Web Terminal

The Connect tab in the app detail panel opens an interactive shell session inside a running pod directly in your browser. No CLI, no SSH keys, no kubectl knowledge required.

Opening a terminal

1. Open the web console and navigate to your project
2. Click on an app to open its detail panel
3. Click the Connect tab

A terminal session opens with a welcome banner showing the app name, namespace, pod name, and container image:

  ____  _    _
 / ___|| | _(_)_ __  _ __   ___ _ __
 \___ \| |/ / | '_ \| '_ \ / _ \ '__|
  ___) |   <| | |_) | |_) |  __/ |
 |____/|_|\_\_| .__/| .__/ \___|_|
              |_|   |_|

  App:        domain-service
  Namespace:  yourr-name-test
  Pod:        domain-service-59fc699cff-77ngp
  Image:      registry.git.labb.tools:5005/yourr-name/domain-service:latest

  Type 'exit' to disconnect

You are now inside a /bin/sh session in the container. Run any command you would normally run in a terminal.

What you can do

Check files and configuration

/ $ cat /app/config.yaml
/ $ ls -la /app/

Run database queries

/ $ psql -U skipper app
app=# SELECT count(*) FROM users;

Run migrations or maintenance tasks

/ $ npm run migrate
/ $ python manage.py collectstatic

Debug running processes

/ $ ps aux
/ $ env | grep DATABASE
/ $ df -h

Choosing a pod

If your app has multiple replicas, the Connect tab connects to the first running pod by default. Use the pod selector dropdown above the terminal to choose a specific pod before opening the session.

Terminal features

The terminal supports full TTY interaction:

• Arrow keys and command history
• Tab completion
• Ctrl+C to interrupt running commands
• Window resizing (the terminal adapts when you resize the browser or side panel)
• Copy and paste (standard browser shortcuts)

Ending a session

Type exit or close the side panel. The exec session is terminated automatically when the WebSocket connection closes.

Authentication

Terminal sessions require a valid JWT. The console handles this automatically, so you do not need to pass tokens manually. Sessions are scoped to the same permissions as the logged-in user.

CLI alternative

For terminal access from the command line, use kip exec:

# Open an interactive shell
kip exec myapp

# Run a single command
kip exec myapp -- cat /app/config.yaml

# Connect to a database
kip exec mydb -- psql -U skipper app

See Team Access: Shell access for the full CLI reference.