Web Terminal

Use the app detail panel's Connect tab to open an interactive shell in a running pod from your browser.

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:  blog-test
  Pod:        domain-service-59fc699cff-77ngp
  Image:      registry.git.example.com:5005/blog/domain-service:latest

  Type 'exit' to disconnect

The session uses /bin/bash if it is available in the container, or /bin/sh otherwise. 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 kipper 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. Opening a session requires the terminal.open capability, which deployers and owners have. The console opens the shell with its own Kubernetes credentials. Inside the container, the session has the permissions of the container's 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 kipper app

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