of silently trusting them.

Use an account with only the privileges appropriate for your environment. CTK’s read-only probe does not reduce the underlying privileges of a general-purpose administrator key. Do not weaken host-key checking to make the watch connect.

02

2. Associate a local repository

Connect the relevant local project folder in CTK, then choose Start watching and SSH. The local folder gives this watch its workspace association; it is not copied to the server. An eligible plan must include SSH.

Enter Host or SSH profile using the trusted SSH alias or hostname. Leave User blank to use the profile’s configured user, or enter the intended user explicitly. CTK uses the system SSH client and existing identity configuration.

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3. Select the absolute remote folder

Enter Remote folder as an absolute path, such as /srv/orders. Choose the actual working directory of the processes you want to observe, or its parent when the processes run in descendants.

This path is not a container name, a URL or a relative folder on the Mac. A containerized service whose host process cannot be associated with that folder is not made observable by typing the container’s name here.

04

4. Start and inspect the evidence

Choose Start watching and inspect the resulting process observations. Confirm the remote scope and timestamp. If no process belongs to the selected working folder, check the target and how the application was started rather than assuming the application has failed.

CTK runs a fixed process-reading probe. It does not deploy code, restart the server or inspect arbitrary remote files. Forwarding and other unnecessary SSH session features are disabled for the observation connection.

05

5. Recover access without changing the diagnosis

A network or authentication failure can leave the last successful snapshot visible with a stale indication. That does not establish that a remote service stopped. Restore trusted connectivity and wait for a fresh read.

Stopping the SSH watch stops collection and releases its service usage; it does not terminate the remote application. Keep local process records private: command arguments can themselves contain sensitive application information.

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What success looks like

You see processes associated with the intended remote folder and can distinguish process state from application health. Host trust and account privileges remain explicit prerequisites rather than hidden assumptions.