Start / First session

Choose where your terminal runs.

Sign in once by email. Then use a computer you own or create a hosted session. Both paths are available from the browser dashboard.

1. Sign in

Open Terminalbox sign-in, enter your email, and use the single-use link. There is no password to create. After sign-in, the dashboard shows your machines and sessions.

2. Use your machine

Connect a macOS or Linux computer with the small Terminalbox host agent. It calls out to Terminalbox, so your computer needs no inbound SSH port or public address. It runs your existing shell, repositories, and tools.

  1. In the dashboard, open Settings → Machines for the current install instructions.
  2. Install the CLI, approve its email sign-in, and install the background host connection.
  3. Choose the online machine from the dashboard and open its terminal.
curl -fsSL https://terminalbox.ai/install.sh | sh
~/.local/bin/terminalbox login
~/.local/bin/terminalbox host install
~/.local/bin/terminalbox host status
Your machine must be awake, online, and connected. With tmux installed, its local terminal can survive browser detach while the computer stays awake. Without tmux, reconnecting starts a new login shell. For work that must continue while your laptop sleeps, use a hosted session.

3. Start in cloud

Choose a template from the session picker. A hosted session runs in a separate Terminalbox Linux environment with a persistent home directory shared by your hosted sessions. Coding-agent templates require a paid plan; the free SSH client path has separate limits. See plans and limits before creating a paid session.

For coding agents, bring eligible access to your provider. Follow the sign-in instructions printed by the tool in the terminal; Terminalbox billing does not include model usage.

Next steps

Read Sessions for reconnect, persistence, and file behavior. Read Access to sign in from the CLI or manage API tokens.