diff --git a/src/backend/ssh/terminal-auth-helpers.ts b/src/backend/ssh/terminal-auth-helpers.ts
index 786a6a3a..e34bc91e 100644
--- a/src/backend/ssh/terminal-auth-helpers.ts
+++ b/src/backend/ssh/terminal-auth-helpers.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,19 @@ import ssh2Pkg, {
 } from "ssh2";
 
 const { BaseAgent } = ssh2Pkg;
+const DEFAULT_PORT_KNOCK_TIMEOUT_MS = 1000;
+
+type Sleep = (ms: number) => Promise<void>;
+
+type PortKnockingOptions = {
+  tcpTimeoutMs?: number;
+  udpTimeoutMs?: number;
+  createTcpSocket?: () => net.Socket;
+  createUdpSocket?: () => dgram.Socket;
+  wait?: Sleep;
+};
+
+const sleep: Sleep = (ms) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
 
 export class MemoryAgent extends BaseAgent {
   private key: ParsedKey;
@@ -97,34 +110,59 @@ export async function applyAgentAuth(
 export async function performPortKnocking(
   host: string,
   sequence: Array<{ port: number; protocol?: string; delay?: number }>,
+  options: PortKnockingOptions = {},
 ): Promise<void> {
+  const createTcpSocket = options.createTcpSocket ?? (() => new net.Socket());
+  const createUdpSocket =
+    options.createUdpSocket ?? (() => dgram.createSocket("udp4"));
+  const wait = options.wait ?? sleep;
+  const tcpTimeoutMs = options.tcpTimeoutMs ?? DEFAULT_PORT_KNOCK_TIMEOUT_MS;
+  const udpTimeoutMs = options.udpTimeoutMs ?? DEFAULT_PORT_KNOCK_TIMEOUT_MS;
+
   for (const knock of sequence) {
-    const protocol = knock.protocol || "tcp";
-    const delay = knock.delay ?? 100;
+    const port = Number(knock.port);
+    if (!Number.isInteger(port) || port <= 0 || port > 65535) continue;
+
+    const protocol = (knock.protocol || "tcp").toLowerCase();
+    const delay = Number(knock.delay ?? 100);
 
     await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
       if (protocol === "udp") {
-        const client = dgram.createSocket("udp4");
-        client.send(Buffer.alloc(0), knock.port, host, () => {
+        const client = createUdpSocket();
+        let settled = false;
+        const timeout = setTimeout(() => finish(), udpTimeoutMs);
+        const finish = () => {
+          if (settled) return;
+          settled = true;
+          clearTimeout(timeout);
           client.close();
           resolve();
+        };
+        client.once("error", finish);
+        client.send(Buffer.alloc(0), port, host, () => {
+          finish();
         });
       } else {
-        const socket = new net.Socket();
-        socket.once("connect", () => {
+        const socket = createTcpSocket();
+        let settled = false;
+        const timeout = setTimeout(() => finish(), tcpTimeoutMs);
+        const finish = () => {
+          if (settled) return;
+          settled = true;
+          clearTimeout(timeout);
+          socket.removeAllListeners("connect");
+          socket.removeAllListeners("error");
           socket.destroy();
           resolve();
-        });
-        socket.once("error", () => {
-          socket.destroy();
-          resolve();
-        });
-        socket.connect(knock.port, host);
+        };
+        socket.once("connect", finish);
+        socket.once("error", finish);
+        socket.connect(port, host);
       }
     });
 
     if (delay > 0) {
-      await new Promise<void>((r) => setTimeout(r, delay));
+      await wait(delay);
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/ssh/terminal-port-knocking.test.ts b/src/backend/ssh/terminal-port-knocking.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..03d3724d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/backend/ssh/terminal-port-knocking.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import { EventEmitter } from "events";
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { performPortKnocking } from "./terminal-auth-helpers.js";
+
+class FakeTcpSocket extends EventEmitter {
+  readonly connect = vi.fn();
+  readonly destroy = vi.fn();
+}
+
+describe("performPortKnocking", () => {
+  it("continues through TCP knock errors", async () => {
+    const first = new FakeTcpSocket();
+    const second = new FakeTcpSocket();
+    const wait = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+
+    const knocking = performPortKnocking(
+      "192.0.2.10",
+      [
+        { port: 1111, protocol: "tcp", delay: 10 },
+        { port: 2222, protocol: "tcp", delay: 0 },
+      ],
+      {
+        createTcpSocket: vi
+          .fn()
+          .mockReturnValueOnce(first)
+          .mockReturnValueOnce(second),
+        wait,
+      },
+    );
+
+    first.emit("error", new Error("closed"));
+    await Promise.resolve();
+    second.emit("connect");
+    await knocking;
+
+    expect(first.connect).toHaveBeenCalledWith(1111, "192.0.2.10");
+    expect(second.connect).toHaveBeenCalledWith(2222, "192.0.2.10");
+    expect(first.destroy).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(second.destroy).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(wait).toHaveBeenCalledWith(10);
+  });
+
+  it("times out TCP knocks that are silently dropped", async () => {
+    const socket = new FakeTcpSocket();
+    const wait = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+
+    await performPortKnocking("192.0.2.10", [{ port: 1111, delay: 0 }], {
+      createTcpSocket: () => socket as never,
+      tcpTimeoutMs: 1,
+      wait,
+    });
+
+    expect(socket.connect).toHaveBeenCalledWith(1111, "192.0.2.10");
+    expect(socket.destroy).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(wait).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/backend/ssh/terminal.ts b/src/backend/ssh/terminal.ts
index 31cbb7d6..cb6674c0 100644
--- a/src/backend/ssh/terminal.ts
+++ b/src/backend/ssh/terminal.ts
@@ -1142,6 +1142,7 @@ wss.on("connection", async (ws: WebSocket, req) => {
           socks5Username?: string;
           socks5Password?: string;
           socks5ProxyChain?: unknown;
+          portKnockSequence?: ConnectToHostData["hostConfig"]["portKnockSequence"];
           terminalConfig?: ConnectToHostData["hostConfig"]["terminalConfig"];
           enableSessionLogging?: boolean;
         })
@@ -1185,6 +1186,20 @@ wss.on("connection", async (ws: WebSocket, req) => {
           if (!hostConfig.terminalConfig && resolvedHostData.terminalConfig) {
             hostConfig.terminalConfig = resolvedHostData.terminalConfig;
           }
+
+          if (
+            (!hostConfig.portKnockSequence ||
+              hostConfig.portKnockSequence.length === 0) &&
+            resolvedHostData.portKnockSequence &&
+            resolvedHostData.portKnockSequence.length > 0
+          ) {
+            hostConfig.portKnockSequence = resolvedHostData.portKnockSequence;
+            sendLog(
+              "port_knock",
+              "info",
+              `Loaded ${resolvedHostData.portKnockSequence.length} port knock(s) from server-side host data`,
+            );
+          }
         }
       } catch (error) {
         sshLogger.warn(`Failed to resolve server-side host data for ${id}`, {