Assist
Dev tools
terminal sharing
SHOW HN2019
How HN took it
2 positive, 6 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 4 critical, out of 14 comments about the project. Thread score -0.14.
Privacy: 1 for, 1 againstIdea: 0 for, 1 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Simpler architecture with untrusted tunnel servers is a security advantage over tmate.
From 1 comment
tmate is pretty similar but there are a few things about it architecturally that are different I think. The person connecting to you connects through a tmux server on the…
samsharps on HN
Clear FAQ on what the tunnel server can and cannot see.
From 2 comments
Great questions - these are covered in our FAQ (admittedly buried at the bottom of the home page): https://assist.app/faq.html Can the assist servers access my computer? > No,…
gsundeep on HNThis looks great! I just wish I didn’t have a use for it
werber on HN
Objections
Free alternatives like tmate and tmux already exist.
From 3 comments
Why would I pay money for a thing that already exists and is free? https://tmate.io
zwarag on HNIf you're working on the same machine (say via SSH) you can also share a session with tmux. https://www.hamvocke.com/blog/remote-pair-programming-with-tmux/
Tepix on HNIt's perhaps worth noting that the with the venerable GNU Screen, you can more or less achieve this by enabling multiuser mode and then doing screen -x.
bshimmin on HN
Subscription price seems high for the service.
From 1 comment
$5/month/user seems high when you're not providing any hosting. Also you need at least $10/month to actually do anything which again seems high. This type of software should…
vxNsr on HN
Assistee gets full control of the machine; no read-only mode yet.
From 2 comments
Is it possible to prevent the assister from actually executing the commands on your system? I could use this in a lot more places if the assister could see my screen/output and…
solidasparagus on HNYeah I was thinking about that... Can the remote person do this: assist scp $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub me@myserver.com/user/downloads
discordance on HN
Site lacks company identity and legal or subscription terms.
From 2 comments
And your site doesn't show who you are, where you're based. Identification Nr, nothing. Not very trustworthy
zwarag on HNThere isn't a link to terms of the subscription, at least I couldn't find one on mobile. Is the single user license for a single host or a single assister? Do both users need a…
rsstack on HN
Requests
Read-only mode where the assister proposes commands instead of running them.
From 2 comments
Is it possible to prevent the assister from actually executing the commands on your system? I could use this in a lot more places if the assister could see my screen/output and…
solidasparagus on HNYou may also want to consider allowing the user to specify whether the default is read-only mode or read/write. In similar applications such as http://join.me, the default…
javerikr on HN
Clarify subscription and license terms on the site.
From 2 comments
There isn't a link to terms of the subscription, at least I couldn't find one on mobile. Is the single user license for a single host or a single assister? Do both users need a…
rsstack on HNOnly the user typing “assist” needs to have a subscription and they can use it across all of their machines on a single license. I’ll clarify this on the site - thanks!
gsundeep on HN
Show company identity and location on the site.
From 1 comment
And your site doesn't show who you are, where you're based. Identification Nr, nothing. Not very trustworthy
zwarag on HN
Questions
Does the assister have full sudo and unrestricted command access?
From 1 comment
Do you allow outright all and any commands in the terminal, sudo and all? Does the data go through your pipes at all or strictly between assist clients?
theflyinghorse on HN
Does session data pass through the assist servers?
From 2 comments
Do you allow outright all and any commands in the terminal, sudo and all? Does the data go through your pipes at all or strictly between assist clients?
theflyinghorse on HNGreat questions - these are covered in our FAQ (admittedly buried at the bottom of the home page): https://assist.app/faq.html Can the assist servers access my computer? > No,…
gsundeep on HN
Is the license per device or per person?
From 2 comments
There isn't a link to terms of the subscription, at least I couldn't find one on mobile. Is the single user license for a single host or a single assister? Do both users need a…
rsstack on HNOnly the user typing “assist” needs to have a subscription and they can use it across all of their machines on a single license. I’ll clarify this on the site - thanks!
gsundeep on HN
Alternatives named
tmate
From 2 comments
Why would I pay money for a thing that already exists and is free? https://tmate.io
zwarag on HNHonest question: What's the difference with tmate? I haven't seen a reference to it in the site and it looks pretty similar in purpose and usage from a quick look.
ORioN63 on HN
tmux shared sessions
From 1 comment
If you're working on the same machine (say via SSH) you can also share a session with tmux. https://www.hamvocke.com/blog/remote-pair-programming-with-tmux/
Tepix on HN
GNU Screen multiuser mode
From 1 comment
It's perhaps worth noting that the with the venerable GNU Screen, you can more or less achieve this by enabling multiuser mode and then doing screen -x.
bshimmin on HN
join.me
From 1 comment
You may also want to consider allowing the user to specify whether the default is read-only mode or read/write. In similar applications such as http://join.me, the default…
javerikr on HN