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Shell Access

Shell Access provides a terminal within File Manager for working with files and directories on the configured host.

Administrators can:

  • Configure shell access for selected users and clusters.
  • Open their own shell session through File Manager when their account is covered by the access settings.

Configure Shell Access

Open Settings

  1. Open the user dropdown in the upper-right corner.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Under General, locate Data Management & Shell.

Shell access is managed here rather than through the Edit User page.

Enable Shell Access and Select Users

  1. Enable Shell Access Protocol.
  2. Set Target Scope to Selected Users.
  3. Open the Users selector and choose the accounts that require shell access.
  4. To use shell access with your own administrator account, include your account in the selection.

Shell access settings and selected users

Configure Access Policies

Configure the scope and session limit under Active Access Policies.

Field Description
Concurrency Limit (Sessions per user) Maximum simultaneous shell sessions for each user. The displayed range is 1–5.
Provider Cloud provider covered by the policy.
Account Cloud account covered by the policy.
Region Region containing the target cluster.
Cluster Cluster for which shell access is configured.

Use + New Rule when an additional access policy is required.

Cluster selection for shell access

After selecting the required users and configuring the policies, click Save.

Open Your Own Shell Session

Administrators use the same File Manager connection flow as other enabled users.

Before starting, ensure that:

  • Shell Access Protocol is enabled.
  • Your administrator account is included in the configured user scope.
  • The required cluster is covered by an access policy.
  • You have the password for your shell account.

Step 1: Select the Target Cluster

  1. Open File Manager.
  2. Select the required Provider, Account, Region, and Cluster.
  3. Open the Console dropdown.
  4. Select Start Shell.

The menu also provides a New Window option.

Console menu with Start Shell and New Window

Step 2: Enter Your Password

A terminal opens and displays an initialization message.

  1. Wait for initialization to complete.
  2. When the terminal displays Enter password, enter your shell account password.
  3. Press Enter to authenticate.

Shell initialization and password prompt

Step 3: Wait for Authentication

After successful authentication, the terminal displays Authentication successful and the host's welcome message.

Successful shell authentication

Wait until the command prompt appears before entering commands.

Shell terminal ready for commands

These terminal screenshots show an example session for the user Jack. Administrators follow the same steps using their own account credentials.

Step 4: Work in the Terminal

You can use shell commands to navigate directories and work with files according to your account's filesystem permissions.

For example, display the current directory:

pwd

List its contents:

ls

Terminal Controls

The console includes the following controls:

Control Purpose
Terminal tab Select an open terminal session.
+ Open an additional terminal, subject to the configured session limit.
× on a terminal tab Close that terminal tab.
Exit Console Leave the console view and return to File Manager.

To log out of the shell session, enter:

exit

Update or Disable Shell Access

Remove Access for a User

  1. Open Settings → General → Data Management & Shell.
  2. Locate the Users selector.
  3. Remove the required account from the selected users.
  4. Click Save.

Disable Shell Access

  1. Open Settings → General → Data Management & Shell.
  2. Turn off Shell Access Protocol.
  3. Click Save.

Troubleshooting

Issue What to check
Message asks you to enable admin settings for the cluster Confirm that Shell Access Protocol is enabled, the account is selected, and the access policy covers the chosen cluster. Save the settings.
Shell initialization does not complete Verify the selected provider, account, region, and cluster, and check that the target host is available.
Authentication fails Verify the password for the account used to open the shell session.
An additional terminal cannot be opened Check the configured concurrency limit and existing sessions.
A file operation returns “Permission denied” Check the account's permissions for the target file or directory.