GoTTY vs Shell In A Box
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | GoTTY | Shell In A Box |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 27 · At risk | 44 · Fair |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,553 | ★ 3,088 |
| First released | 2015 | 2009 |
| Replaces | PuTTY | PuTTY |
What are GoTTY and Shell In A Box?
GoTTY
GoTTY is a simple command-line tool that turns any CLI program into a web application accessible from a browser. It is useful for sharing terminal sessions and remote access.
- CLI programs as web apps
- Single binary
- Read-only or interactive mode
- Basic auth support
Shell In A Box
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.
- Browser-based terminal
- Shell access over HTTPS
- No native client needed
- Lightweight server
GoTTY vs Shell In A Box: key differences
GoTTY is written in Go, while Shell In A Box is built with C. Licensing differs — MIT for GoTTY versus GPL-2.0 for Shell In A Box. Shell In A Box is the more established project (first released 2009), while GoTTY arrived in 2015. GoTTY has the considerably larger community, at 19,553 GitHub stars versus 3,088. GoTTY lists first-class Docker deployment; Shell In A Box does not.
Why pick each one
Choose GoTTY if…
- Instant terminal sharing
- Single small binary
- No dependencies
Watch out for
- Upstream largely unmaintained
- Security needs careful setup
Choose Shell In A Box if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is GoTTY or Shell In A Box better?
Neither is universally better. GoTTY has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are GoTTY and Shell In A Box free and open-source?
Yes. GoTTY is licensed under MIT and Shell In A Box under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GoTTY and Shell In A Box with Docker?
GoTTY: yes. Shell In A Box: check the project docs for container support.