17. Shell — FreeNAS®11.2-BETA1 User Guide Table of Contents

# 17. Shell

Beginning with version 8.2.0, the FreeNAS® GUI provides a web shell, making it convenient to run command line tools from the web browser as the root user. The link to Shell is the second entry from the bottom of the menu tree. In Figure 17.1, the link has been clicked and Shell is open.

Fig. 17.1 Web Shell

The prompt indicates that the current user is root, the hostname is freenas, and the current working directory is `~` (root’s home directory).

The Set font size slider adjusts the size of text displayed in the Shell.

If using Firefox, highlight the text and use the Open menu in the top right of the browser to copy the text from the Shell. Use the edit option in the Open menu again to paste text into the Shell.

Shell provides history, use the up arrow to see previously entered commands and press `Enter` to repeat the currently displayed command. It also provides tab completion, type a few letters and press tab to complete a command name or filename in the current directory. Type exit to leave the session.

GUI menus cannot be accessed while using Shell. To access a prompt while using the GUI menus, use tmux as it supports multiple shell sessions and the detachment and reattachment of sessions.

Note

Not all Shell features render correctly in Chrome. Firefox is the recommended browser for using Shell.

Most FreeBSD command line utilities are available in Shell. Additional troubleshooting utilities that are provided by FreeNAS® are described in Command Line Utilities.