Server Terminal
Open an interactive shell on the host machine running Better-PaaS, right from your browser.
Sometimes you need to get onto the box itself — to check disk usage, inspect a file, or run a quick command. The Server Terminal opens an interactive shell on the host machine running Better-PaaS, straight from your browser. It's like SSHing into your server without leaving the dashboard.
You'll find it as Server Terminal in the dashboard sidebar.
This is full host access
The Server Terminal is not sandboxed to a container — it's a real shell on the host, running with the same privileges as Better-PaaS. Anyone who can reach it can do anything on your server. Treat access to your dashboard accordingly, and keep your admin token secret.
Opening a session
Click Server Terminal in the sidebar. Better-PaaS allocates a real
pseudo-terminal and attaches it to a host shell (bash, zsh, or sh,
whichever it finds first). Because it's a genuine TTY, interactive programs
behave exactly as they would over SSH — colored output, line editing, tab
completion, pagers like less, and full-screen apps like top or vim all
work. The session is rendered with xterm.js.
If the connection drops, use Reconnect to start a fresh session.
Server Terminal vs. app Terminal
Better-PaaS has two different terminals — don't confuse them:
| Server Terminal | App Terminal | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Sidebar → Server Terminal | Inside an app → Terminal tab |
| Runs in | The host machine | That app's container |
| Scope | Everything on the server | Just that one app |
| Use for | Host disk, system files, server-wide tasks | Debugging a single app's environment |
For per-app debugging, use the container terminal instead — it's scoped to just that app.
Keyboard shortcut
Press g then t anywhere in the dashboard to jump straight to the Server Terminal.