Open the browser console

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rafftechnologies.com/llms.txt

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_{Updated May 8, 2026} The dashboard’s Console button is one button with two underlying technologies behind it. The dashboard picks the right one for the OS and current state — you don’t pick. Knowing which mode you’re in matters because they have different capabilities (file transfer, copy/paste, keyboard chords, session lifetime), so this page is the dedicated explainer. For the OS-specific access flows themselves — including the local-terminal SSH and RDP options — see Connect via SSH (Linux) and Connect via RDP (Windows). This page is just about the in-browser option.

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Two technologies, one button

The mode swap is automatic. The button label is the same — Console on the detail page, Open Terminal on the row Actions menu — but you can see which mode opened by what’s on screen: a text shell with your prompt = SSH terminal; a graphical desktop / login screen = VNC console.

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The decision the dashboard makes

For Linux, the SSH terminal is preferred because it’s lighter, supports clipboard, and behaves like every other terminal you’re used to. VNC is the fallback for the cases where SSH-via-agent can’t work. For Windows, there’s no SSH-terminal option, so VNC is always what you get.

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SSH terminal — Linux primary (default)

When you click Console on a healthy Linux VM, the browser opens a fresh terminal tab pre-authenticated against the VM as root (or your sudo user). It looks like this: What it is and isn’t: For local-terminal SSH (your own iTerm, Terminal, PuTTY, Windows OpenSSH), see Connect via SSH — that’s a separate option with its own advantages (local file access, persistent sessions, multiplexing).

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VNC console — Windows always, Linux fallback, universal recovery

When the dashboard opens VNC mode, you see the VM’s actual screen — login prompt, desktop, BIOS, GRUB menu, BSOD, anything the framebuffer is rendering.

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Special keys

VNC sends keystrokes byte-for-byte, but the browser intercepts several useful chords for its own use (Ctrl-T opens a tab, F11 fullscreen, Alt-Tab switches host apps). Use the toolbar’s special-keys menu to send those into the VM:

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Session lifetime — 1 hour

Each VNC session has a fixed 1-hour TTL from the moment you click Console. There’s no idle-disconnect inside the hour and no auto-extend. When the session expires, the canvas freezes / disconnects. The VM keeps running normally — only your viewer disconnected. Close the tab and reopen Console from the VM detail page to mint a fresh 1-hour session and reconnect to the same VM with no state loss. For long debugging or recovery sessions, plan to reconnect every hour. The SSH terminal mode doesn’t have this limit — if you’re working on Linux and don’t specifically need VNC, prefer the SSH terminal for marathon sessions.

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Open the Console

The same Console action opens in three places — they’re equivalent: The dashboard generates a one-time session token, opens a new browser tab pointed at the right protocol (SSH WebSocket or NoVNC), and authenticates you transparently. You don’t enter the VM password manually — the session is already authorized.

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When to deliberately reach for VNC over SSH

Even for a healthy Linux VM where the dashboard would pick SSH terminal by default, there are situations where you specifically want VNC: To force VNC mode on a Linux VM where SSH would otherwise work, the simplest path is to temporarily stop the agent inside the VM (systemctl stop raff-agent) — the next Console click will fall back to VNC. Re-enable when you’re done.

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Recovery path — the universal fallback

VNC is the always-works connection method for any locked-out scenario:

• Linux — SSH config broken, firewall locked you out, disk full, single-user mode → see Recover a locked-out VM § Linux
• Windows — Safe Mode, WinRE, password recovery → see Recover a locked-out VM § Windows

When the in-browser SSH terminal fails to open (agent down, network broken, OS panicked), the dashboard automatically falls back to VNC. You don’t have to do anything different — click Console and you’ll get the right viewer.

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Common questions

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