gitlab-org--gitlab-foss/doc/ci/interactive_web_terminal/index.md

---
stage: Verify
group: Runner
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type: reference
---

# Interactive Web Terminals **(FREE)**

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/50144) in GitLab 11.3.

Interactive web terminals give the user access to a terminal in GitLab for
running one-off commands for their CI pipeline. You can think of it like a method for
debugging with SSH, but done directly from the job page. Since this is giving the user
shell access to the environment where [GitLab Runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/)
is deployed, some [security precautions](../../administration/integration/terminal.md#security) were
taken to protect the users.

NOTE:
[Shared runners on GitLab.com](../runners/index.md) do not
provide an interactive web terminal. Follow
[this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/24674) for progress on
adding support. For groups and projects hosted on GitLab.com, interactive web
terminals are available when using your own group or project runner.

## Configuration

Two things need to be configured for the interactive web terminal to work:

- The runner needs to have
  [`[session_server]` configured properly](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/configuration/advanced-configuration.html#the-session_server-section)
- If you are using a reverse proxy with your GitLab instance, web terminals need to be
  [enabled](../../administration/integration/terminal.md#enabling-and-disabling-terminal-support)

### Partial support for Helm chart

Interactive web terminals are partially supported in `gitlab-runner` Helm chart.
They are enabled when:

- The number of replica is one
- You use the `loadBalancer` service

Support for fixing these limitations is tracked in the following issues:

- [Support of more than one replica](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/charts/gitlab-runner/-/issues/323)
- [Support of more service types](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/charts/gitlab-runner/-/issues/324)

## Debugging a running job

NOTE:
Not all executors are
[supported](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/executors/#compatibility-chart).

NOTE:
The `docker` executor does not keep running
after the build script is finished. At that point, the terminal automatically
disconnects and does not wait for the user to finish. Please follow
[this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/-/issues/3605) for updates on
improving this behavior.

Sometimes, when a job is running, things don't go as you would expect, and it
would be helpful if one can have a shell to aid debugging. When a job is
running, on the right panel you can see a button `debug` that opens the terminal
for the current job.

![Example of job running with terminal available](img/interactive_web_terminal_running_job.png)

When clicked, a new tab opens to the terminal page where you can access
the terminal and type commands like a normal shell.

![terminal of the job](img/interactive_web_terminal_page.png)

If you have the terminal open and the job has finished with its tasks, the
terminal blocks the job from finishing for the duration configured in
[`[session_server].session_timeout`](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/configuration/advanced-configuration.html#the-session_server-section) until you
close the terminal window.

![finished job with terminal open](img/finished_job_with_terminal_open.png)

## Interactive Web Terminals for the Web IDE

Read the Web IDE docs to learn how to run [Interactive Terminals through the Web IDE](../../user/project/web_ide/index.md#interactive-web-terminals-for-the-web-ide).