Web Terminal

Control a server from a web browser with full uninterruptible bash terminal

Gif preview in operation, full video here.

The 2 clients have full control over the server and are sending commands on the same terminal while beeing on separate machines on the same network.

How it's done

-> Start a process and connect from a browser to a unique bash using ttyd and tmux. Every client connects to the same bash (it support authentication). This means anybody can watch and control simultaneously the same process/terminal (with the output)

Setup (server side)

Steps

No setup required on the client-side, only on the training server :

1. Install ttyd

wget https://github.com/tsl0922/ttyd/releases/download/1.7.3/ttyd.x86_64 -q -O ttyd
sudo chmod +x ttyd
sudo mv ttyd /usr/local/bin/

2. Install tmux

sudo snap install tmux --classic

3. Start (manually or automatically at boot) :

TTYD_PORT=4563
TTYD_USER="user"
TTYD_PASSWD="passwd"
TTYD_CMD="login" # can also be 'bash' or whatever command

sudo ttyd -T xterm -p ${TTYD_PORT} -c ${TTYD_USER}:${TTYD_PASSWD} tmux new -A -s ttyd ${TTYD_CMD}

The authentication is optional but recommended.

Setup script

Alternatively the setup.sh script can be used to install the required dependencies and register a systemd service to start at boot. I recommend updating the service file before setting it up since the user, password, and port are hardcoded as an example.

Usage

On the client(s) open a browser to the machine IP or name like: http://training-server-name:4563/

Enter the authentication if needed (the first time) and that's it!

Since this is using tmux, all shortcuts are working, such as opening multiple panel like:

• Ctrl + b + % to split the current pane vertically.
• Ctrl + b + " to split the current pane horizontally.
• Ctrl + b + x to close the current pane.
• Ctrl + up arrow/down arrow to navigate between pane

Security caution

This is meant for trusted networks, keep it mind that it basically expose a root terminal access to the server remotely