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Transit vs SecureCRT

The professional's terminal for over two decades — meet the investigation assistant it never had. Transit gives you a SecureCRT-class terminal free, imports your sessions in one click, and adds an AI that can't change your gear.

The short version

Choose Transit when
your day is investigating network gear and you want the terminal free, your SecureCRT sessions imported in one click, and an AI proposing read-only, vendor-gated diagnostics you approve command by command.
Choose SecureCRT when
your workflow leans on SecureCRT's scripting engines (Python, VBScript, JScript), mainframe-grade emulation like TN3270, RDP tabs on Windows, or a perpetual license your procurement already understands.

What is SecureCRT?

SecureCRT, from VanDyke Software, has been the professional network engineer's terminal since the 1990s — and it earned the default. Tabbed and tiled sessions, four scripting engines (Python, VBScript, JScript, PerlScript) with a recorder, emulation from VT100 to TN3270 mainframes, serial COM sessions, Telnet/TLS, SSH1 for the museum rack, and RDP tabs on Windows. It ships for Windows, macOS, and Linux under a perpetual license with an update term, and it is still actively developed — release 9.7.3 landed in July 2026.

If you've worked a NOC in the last twenty years, you've watched someone drive SecureCRT like an instrument. Nothing on this page argues with that.

What is Transit?

Transit is an investigation-only network AI assistant built into a professional SSH and serial terminal. You connect to your switches, routers, and firewalls the way you always have — the AI investigates alongside you. It reads the same scrollback you see, proposes read-only diagnostic commands, and explains what it finds. It can investigate your network; it can't change your gear.

Investigation-only is architecture, not a promise. The AI has exactly four abilities — list open sessions, read redacted scrollback, propose a command, ask you a question — and every command it proposes must pass a per-vendor permit list and your explicit click before it runs. Always both, never either. Device output is redacted before any model sees it, and the AI has no code path to your credentials. Transit AI Software Inc. completed a SOC 2 Type I examination in July 2026, and the safety architecture is patent pending.

The terminal itself is a free download — multi-session tabs, serial console support, syntax highlighting, quick copy/paste, session export, and one-click import of your existing SecureCRT, MTPuTTY, MobaXterm, ssh_config, or CSV inventory — no account required. The AI is the subscription, when you want it.

Transit vs SecureCRT at a glance

Capability SecureCRT Transit
Price & license of the terminal Commercial license — a year of updates and support included, 1- or 3-year update packages, volume tiers, 30-day evaluation [1] Free download, no account; the investigation-only AI is the subscription
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux (Ubuntu LTS builds); an iOS edition exists [2] macOS (Apple Silicon), Windows, Linux (.deb — Ubuntu 24.04+/Debian 13+)
Tabs & session management Yestabbed sessions, tab groups, tiled sessions, clones, button bar, saved workspaces [3] Yesmulti-session tabs, groups, split panes, multiple named button bars, broadcast input
Serial / console access Yesserial COM sessions; SSH2/SSH1, Telnet, Telnet/TLS, and RDP tabs (Windows) [3] YesUSB-to-serial console sessions alongside SSH
Scripting & automation YesPython, VBScript, JScript, PerlScript, plus a script recorder [3] Partialbutton-bar macros and broadcast input; no scripting engine — the AI covers the investigate-and-explain half instead
Terminal emulation breadth YesVT100–VT320, ANSI, SCO ANSI, TN3270, Wyse, Xterm, Linux console [3] Partialxterm-class emulation built for network CLIs; no TN3270/mainframe emulation
Bulk session import & export YesExport Settings produces an XML settings file (e.g. SCRTConfig.xml); text import wizard for CSV/TSV [4] Yesone-click import of your SecureCRT SCRTConfig.xml — hosts, folders, key paths, jump hosts; stored passwords are never read
AI in the terminal Not offereddoes not advertise AI features (as of July 2026 — product, features, automation, pricing, and release pages checked) [5] Yesan investigation-only network AI assistant that works your live sessions
Human approval on every AI command n/a — no AI [5] Yeseach proposed command passes a per-vendor permit list AND your explicit click — always both
Network-vendor awareness Partialbroad protocol and emulation support for network gear; no per-vendor command policy [3] Yesdefault-deny permit lists for Junos, Cisco IOS/IOS-XE/NX-OS/IOS-XR, Arista EOS, PAN-OS — plus bring-your-own-policy
Where AI data goes n/a — no AI [5] device output is redacted before any model sees it; credentials stay in your OS keychain; no training on your data

✓ offered · ◐ partial · — not offered / not what the tool is for. Bracketed numbers link to the SecureCRT page each claim was checked against; the full source list with dates is at the bottom of this page.

