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Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18 or higher
  • A terminal (macOS, Linux, or Windows)

Installation

Quick Run (no install)

npx termbeam

Global Install

npm install -g termbeam
termbeam

First Run

  1. Start TermBeam:
termbeam
  1. You'll see output like:
  ████████╗███████╗██████╗ ███╗   ███╗██████╗ ███████╗ █████╗ ███╗   ███╗
  ╚══██╔══╝██╔════╝██╔══██╗████╗ ████║██╔══██╗██╔════╝██╔══██╗████╗ ████║
     ██║   █████╗  ██████╔╝██╔████╔██║██████╔╝█████╗  ███████║██╔████╔██║
     ██║   ██╔══╝  ██╔══██╗██║╚██╔╝██║██╔══██╗██╔══╝  ██╔══██║██║╚██╔╝██║
     ██║   ███████╗██║  ██║██║ ╚═╝ ██║██████╔╝███████╗██║  ██║██║ ╚═╝ ██║
     ╚═╝   ╚══════╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝     ╚═╝╚═════╝ ╚══════╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝     ╚═╝

  Beam your terminal to any device 📡  v1.2.10

  Shell:    /bin/zsh
  Session:  a1b2c3d4
  Auth:     🔒 password
  Bind:     0.0.0.0 (LAN accessible)

  Public:   https://abc123.devtunnels.ms
  Local:    http://localhost:3456
  LAN:      http://192.168.1.42:3456

  █▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█
  █ (QR code here) █
  █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█

  Scan the QR code or open: https://abc123.devtunnels.ms
  Password: xK9mP2vL8nQ4wR7j
  1. On your phone: Scan the QR code or type the LAN URL
  2. Enter the password when prompted
  3. You're connected! 🎉

Creating Sessions

  • The default session uses your current shell and working directory
  • Tap + New (or + New Session on the hub page) to create additional sessions
  • Pick a color for each session to tell them apart at a glance
  • Use the 📂 folder browser to pick a working directory
  • Optionally set an initial command (e.g. htop, vim)

Terminal View

Tabs & Split View

  • All open sessions appear as tabs in the top bar — tap to switch
  • Drag to reorder tabs (long-press on mobile to enter drag mode)
  • Hover (desktop) or long-press (mobile) a tab to see a live preview of its output
  • Tap the split view button to view two sessions side-by-side
  • On mobile, use the ☰ menu to open the side panel with session cards and previews

Session Colors & Activity

  • Each session has a colored dot for quick identification
  • Activity labels (e.g. "3s", "5m") show time since the last output

Scrolling

  • Swipe up/down to scroll through terminal history on touch devices
  • Scrollbar is hidden to save space but scrolling works normally

Share & Refresh

  • Tap the share button (↗) to copy a shareable auto-login link to your clipboard; falls back to a manual-copy dialog when clipboard access is unavailable
  • Tap the refresh button (↻) to clear the PWA cache and reload

Touch Controls

The bottom touch bar provides quick access to:

Button Action
Esc Escape
Copy Copy terminal content to clipboard (text overlay)
Paste Paste from clipboard (with fallback modal)
Home Move cursor to beginning of line
End Move cursor to end of line
↑ ↓ ← → Arrow keys
↵ Enter / Return
Ctrl Toggle Ctrl modifier (tap, then press another key)
Shift Toggle Shift modifier (tap, then press another key)
Tab Tab completion
^C Ctrl+C (interrupt process)

Font size can be adjusted with − / + buttons in the top toolbar.