# Use the Terminal

Run commands on your machine, keep separate tasks in tabs, and return to sessions you left open.

Audience: Hosted & self-hosted. Reviewed: 2026-09-29.
Web version: https://www.forgevps.com/docs/terminal

## A terminal on your VPS

Terminal is an interactive shell on the selected machine. Commands run on that machine, not on the laptop or phone displaying ForgeVPS. This is where you can install project dependencies, run a script, use Git from the command line, or launch a coding agent you have installed.

You do not need to keep a separate SSH application open to use this terminal. The external-terminal control is available if you prefer your own terminal application.

## Run your first command

1. Open Terminal and wait for the shell prompt.
2. Type pwd and press Enter. The result is the folder that terminal is currently in.
3. Type ls and press Enter to list the contents of that folder.
4. Use cd followed by your project’s path to work in the project directory. Then run the commands described by its README.

Each terminal tab has its own current directory. Opening a folder in Files does not change the directory in every existing terminal. If a command says it cannot find package.json or another project file, check pwd first.

## Use a tab for each task

1. Use the plus button to open another terminal.
2. Keep one tab for project commands and another for a long-running task or agent.
3. Click a tab to return to it. Its label and activity indicators help distinguish your sessions.

Terminal sessions are backed by tmux on the machine. Reloading the browser or switching workspace tabs can reconnect you to an existing session rather than starting the task over. A machine reboot or a terminated session is different; persistence does not mean the process survives every interruption.

## Leaving the page is different from closing a terminal

Closing the browser page disconnects your view. Closing a terminal tab with its close button asks ForgeVPS to terminate that terminal session, which can end the command running in it.

If you only want to look at Files or Servers, switch workspace tabs. If you want to stop a command, return to its terminal and use its normal exit or interrupt action. Check what is running before closing its terminal tab.

## When should I use Servers instead?

Use Terminal for interactive work and project setup. Use Servers when you want an application registered in ForgeVPS, with start/stop controls, logs, an assigned port, and domain settings.

Running a development command in Terminal does not create a matching entry in Servers. If it is already listening on a port, stop that copy before starting a second copy through Servers.

- [Add a development or production server](https://www.forgevps.com/docs/run-an-application/markdown)
- [Use ForgeVPS with an agent](https://www.forgevps.com/docs/agents/markdown)

## If the terminal looks stuck

- Some commands take time without printing output. Check whether the program is working, waiting for input, or showing a prompt.
- Password prompts commonly show no characters while you type. This does not necessarily mean the keyboard has stopped working.
- If the connection dropped, check Dashboard and reconnect before rerunning a command that may still be running.
- An error about a missing file often means this tab is in the wrong folder. Check the path before changing the command.