diff --git a/src/__tests__/shared/pathUtils.test.ts b/src/__tests__/shared/pathUtils.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..54b60beb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/__tests__/shared/pathUtils.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for shared path and version utility functions
+ *
+ * @file src/shared/pathUtils.ts
+ *
+ * These utilities consolidate duplicated logic found across:
+ * - agent-detector.ts (expandTilde)
+ * - ssh-command-builder.ts (expandPath)
+ * - ssh-config-parser.ts (expandPath)
+ * - ssh-remote-manager.ts (expandPath)
+ * - process-manager.ts (inline tilde expansion)
+ * - update-checker.ts (version comparison)
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import { expandTilde, parseVersion, compareVersions } from '../../shared/pathUtils';
+
+// Mock os.homedir for consistent test behavior
+vi.mock('os', async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual<typeof os>('os');
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    homedir: vi.fn(() => '/Users/testuser'),
+  };
+});
+
+describe('expandTilde', () => {
+  describe('basic tilde expansion', () => {
+    it('should expand ~/path to home directory + path', () => {
+      expect(expandTilde('~/Documents')).toBe('/Users/testuser/Documents');
+    });
+
+    it('should expand ~ alone to home directory', () => {
+      expect(expandTilde('~')).toBe('/Users/testuser');
+    });
+
+    it('should expand ~/path/to/file correctly', () => {
+      expect(expandTilde('~/.ssh/id_rsa')).toBe('/Users/testuser/.ssh/id_rsa');
+    });
+
+    it('should preserve paths without tilde', () => {
+      expect(expandTilde('/absolute/path')).toBe('/absolute/path');
+      expect(expandTilde('relative/path')).toBe('relative/path');
+      expect(expandTilde('./local/path')).toBe('./local/path');
+    });
+
+    it('should not expand tilde in middle of path', () => {
+      expect(expandTilde('/path/with~tilde')).toBe('/path/with~tilde');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('edge cases', () => {
+    it('should handle empty string', () => {
+      expect(expandTilde('')).toBe('');
+    });
+
+    it('should handle paths with spaces', () => {
+      expect(expandTilde('~/My Documents/file.txt')).toBe('/Users/testuser/My Documents/file.txt');
+    });
+
+    it('should handle deeply nested paths', () => {
+      expect(expandTilde('~/.local/share/fnm/node-versions/v20.0.0/installation/bin'))
+        .toBe('/Users/testuser/.local/share/fnm/node-versions/v20.0.0/installation/bin');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('cross-platform consistency', () => {
+    it('should handle Windows-style home (when provided)', () => {
+      vi.mocked(os.homedir).mockReturnValue('C:\\Users\\testuser');
+      const result = expandTilde('~/.config');
+      expect(result).toContain('testuser');
+      expect(result).toContain('.config');
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('parseVersion', () => {
+  it('should parse version with v prefix', () => {
+    expect(parseVersion('v22.10.0')).toEqual([22, 10, 0]);
+  });
+
+  it('should parse version without v prefix', () => {
+    expect(parseVersion('0.14.0')).toEqual([0, 14, 0]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle single digit versions', () => {
+    expect(parseVersion('v8.0.0')).toEqual([8, 0, 0]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle versions with more than 3 parts', () => {
+    expect(parseVersion('1.2.3.4')).toEqual([1, 2, 3, 4]);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle non-numeric parts as 0', () => {
+    expect(parseVersion('1.beta.3')).toEqual([1, 0, 3]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('compareVersions', () => {
+  describe('basic version comparison', () => {
+    it('should return 1 when a > b', () => {
+      expect(compareVersions('v22.0.0', 'v20.0.0')).toBe(1);
+    });
+
+    it('should return -1 when a < b', () => {
+      expect(compareVersions('v20.0.0', 'v22.0.0')).toBe(-1);
+    });
+
+    it('should return 0 for equal versions', () => {
+      expect(compareVersions('v20.10.0', 'v20.10.0')).toBe(0);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('minor version comparison', () => {
+    it('should compare by minor version when major is equal', () => {
+      expect(compareVersions('v20.11.0', 'v20.10.0')).toBe(1);
+      expect(compareVersions('v20.10.0', 'v20.11.0')).toBe(-1);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle v18.20 vs v18.2 correctly (20 > 2)', () => {
+      expect(compareVersions('v18.20.0', 'v18.2.0')).toBe(1);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('patch version comparison', () => {
+    it('should compare by patch when major and minor are equal', () => {
+      expect(compareVersions('v20.10.5', 'v20.10.3')).toBe(1);
+      expect(compareVersions('v20.10.3', 'v20.10.5')).toBe(-1);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('array sorting', () => {
