Multi-User Terminal Sharing

Collaborate on terminal sessions with multiple users simultaneously, with view-only or full control modes.

What is Terminal Collaboration?

Rexec allows you to share your terminal sessions with teammates in real-time. Think Google Docs, but for terminal sessions — see each other’s cursors, selections, and command execution live.

Key Features

Real-Time Sharing

Multiple users see the same terminal output simultaneously.

Access Control

Choose between view-only or full control modes.

Share via Link

Send a shareable link — no account required for viewers.

Participant Tracking

See who’s connected with color-coded cursors.

Starting a Collaboration Session

From the Dashboard

Open any terminal (cloud or agent)
Click the Share icon in the top-right corner
Choose sharing mode:
- View - Others can watch but not type
- Control - Others can execute commands
Set optional limits:
- Max users (1-10)
- Duration (15min to 24hrs)
Click “Create Share Link”

Collaboration sessions automatically expire after the configured duration for security.

After creating a session:

https://rexec.io/join/ABC123

Share this link with your team
No Rexec account required to join (viewer mode)
Link expires after session duration

Collaboration Modes

View-Only Mode

Viewers can:

Watch all terminal output in real-time
See command execution
Scroll through history independently

Viewers cannot:

Type commands
Send input
Interrupt running processes

Use cases:

Live demos and presentations
Training and onboarding
Debugging assistance (watch over shoulder)

Control Mode

All participants can:

Execute commands
Edit files
Run programs
Stop/restart processes

Owner retains:

Ability to end session
Permission to kick users
Original terminal access after session ends

Use cases:

Pair programming
Collaborative debugging
DevOps incident response
Teaching and mentoring

Control mode gives participants full command execution. Only share with trusted team members.

Joining a Shared Session

As a Viewer (No Account)

Click the shared link: https://rexec.io/join/ABC123
Enter your name (optional)
Click “Join Session”
Terminal appears in read-only or control mode

As a Rexec User

If you’re logged in:

Click shared link
Auto-authenticated with your account
Your role depends on session mode
Session appears in your dashboard under Shared Sessions

Participant Management

Active Participants

See all connected users in the sidebar:

👤 Alice (Owner)    🟢
👤 Bob (Editor)     🟢
👤 Charlie (Viewer) 🟢

Color-coded cursors: Each user has a unique color for cursor position tracking.

Roles

Role	Permissions
Owner	Full control + can end session + can remove users
Editor	Full control (control mode only)
Viewer	Read-only access

Removing Users

As the session owner:

Click participant name in sidebar
Select “Remove from session”
User disconnected immediately

Session Limits

By Tier

Tier	Sessions	Max Duration	Max Users per Session
Free	1 active	1 hour	2 users
Pro	5 active	24 hours	5 users
Enterprise	Unlimited	Unlimited	20 users

Duration Settings

Choose when creating session:

minutes   - Quick debugging
hour       - Pair programming session
hours      - Full workday
hours     - Long-running collaboration

Sessions auto-close when duration expires or when owner ends them manually.

Security & Privacy

Authentication

Viewers (No Account)
Authenticated Users

Access via share code only
Expires with session
No data persistence

Data Handling

Terminal output - Not recorded unless recording enabled separately
Participant info - Stored during session only
Share links - Invalidated after expiration

MFA Protection

For terminals with MFA enabled, participants must authenticate before joining.

Enable MFA on sensitive terminals:

Go to terminal settings
Enable “Require MFA for shared sessions”
Participants prompted for MFA token on join

Practical Examples

Example 1: Live Debugging Session

# Owner starts session in view mode
# Teammates watch as owner debugs
$ docker logs api-service | grep ERROR

# Owner narrates while typing
# Viewers can copy-paste errors to help research

Example 2: Pair Programming

# Owner starts in control mode
# Both developers can edit files

# Alice types:
$ vim src/app.py

# Bob can take over keyboard:
$ pytest tests/test_app.py

# Both see output simultaneously

Example 3: Training Session

# Trainer shares terminal in control mode
# Students follow along with same commands

$ git clone https://github.com/example/tutorial
$ cd tutorial
$ npm install
$ npm start

# Students see exact output on their screens

Managing Active Sessions

View All Sessions

From dashboard:

Active Sessions - Currently shared terminals
Joined Sessions - Sessions you’ve joined from others

Ending a Session

As owner:

Click “End Session” in terminal header
Or click Stop on session card in dashboard
All participants disconnected
Terminal returns to private mode

Ending a session disconnects all participants immediately. There’s no undo.

