diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index ed69c37..dc6a356 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2395,6 +2395,7 @@ version = "3.9.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "f1d395473824516f38dd1071a1a37bc57daa7be65b293ebba4ead5f7abb017a2"
 dependencies = [
+ "anyhow",
  "bitflags 2.11.1",
  "ctor",
  "futures",
@@ -2402,6 +2403,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "napi-sys",
  "nohash-hasher",
  "rustc-hash",
+ "tokio",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -5593,6 +5595,7 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "async-trait",
+ "futures",
  "ipnetwork",
  "iroh",
  "rand 0.10.1",
@@ -5620,6 +5623,8 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "napi",
  "napi-derive",
+ "russh",
+ "tokio",
  "wraith-core",
 ]
 
diff --git a/crates/wraith-napi/Cargo.toml b/crates/wraith-napi/Cargo.toml
index 3908592..e24ef2e 100644
--- a/crates/wraith-napi/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wraith-napi/Cargo.toml
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ edition = "2021"
 crate-type = ["cdylib"]
 
 [dependencies]
-wraith-core = { path = "../wraith-core" }
-napi = "3"
-napi-derive = "3"
\ No newline at end of file
+wraith-core = { path = "../wraith-core", features = ["tls", "iroh"] }
+napi = { version = "3", features = ["async", "error_anyhow"] }
+napi-derive = "3"
+tokio = { version = "1", features = ["io-util", "sync"] }
+russh = "0.49"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/wraith-napi/src/connect.rs b/crates/wraith-napi/src/connect.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d7049a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/wraith-napi/src/connect.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,249 @@
+use std::net::SocketAddr;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
+use napi::bindgen_prelude::*;
+use napi_derive::napi;
+use russh::client;
+use tokio::io::{AsyncReadExt, AsyncWriteExt};
+use tokio::sync::Mutex;
+
+use wraith_core::auth::client_auth::{ClientAuthConfig, ClientHandler};
+use wraith_core::auth::keys::KeySource;
+use wraith_core::transport::{TcpTransport, TlsTransport, Transport};
+
+const DEFAULT_HOST: &str = "wraith-control";
+const DEFAULT_PORT: u32 = 0;
+
+#[napi(object)]
+pub struct WraithConnectOptions {
+    pub server: Option<String>,
+    pub peer: Option<String>,
+    pub transport: String,
+    pub identity: Option<Either<String, Buffer>>,
+    pub tls_server_name: Option<String>,
+    pub insecure: Option<bool>,
+    pub iroh_relay: Option<String>,
+    pub proxy: Option<String>,
+}
+
+fn resolve_key_source(identity: &Option<Either<String, Buffer>>) -> Result<KeySource> {
+    match identity {
+        None => Err(Error::new(
+            Status::InvalidArg,
+            "identity is required: provide a file path (string) or key data (Buffer)",
+        )),
+        Some(Either::A(path)) => Ok(KeySource::File(path.into())),
+        Some(Either::B(buf)) => Ok(KeySource::Memory(buf.to_vec())),
+    }
+}
+
+fn parse_addr(addr_str: &str) -> Result<SocketAddr> {
+    addr_str.parse().map_err(|e| {
+        Error::new(
+            Status::InvalidArg,
+            format!("invalid server address '{}': {}", addr_str, e),
+        )
+    })
+}
+
+#[napi]
+pub struct WraithStream {
+    read: Arc<Mutex<tokio::io::ReadHalf<russh::ChannelStream<client::Msg>>>>,
+    write: Arc<Mutex<tokio::io::WriteHalf<russh::ChannelStream<client::Msg>>>>,
+}
+
+#[napi]
+impl WraithStream {
+    #[napi]
+    pub async fn read(&self, size: u32) -> Result<Buffer> {
+        let mut buf = vec![0u8; size as usize];
+        let mut guard = self.read.lock().await;
+        let n = guard.read(&mut buf).await.map_err(|e| {
+            Error::new(Status::GenericFailure, format!("read failed: {}", e))
+        })?;
+        if n == 0 {
+            return Ok(Vec::<u8>::new().into());
+        }
+        buf.truncate(n);
+        Ok(buf.into())
+    }
+
+    #[napi]
+    pub async fn write(&self, data: Buffer) -> Result<()> {
+        let mut guard = self.write.lock().await;
+        guard.write_all(&data).await.map_err(|e| {
+            Error::new(Status::GenericFailure, format!("write failed: {}", e))
+        })?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[napi]
+    pub async fn close(&self) -> Result<()> {
+        let mut guard = self.write.lock().await;
+        guard.shutdown().await.map_err(|e| {
+            Error::new(Status::GenericFailure, format!("close failed: {}", e))
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+#[napi]
+pub async fn connect(options: WraithConnectOptions) -> Result<WraithStream> {
+    let key_source = resolve_key_source(&options.identity)?;
+    let auth_config = Arc::new(ClientAuthConfig::from_key_source(key_source).map_err(|e| {
+        Error::new(Status::InvalidArg, format!("invalid identity key: {}", e))
+    })?);
+
+    let transport_mode = options.transport.to_lowercase();
+    let handler = ClientHandler::from_config(&auth_config);
+    let username = "wraith".to_string();
+
+    let config = Arc::new(client::Config::default());
+
+    let mut handle: client::Handle<ClientHandler> = match transport_mode.as_str() {
+        "tcp" => {
+            let server = options.server.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
+                Error::new(Status::InvalidArg, "server is required for tcp transport")
+            })?;
+            let addr = parse_addr(server)?;
+            let transport = TcpTransport::new(addr);
+            let stream = transport.connect().await.map_err(|e| {
+                Error::new(Status::GenericFailure, format!("tcp connect failed: {}", e))
+            })?;
+            client::connect_stream(config, stream, handler)
+                .await
+                .map_err(|e| {
+                    Error::new(
+                        Status::GenericFailure,
+                        format!("ssh handshake failed: {}", e),
+                    )
+                })?
