toolbox connect ssh remote tool connect timeout

Same issue, local VM (OrbStack, so macOS). Gateway can connect and works fine but the Toolbox App, that worked fine last week is now unable to connect over ssh.

@691079755 hi,

Could you please specify the approximate time when you noticed the problem so I can trace it in the logs? If the server reboot helps, you may try terminating the Toolbox agent process on the server manually and check if it helps. However, it's not a solution, and I also don't see a sign that the agent is stuck.

Ola Mattsson hi,

Can you attach the logs as well? You can share them through https://uploads.jetbrains.com

I'm also using OrbStack with both Gateway and Toolbox, but I haven't faced this issue. Could you describe your setup a little more? Are you running a container for a long time without shutting it down? Also, which image/OS do you use? Thanks.

Hi Semyon Martynchik 

Actually, I just got it working again by cleaning up some stuff in my ~/.ssh/config. It didn't occur to me that might be an issue since there were no problems accessing that way.

Restarting Toolbox, logging out/in, creating a new VM, none of these attempt helped.

I'm running AlmaLinux 9 in OrbStack VMs, shutting it down/restarting it perhaps once a week, sometimes more often. I'm also using some Alma 9 build containers for building x85 binaries with CLion Docker support, works great.

So what makes the Toolbox App work differently? I'm on an M3 Max and macOS 15.6.

@Semyon Martynchik hi

The time is probably the period when I provided the logs. Whenever this situation occurs, I have to restart my server to solve it. My server uses the Debian system

Ola Mattsson, two main differences here.

1. Toolbox maintains the connection using OpenSSH, while Gateway is based on SSH built into the IntelliJ Platform, which doesn’t support every OpenSSH feature.
2. The way both tools manage the IDEs and their state is different. Gateway relies on the SSH commands and a short-lived helper. Toolbox has a running agent on the backend to keep in touch with IDEs and Toolbox installed locally.

691079755 , I see a connection state change at 2025-08-06 10:34:08-10:34:09. Might be related to the network quality. On the screenshot you attached, it looks like the ping is quite high. Usually, we expect no more than 200 ms to work consistently.

Also, please ensure you are using the 2025.1 or above IDE version. It supports additional reconnection features that are compatible with Toolbox.

Hi anyone, i fix this problem for me:

1. Open remote VM
2. pkill sshd (close all ssh sessions)
3. Reconnect ssh with toolbox 

That's soo terrible fix, but it works!