🚀 Shellstream

Stream any terminal session to the web in real-time. Monitor and control remote processes from anywhere using just a browser.

✨ Features

• Universal Compatibility - Works with ANY command-line program (bash, vim, htop, docker, etc.)
• Real-time Streaming - Watch terminal output in real-time through your browser
• Remote Control - Send input to running processes from the web interface
• Mobile Friendly - Responsive design works great on phones and tablets
• File Browser - Browse and view project files alongside terminal output
• Session Management - Multiple concurrent sessions with automatic grouping by directory
• Zero Configuration - Works out of the box with automatic server management
• Transparent Wrapper - Your terminal works exactly as normal while being streamed

📦 Installation

npm install -g @daviddawson/shellstream

Or use directly with npx:

npx @daviddawson/shellstream <command>

🚀 Quick Start

Stream a command

# Stream any command to the web
shellstream npm start
shellstream python app.py
shellstream docker logs -f mycontainer

# Or use the short alias
ss npm test

Open the web interface

Navigate to http://localhost:47832 in your browser

Interactive sessions

# Start an interactive bash session
shellstream bash

# Monitor a development server
shellstream npm run dev

# Stream a Python REPL
shellstream python

🎯 Use Cases

• Remote Monitoring - Watch long-running processes from your phone
• Team Collaboration - Share terminal sessions with teammates
• Teaching & Demos - Stream coding sessions for educational purposes
• DevOps & Debugging - Monitor deployments and debug issues remotely
• CI/CD Pipelines - Watch build and test output in real-time

🔧 How It Works

Shellstream uses a transparent wrapper pattern:

1. Wrapper Process - Spawns your command in a pseudo-terminal (PTY)
2. Auto-starting Server - Automatically starts a local web server if needed
3. WebSocket Streaming - Streams all terminal I/O through WebSockets
4. Web Interface - Renders the terminal using xterm.js with full ANSI support

Your local terminal continues to work exactly as normal - Shellstream just broadcasts a copy to the web.

📱 Mobile Support

The web interface is fully responsive with:

• Touch-friendly controls
• Horizontal scrolling for wide terminal output
• Collapsible sidebar for maximum screen space
• Gesture support for navigation

🛠️ Advanced Usage

Server Management

# Check server status
shellstream --status

# Stop the server
shellstream --stop

# Restart the server  
shellstream --restart

# View server logs
shellstream --logs

Custom Port

# Use a custom port
SHELLSTREAM_PORT=8080 shellstream npm start

File Browser

The web interface includes a built-in file browser that lets you:

• Browse the project directory structure
• View source code with syntax highlighting
• See git status for modified files
• Navigate between multiple terminal sessions

🔒 Security

⚠️ Important: Shellstream is designed for local development use. The web interface has no authentication by default.

For remote access, use SSH tunneling:

ssh -L 47832:localhost:47832 user@remote-host

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with node-pty for pseudo-terminal support
• Uses xterm.js for terminal rendering
• Inspired by tools like tmux, screen, and ttyd

🐛 Known Issues

• Firefox mobile may experience input duplication (workaround implemented)
• Some complex ncurses applications may not render perfectly
• Windows support requires Windows Terminal or WSL

📧 Contact

• GitHub: @daviddawson
• Issues: GitHub Issues

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Made with ❤️ for developers who need to monitor their terminals from anywhere