+    it('should sort ascending when used directly', () => {
+      const versions = ['v22.21.0', 'v18.17.0', 'v20.10.0'];
+      const sorted = [...versions].sort(compareVersions);
+      expect(sorted).toEqual(['v18.17.0', 'v20.10.0', 'v22.21.0']);
+    });
+
+    it('should sort descending when args are flipped', () => {
+      const versions = ['v18.17.0', 'v22.21.0', 'v20.10.0', 'v18.2.0', 'v21.0.0'];
+      const sorted = [...versions].sort((a, b) => compareVersions(b, a));
+      expect(sorted).toEqual(['v22.21.0', 'v21.0.0', 'v20.10.0', 'v18.17.0', 'v18.2.0']);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle single-digit versions', () => {
+      const versions = ['v8.0.0', 'v16.0.0', 'v4.0.0', 'v12.0.0'];
+      const sorted = [...versions].sort((a, b) => compareVersions(b, a));
+      expect(sorted).toEqual(['v16.0.0', 'v12.0.0', 'v8.0.0', 'v4.0.0']);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('edge cases', () => {
+    it('should handle versions without v prefix', () => {
+      expect(compareVersions('22.0.0', '20.0.0')).toBe(1);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle mixed v prefix', () => {
+      expect(compareVersions('v22.0.0', '20.0.0')).toBe(1);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle versions with different part counts', () => {
+      expect(compareVersions('1.0', '1.0.0')).toBe(0);
+      expect(compareVersions('1.0.1', '1.0')).toBe(1);
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/shared/index.ts b/src/shared/index.ts
index 4017f906..18e2c9a4 100644
--- a/src/shared/index.ts
+++ b/src/shared/index.ts
@@ -13,3 +13,4 @@ export * from './gitUtils';
 export * from './emojiUtils';
 export * from './treeUtils';
 export * from './stringUtils';
+export * from './pathUtils';
diff --git a/src/shared/pathUtils.ts b/src/shared/pathUtils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..098adcbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/pathUtils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+/**
+ * Shared path and version utility functions
+ *
+ * This module provides utilities used across multiple parts of the application.
+ *
+ * Consolidates duplicated logic from:
+ * - agent-detector.ts (expandTilde)
+ * - ssh-command-builder.ts (expandPath)
+ * - ssh-config-parser.ts (expandPath)
+ * - ssh-remote-manager.ts (expandPath)
+ * - process-manager.ts (inline tilde expansion)
+ * - update-checker.ts (version comparison)
+ */
+
+import * as os from 'os';
+import * as path from 'path';
+
+/**
+ * Expand tilde (~) to home directory in paths.
+ *
+ * Node.js fs functions don't understand shell tilde expansion,
+ * so this function provides consistent tilde handling across the codebase.
+ *
+ * @param filePath - Path that may start with ~ or ~/
+ * @returns Expanded absolute path with ~ replaced by home directory
+ *
+ * @example
+ * ```typescript
+ * expandTilde('~/.ssh/id_rsa')   // '/Users/username/.ssh/id_rsa'
+ * expandTilde('~')               // '/Users/username'
+ * expandTilde('/absolute/path') // '/absolute/path' (unchanged)
+ * ```
+ */
+export function expandTilde(filePath: string): string {
+  if (!filePath) {
+    return filePath;
+  }
+
+  if (filePath === '~') {
+    return os.homedir();
+  }
+
+  if (filePath.startsWith('~/')) {
+    return path.join(os.homedir(), filePath.slice(2));
+  }
+
+  return filePath;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Parse version string to comparable array of numbers.
+ *
+ * @param version - Version string (e.g., "v22.10.0" or "0.14.0")
+ * @returns Array of version numbers (e.g., [22, 10, 0])
+ *
+ * @example
+ * ```typescript
+ * parseVersion('v22.10.0')  // [22, 10, 0]
+ * parseVersion('0.14.0')    // [0, 14, 0]
+ * ```
+ */
+export function parseVersion(version: string): number[] {
+  const cleaned = version.replace(/^v/, '');
+  return cleaned.split('.').map(n => parseInt(n, 10) || 0);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Compare two version strings.
+ *
+ * Returns: 1 if a > b, -1 if a < b, 0 if equal.
+ * Handles versions with or without 'v' prefix.
+ *
+ * @param a - First version string
+ * @param b - Second version string
+ * @returns 1 if a > b, -1 if a < b, 0 if equal
+ *
+ * @example
+ * ```typescript
+ * compareVersions('v22.0.0', 'v20.0.0')  // 1 (a > b)
+ * compareVersions('v18.0.0', 'v20.0.0')  // -1 (a < b)
+ * compareVersions('v20.0.0', 'v20.0.0')  // 0 (equal)
+ *
+ * // For descending sort (highest first):
+ * versions.sort((a, b) => compareVersions(b, a))
+ *
+ * // For ascending sort (lowest first):
+ * versions.sort(compareVersions)
+ * ```
+ */
+export function compareVersions(a: string, b: string): number {
+  const partsA = parseVersion(a);
+  const partsB = parseVersion(b);
+
+  const maxLength = Math.max(partsA.length, partsB.length);
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < maxLength; i++) {
+    const numA = partsA[i] || 0;
+    const numB = partsB[i] || 0;
+
+    if (numA > numB) return 1;
+    if (numA < numB) return -1;
+  }
+
+  return 0;
+}