Cursor & Selection Tracking

Visual Indicators

See collaborators’ activity:

$ ls -la
total 24
[Alice's cursor here]drwxr-xr-x  4 user user 4096 Dec 17 10:30 .
[Bob selected this line]
drwxr-xr-x 12 user user 4096 Dec 17 10:29 ..
-rw-r--r--  1 user user  220 Dec 17 10:30 README.md

Color coding:

Red cursor - Alice
Blue cursor - Bob
Green cursor - Charlie

Cursor Modes

Following
Independent

Auto-scroll to keep owner’s cursor in view. Click “Follow” to enable.

Integration with Other Features

Session Recording

Enable recording during collaboration:

Start recording before/during session
All participants’ input captured
Replay shows multi-user activity

See Session Recording for details.

SSH Access

Shared sessions work with SSH-connected terminals:

Share an SSH-connected terminal
Participants use web interface
Owner can still use native SSH

See SSH Access for setup.

Troubleshooting

Participants can't join session

Causes:

Session expired (check duration)
Max users reached
Invalid share link

Fix:

Create new session
Increase max users
Copy fresh share link

High latency or lag

Causes:

Poor network connection
Too many participants
Very fast command output

Fix:

Check participant network
Reduce number of viewers
Use less or pagination for large output

Control mode not working

Causes:

Session started in view mode
Terminal locked with MFA
Permission conflict

Fix:

Recreate session with control mode
Authenticate with MFA
Check terminal permissions

Best Practices

Security

Use view mode for untrusted participants
Set short durations (1-2 hours) for sensitive work
Enable MFA on production terminals
End sessions promptly when done

Performance

Limit to 5 or fewer participants for smooth experience
Use pagination (less, more) for large output
Avoid rapid-fire commands that flood output

Communication

Use voice/video chat alongside for context
Narrate actions in view mode
Take turns typing in control mode

API Integration

Programmatic Session Creation

# Create collaboration session via API
curl -X POST https://api.rexec.io/api/collab/start \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REXEC_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "container_id": "abc123...",
    "mode": "view",
    "max_users": 5,
    "duration_minutes": 60
  }'

# Response
{
  "session_id": "sess_xyz...",
  "share_code": "ABC123",
  "share_url": "https://rexec.io/join/ABC123",
  "expires_at": "2024-12-17T12:00:00Z"
}

End Session

curl -X POST https://api.rexec.io/api/collab/end/sess_xyz \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REXEC_TOKEN"

See API Reference for complete documentation.

Cloud Terminals

Create shared cloud terminals

BYOS Agent

Share agent-connected servers

Session Recording

Record collaborative sessions

SSH Access

Combine SSH with web collaboration

Get Started

Core Features

Deployment

User Guides

​What is Terminal Collaboration?

​Key Features

Real-Time Sharing

Access Control

Share via Link

Participant Tracking

​Starting a Collaboration Session

​From the Dashboard

​Getting the Share Link

​Collaboration Modes

​View-Only Mode

​Control Mode

​Joining a Shared Session

​As a Viewer (No Account)

​As a Rexec User

​Participant Management

​Active Participants

​Roles

​Removing Users

​Session Limits

​By Tier

​Duration Settings

​Security & Privacy

​Authentication

​Data Handling

​MFA Protection

​Practical Examples

​Example 1: Live Debugging Session

​Example 2: Pair Programming

​Example 3: Training Session

​Managing Active Sessions

​View All Sessions

​Ending a Session

​Cursor & Selection Tracking

​Visual Indicators

​Cursor Modes

​Integration with Other Features

​Session Recording

​SSH Access

​Troubleshooting

​Best Practices

Security

Performance

Communication

​API Integration

​Programmatic Session Creation

​End Session

​Related Features

Cloud Terminals

BYOS Agent

Session Recording

SSH Access

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

What is Terminal Collaboration?

Key Features

Starting a Collaboration Session

From the Dashboard

Getting the Share Link

Collaboration Modes

View-Only Mode

Control Mode

Joining a Shared Session

As a Viewer (No Account)

As a Rexec User

Participant Management

Active Participants

Roles

Removing Users

Session Limits

By Tier

Duration Settings

Security & Privacy

Authentication

Data Handling

MFA Protection

Practical Examples

Example 1: Live Debugging Session

Example 2: Pair Programming

Example 3: Training Session

Managing Active Sessions

View All Sessions

Ending a Session

Cursor & Selection Tracking

Visual Indicators

Cursor Modes

Integration with Other Features

Session Recording

SSH Access

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

API Integration

Programmatic Session Creation

End Session

Related Features