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Shell In A Box

Web-based terminal emulator for remote shell access

Remote Access & VPN ★ 3.1k stars Easy setup GPL-2.0

Shell In A Box implements a web server that exports command-line tools to a terminal emulator inside any modern browser. It provides shell access over HTTPS without a native SSH client.

Official siteSource code

Key features

  • Browser-based terminal
  • Shell access over HTTPS
  • No native client needed
  • Lightweight server

Strengths

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
  • Written in C

Is Shell In A Box secure?

No known vulnerabilities affect Shell In A Box's latest release (v2.21). OSV.dev lists 1 past advisory for the project; none of them applies to this release. No known vulnerabilities is not proof of security: it means none have been publicly catalogued.

  • Most recent fixed advisory CVE-2018-16789, published 2019-03-21 (2764 days ago)

Source: OSV.dev, checked 2026-10-14. How this is measured.

Shell In A Box replaces

Self-hosted PuTTY alternatives

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SelfHostIndex: 53 · fair

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