A terminal in your browser that never closes on its own

Here's what it looks like in the panel

Real screenshots of the ArduMaker panel, not mockups.

A terminal one click away

From Apps you open a server terminal in the browser, as the Linux user you choose.

• You choose which Linux user the session logs in as.
• It opens straight from the card, with no SSH client to configure and no keys to hand out.
• Each session stays as one more app: reopen it or close it whenever you want.
• Good for reading a log, restarting something or testing a connection from inside the server.

Before you install it

Use it when

• You need to run a command on the server and don't have an SSH client at hand.
• You want to give a teammate a session as a specific Linux user without handing out SSH keys.
• You want to read a log, restart something or test a connection from inside the VPS.

It's not the right fit if

• You're going to transfer large files or work for hours with your editor: SSH is better for that.
• You want something to keep running forever: that's a service or a scheduled task, not an open terminal.

How to check it's working

1. Open it and see who you are: whoami shows the Linux user you logged in as and pwd its folder.
2. Check the server's state: uptime, df -h and free -h show load, disk and memory.
3. Test the network from inside: curl -I https://ardumaker.com checks the server can reach the internet.

Tips

• Each terminal logs in as the Linux user you choose: use an unprivileged one for daily work.
• For a long process use a service or a scheduled task: an open terminal isn't the place.
• If you need real SSH, it's opened from Ports for a limited time.

SSH without a client, and without the fear of losing work

For that long build, that migration or that log you want to keep an eye on.

• Persistent for real: The session lives on the VPS, not in the tab. It survives connection drops, closing the browser, backend restarts and agent updates.
• Come back whenever: Reattach to the same session as many times as you want, from another computer or from your phone. The scrollback is still there.
• Named tabs: Up to 5 terminals per user per VPS, each with its own name: one for logs, one for the database, one for the deploy.
• Pick the Linux user: Administrators choose which user the terminal opens as, root included. Everyone gets in with the permissions that belong to them.
• Reboot notice: tmux doesn't survive a VPS reboot. If one takes a terminal with it, the panel tells you instead of letting you believe the process is still running.
• Comfortable to use: bash with a colored prompt, Tab completion, history, and copy and paste with the mouse like on any web page.
• Private per member: Each Company member sees only their own terminals. The administrator sees all of the VPS's.
• Nothing to install: No SSH client, no key to generate, no PuTTY to configure. You open it from the panel and it works the same on Windows, macOS, Linux or a tablet.
• It doesn't replace classic SSH: Root access over SSH is still there and untouched. The web terminal is a shortcut, not a substitute and not a cage.
• It gets logged: Opening a terminal goes into the VPS history: who opened it, as which user and when.

How to open one

1. Open the VPS in the panel: And go to the terminal tab. Nothing to install and no key to generate.
2. Create a terminal: You give it a name and pick the Linux user. If you're an administrator you can open it directly as root.
3. Work as usual: It's a real bash inside your VPS: apt, docker, psql, journalctl, whatever you need. Copy and paste work with the mouse.
4. Leave something running and close it: A long build, a migration, a tail -f. You can close the browser: the process keeps going.
5. Come back and reattach: Open the same terminal and pick up where you were, with the output produced while you were away.

How it works underneath, and what it doesn't do

What you should know before you start, no fine print.

• Each terminal is a tmux session inside the VPS. What persists is that session, not an open connection: that's why it survives your network or your browser going down.
• The panel connects over WebSocket to the VPS agent, which bridges to tmux. There's no SSH client in the browser and no private key traveling.
• It needs systemd running inside the VPS and a Debian or Ubuntu base. It's verified in production on Ubuntu 22.04 and compatible with 18.04, 20.04, 24.04 and 26.04.
• It doesn't work on Ubuntu 16.04, and that isn't something we're going to fix: systemd 229 won't start on a host running cgroup v2 — which is how every parent host is set up — and it sits there as PID 1 without answering. It's Ubuntu bug LP #1962332.
• A maximum of 5 terminals per user per VPS. The limit is there so a forgotten tab doesn't leave processes hanging around eating the plan's memory.
• Company members are pinned to their own Linux user. Choosing the user, root included, is for administrators.
• Rebooting the VPS ends every tmux session. If you had something long running, it's lost: for that, leave it as a systemd service or a scheduled task.
• It doesn't replace SSH access: root over SSH is still available and works exactly the same, with your usual client.
• Copy and paste use the browser clipboard, so they depend on the permissions you give the site. Some browsers ask you to allow it the first time.
• Real root over SSH: the panel is a shortcut, not a cage. Anything it does with a button, you can also do by hand.

Or just ask Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor

Everything you see in the panel, your AI agent can do through the ArduMaker MCP server: with your authorization, within the scope you grant, and with every action audited. See what the MCP does

Web terminal: frequently asked questions

Services that go well together

Everything runs on the same VPS and is managed from the same panel.

• Services and scheduled tasks: Create systemd services for your app and cron-style scheduled tasks with logs, without writing systemctl.
• GitHub deploys: Link a repo and every push to your chosen branch updates your app on the VPS, with build and restart scripts.
• Docker: Enable Docker in one click and manage images, containers, logs, volumes and networks from the panel.

How it works under the hood

The technical documentation for what this page covers: what each tool does, what changes, how to verify it and which MCP tools operate it.

• Web terminal: VPS console in the browser that stays alive when you disconnect: tmux inside the server, with per-user permissions.

All the documentation