Finding if an SSH connection succeeded - swift

Question

I am trying to make my program connect to another computer using SSH. It would be generic (the user would provide the hostname, IP, and password), so keys can't be used. This is the code I have so far:
func terminalSSH(host:String, password:String, IP:String) {
let pipe = Pipe()
let args = ["-p", password, "ssh", "\(host)#\(IP)"]
let task = Process()
task.launchPath = "/usr/local/bin/sshpass"
task.arguments = args
task.standardOutput = pipe
task.launch()
let data = pipe.fileHandleForReading.readDataToEndOfFile()
let output = NSString(data: data, encoding: String.Encoding.utf8.rawValue)
print(output)
}
My issue is that I can't see if the connection was successful using sshpass. I want the user to be notified the moment the connection succeeded or failed. Also, it seems like sshpass is the only command I can use to SSH because Terminal forces the user to input the password. I know this code works to establish a connection because the system.log on my test target computer displays it. Thanks.

Answer 1

Firstly, you should not be using sshpass and a plain text password, but private keys.
To get the tasks exit code, you can use the following:
task.waitUntilExit()
let status = task.terminationStatus
Do know however, that waitUntilExit will block the return of this method until the session has ended.
Whether the session ends in 10 minutes, or immediately due to an error, you can evaluate the terminationStatus to see how the program exited.
If the return code is 0, everything exited nicely; if there is a non-zero value, you can take different actions based on the reason for failure.
task.waitUntilExit()
let status = task.terminationStatus
if status == 0 {
print("Graceful exit.")
} else {
print("Failed with code " + status)
}
Detecting and responding to a successful connection will be more difficult here, as the waitUntilExit call may block for as long as the ssh session is open.
You also have the option of using a loop, and checking task.isRunning.