+        }
+        "tls" => {
+            let server = options.server.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
+                Error::new(Status::InvalidArg, "server is required for tls transport")
+            })?;
+            let addr = parse_addr(server)?;
+            let mut transport = TlsTransport::new(addr);
+            if let Some(ref name) = options.tls_server_name {
+                transport = transport.with_server_name(name);
+            }
+            if let Some(true) = options.insecure {
+                transport = transport.with_insecure(true);
+            }
+            let stream = transport.connect().await.map_err(|e| {
+                Error::new(Status::GenericFailure, format!("tls connect failed: {}", e))
+            })?;
+            client::connect_stream(config, stream, handler)
+                .await
+                .map_err(|e| {
+                    Error::new(
+                        Status::GenericFailure,
+                        format!("ssh handshake failed: {}", e),
+                    )
+                })?
+        }
+        "iroh" => {
+            return Err(Error::new(
+                Status::GenericFailure,
+                "iroh transport is not yet supported in napi connect()".to_string(),
+            ));
+        }
+        _ => {
+            return Err(Error::new(
+                Status::InvalidArg,
+                format!("unknown transport '{}'; expected tcp, tls, or iroh", transport_mode),
+            ));
+        }
+    };
+
+    let auth_ok = auth_config
+        .authenticate(&mut handle, &username)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| {
+            Error::new(Status::GenericFailure, format!("ssh auth failed: {}", e))
+        })?;
+    if !auth_ok {
+        return Err(Error::new(Status::GenericFailure, "ssh authentication rejected"));
+    }
+
+    let channel = handle
+        .channel_open_direct_tcpip(DEFAULT_HOST, DEFAULT_PORT, "127.0.0.1", 0)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| {
+            Error::new(
+                Status::GenericFailure,
+                format!("failed to open ssh channel: {}", e),
+            )
+        })?;
+
+    let stream = channel.into_stream();
+    let (read_half, write_half) = tokio::io::split(stream);
+
+    Ok(WraithStream {
+        read: Arc::new(Mutex::new(read_half)),
+        write: Arc::new(Mutex::new(write_half)),
+    })
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    const ED25519_PRIVATE_KEY: &str = "-----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----\nb3BlbnNzaC1rZXktdjEAAAAABG5vbmUAAAAEbm9uZQAAAAAAAAABAAAAMwAAAAtzc2gtZW\nQyNTUxOQAAACBOfInDyRS33JEeDNT8xd10qRdwFN8z/QukCOgEIkv01QAAAJiQ+NvMkPjb\nzAAAAAtzc2gtZWQyNTUxOQAAACBOfInDyRS33JEeDNT8xd10qRdwFN8z/QukCOgEIkv01Q\nAAAECIWwJf7+7MOuZAOOWmoQbE9i/5GxjKsFrtJHjZ34E/fk58icPJFLfckR4M1PzF3XSp\nF3AU3zP9C6QI6AQiS/TVAAAAD3VidW50dUBuczUyODA5NgECAwQFBg==\n-----END OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----\n";
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_key_source_file_path() {
+        let identity = Some(Either::<String, Buffer>::A("/path/to/key".to_string()));
+        let result = resolve_key_source(&identity);
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+        match result.unwrap() {
+            KeySource::File(p) => assert_eq!(p.to_str(), Some("/path/to/key")),
+            _ => panic!("expected File variant"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_key_source_buffer() {
+        let identity = Some(Either::<String, Buffer>::B(Buffer::from(ED25519_PRIVATE_KEY.as_bytes().to_vec())));
+        let result = resolve_key_source(&identity);
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+        match result.unwrap() {
+            KeySource::Memory(data) => assert!(!data.is_empty()),
+            _ => panic!("expected Memory variant"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resolve_key_source_missing() {
+        let identity: Option<Either<String, Buffer>> = None;
+        let result = resolve_key_source(&identity);
+        assert!(result.is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_addr_valid() {
+        let addr = parse_addr("127.0.0.1:22");
+        assert!(addr.is_ok());
+        assert_eq!(addr.unwrap().port(), 22);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_addr_invalid() {
+        let addr = parse_addr("not-an-address");
+        assert!(addr.is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn auth_config_from_memory_key() {
+        let source = KeySource::Memory(ED25519_PRIVATE_KEY.as_bytes().to_vec());
+        let config = ClientAuthConfig::from_key_source(source);
+        assert!(config.is_ok());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn auth_config_from_invalid_key() {
+        let source = KeySource::Memory(b"not-a-key".to_vec());
+        let config = ClientAuthConfig::from_key_source(source);
+        assert!(config.is_err());
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/wraith-napi/src/lib.rs b/crates/wraith-napi/src/lib.rs
index 5459320..fd2f6e6 100644
--- a/crates/wraith-napi/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/wraith-napi/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
 #[allow(unused_imports)]
 #[macro_use]
-extern crate napi_derive;
\ No newline at end of file
+extern crate napi_derive;
+
+mod connect;
\ No newline at end of file