# mkj/dropbear

Dropbear SSH

Repository: https://github.com/mkj/dropbear
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/dropbear
Homepage: https://matt.ucc.asn.au/dropbear/dropbear.html
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-07-23T14:50:17+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 91/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 94, release rhythm 82, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4915, "days_push": 41, "days_rel": 41, "gap_med": 57, "n_releases_24m": 10}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2371, forks 469 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:41.793574+00:00)

## What it is
Dropbear is a small SSH server and client written in C, designed for low memory and disk footprints. It is widely used on embedded Linux systems such as wireless routers and supports OpenSSH-compatible public key authentication.

## Use cases
- run an ssh server on an embedded linux router
- lightweight ssh server for memory-constrained devices
- ssh client that fits in a tiny static binary
- replace openssh on a low-resource system
- single busybox-style binary with ssh server client and keygen
- tunnel through multiple ssh hosts in one command

## When to choose
- you need SSH on an embedded or memory-constrained Linux system
- you want a tiny statically linked ssh server or client
- you want a busybox-style multi-call ssh binary to save disk space
- you need OpenSSH-compatible authorized_keys public key auth in a small package

## When to avoid
- you need full OpenSSH feature parity such as encrypted hostkeys
- you need GSSAPI, Kerberos, or advanced OpenSSH options
- you are on a full desktop/server where OpenSSH is already available and size is not a concern

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: stable
- function: ssh, security, cryptography, cli
- domain: security, networking, embedded-systems, developer-tools, self-hosted
- platform: windows, bsd, embedded, cross-platform, cli
- tags: ssh-server, ssh-client, embedded-linux, small-footprint, busybox-style, openbsd-compatible, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- mkj/dropbear (main) score 91

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:41.793574+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:35:22.899345+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mkj/dropbear (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:41.793574+00:00, sha c41baf6a6f47)
  - homepage: https://matt.ucc.asn.au/dropbear/dropbear.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:16:15.353698+00:00, sha 69afa00c0dd0)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.