Where SecureCRT wins

  • Scripting depth: Python, VBScript, JScript, and PerlScript engines plus a recorder that writes the script for you — decades of team runbooks are built on this. ↗
  • Emulation breadth up to mainframes — TN3270, Wyse, SCO ANSI — that a network-focused terminal doesn't attempt. ↗
  • Protocol coverage for the long tail: SSH1 for ancient gear, Telnet/TLS, and RDP as a first-class tab type on Windows. ↗
  • A perpetual license to the version you buy, with updates sold as a term — a model procurement already understands, from a vendor shipping since 1995. ↗

Where Transit wins

  • The terminal costs nothing — tabs, groups, split panes, serial, syntax highlighting, quick copy/paste, session export — where SecureCRT is a paid license per seat.
  • The investigation half of the job: an AI that reads your live session, proposes read-only diagnostics, and explains what the output means — SecureCRT hands you a superb terminal and wishes you luck.
  • Structural safety for AI on production gear: per-vendor permit lists AND a human click on every proposed command; config verbs blocked outright.
  • Switching is a five-minute job: one-click SCRTConfig.xml import brings hosts, folders, key paths, and jump hosts — credentials are never read from the file.
  • Investigations end in a written summary — the escalation note or ticket artifact.

Switching from SecureCRT is a five-minute job

Transit's import wizard reads your SCRTConfig.xml — the file SecureCRT's Export Settings produces — and brings across hosts, ports, usernames, session folders, key-file paths, and jump-host references in one pass. SSH2 sessions import; Telnet, serial, and RDP sessions are listed in the notes so nothing disappears silently. SecureCRT's encrypted password vault and configuration passphrase are never read — not even into a discarded variable. You enroll each credential once, straight into your OS keychain, and Transit's UI can never read it back.

What should stay on SecureCRT: VBScript/Python automation your team has built over years, and anything that needs TN3270-class emulation — Transit doesn't do mainframes. Many engineers run both for a while; the free terminal makes that experiment cost nothing, and the AI subscription only starts when the investigation assistant earns it.

Frequently asked questions

Can Transit really import my SecureCRT sessions?

Yes — point the import wizard at your SCRTConfig.xml (SecureCRT's Export Settings output). Hosts, ports, usernames, session folders, key-file paths, and jump-host references come across; SSH2 sessions import and anything else (Telnet, serial, RDP sessions) is listed in the import notes. SecureCRT's encrypted password vault and config passphrase are never read — you enroll credentials once, straight into your OS keychain.

Is Transit's terminal actually SecureCRT-class?

For network work, yes: multi-session tabs and groups, split panes, serial console, named button bars, broadcast input, syntax highlighting, quick copy/paste, session export. Two honest gaps are in the table above — Transit has no scripting engine and no TN3270-grade emulation. If your workflow is VBScript automation against mainframes, keep SecureCRT for that.

Does SecureCRT have AI features?

As of July 2026, VanDyke doesn't advertise any AI features for SecureCRT — we checked the product, features, automation, pricing, and release pages. That's the entire premise of this page: Transit's terminal is the free part, and the investigation-only AI on top is what a terminal alone was never going to give you.

Can Transit's AI change my devices?

No. The AI has exactly four abilities — list open sessions, read redacted scrollback, propose a command, ask a question — and every proposed command must pass a default-deny per-vendor permit list AND your explicit click. Config and write verbs are blocked. It investigates; it can't change your gear.

Try it yourself

The terminal is free. Really.

Download Transit and use it as your everyday SSH and serial client at no cost — no account, no trial clock. Add the investigation-only AI when you want it.

Start 14-day free trial Download the free terminal

Free download · macOS · Windows · Linux · No account required

SecureCRT is a trademark of VanDyke Software, Inc. Transit AI Software Inc. is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by VanDyke Software, Inc.; the SecureCRT name is used only to identify the software being compared.

Comparison last verified July 20, 2026. Product capabilities, packaging, and pricing change — every SecureCRT claim on this page was checked against SecureCRT's own public pages on the dates below:

Spotted something out of date or plain wrong? Report an inaccuracy and we'll fix it fast. Transit™ is a product of Transit AI Software Inc.