Terminal access

The terminal gives you command-line access to your hosting account directly from your browser. It’s a full Linux shell running over a secure WebSocket connection, so you can manage files, run Git commands, use Composer, WP-CLI, or anything else you’d normally do over SSH – without installing an SSH client.

Opening the terminal#

There are a few ways to open the terminal:

From the server information modal:

1. Click the account selector (gear icon in the top navigation).
2. Click on your hosting account.
3. Click Server information.
4. In the SSH Connection section, click Terminal.

From the command palette:

1. Press Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+K (Mac).
2. Search for “Terminal” and select it.

The terminal opens as a panel at the bottom of your screen. It connects automatically using your account credentials.

Using the terminal#

Once connected, you’re in a standard Linux shell with access to your website files, databases, and development tools.

Pasting text:

• Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on Mac) pastes from your clipboard
• Shift+Insert works as an alternative
• Right-click also pastes (instead of showing a context menu)

The terminal automatically adjusts its size when you resize the panel or change font settings, so your shell always knows the correct dimensions.

Terminal controls#

The toolbar at the top of the terminal panel shows your account name and several controls:

• Session timer – Shows how much time remains in your session. The background changes from gray to yellow (under 10 minutes) to red (under 5 minutes) as time runs low.
• Extend session (+) – Adds 30 minutes to your session.
• Settings (gear icon) – Opens a dropdown to customize text size (small, medium, large), font (Cascadia Code, Paper Mono, Courier New, Lucida Console), and background color (blue, black, gray). Settings are saved in your browser.
• Minimize – Collapses the terminal to just the toolbar. Click the restore button to expand it again.
• Fullscreen – Expands the terminal to fill your entire screen. Press Esc or click the minimize button to exit.
• Pop out – Opens the terminal in a separate window (900×600). The connection stays alive and you can pop it back into the main window anytime.
• Close – Closes the terminal.

You can also drag the top edge of the terminal panel to resize its height.

SSH connection details#

If you prefer to connect with your own SSH client (PuTTY, Terminal.app, Windows Terminal, etc.), you can find your connection details in the server information modal:

1. Click the account selector in the top navigation.
2. Click on your hosting account.
3. Click Server information.

The SSH Connection section shows:

• Hostname – Your server’s address (with copy button)
• Username – Your account username (with copy button)
• Port – 22 (standard SSH)
• SSH command – A ready-to-copy command like  ssh username@hostname

Authentication is key-based. Set up your SSH keys on the SSH keys page (linked from the modal) before connecting with an external client.

Session behavior#

Terminal sessions have a time limit. The session timer in the toolbar shows your remaining time. When a session expires or you exit manually, the terminal displays a message and stops accepting input. Close the terminal and reopen it to start a new session.

If the connection drops unexpectedly (network issue, server restart), the terminal will show a disconnect message. Close and reopen to reconnect.