Quick Start Guide

Overview

This guide walks you through connecting to your first network device, running basic commands, saving a session for later, and exploring the features that make NetStacks a productive daily driver for network engineers.

Target audience: Network engineers who have just installed NetStacks Terminal and want to connect to a device for the first time.

Time estimate: About five minutes from launch to your first saved session.

How It Works

When you connect to a device through NetStacks Terminal, the application establishes an SSH (or Telnet) session using a Rust-native SSH implementation built for performance and reliability. The connection flow depends on your mode:

• Standalone mode -- Terminal connects directly to the device using credentials you provide in the Quick Connect dialog. Credentials can optionally be saved locally.
• Enterprise mode -- Terminal connects through the Controller, which retrieves credentials from an encrypted vault, issues short-lived SSH certificates, and logs every session for compliance.

Sessions can be saved as profiles for one-click reconnection. Each session opens in its own tab, and you can split the view to work with multiple devices side by side.

Step-by-Step Guide

This walkthrough uses a realistic scenario: connecting to a Cisco IOS router at core-rtr-01.dc1.example.net (10.0.1.1) via SSH.

Step 1: Launch NetStacks Terminal

Open NetStacks from your Applications folder (macOS), Start Menu (Windows), or application launcher (Linux). The welcome screen appears with options for Quick Connect, recent sessions, and saved profiles.

Step 2: Open Quick Connect

Press Cmd+Shift+N (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows/Linux) to open the Quick Connect dialog. You can also click the + button in the tab bar and select Quick Connect.

Step 3: Enter connection details

• Host: core-rtr-01.dc1.example.net (or 10.0.1.1)
• Port: 22
• Username: netadmin
• Authentication: Password or SSH Key (select your preferred method)

Step 4: Connect

Click Connect. Terminal opens a new tab with a live SSH session to the device. You should see the device prompt:

core-rtr-01#

Step 5: Run your first command

Type show version and press Enter. You will see the IOS version, uptime, and hardware details:

core-rtr-01# show version
Cisco IOS XE Software, Version 17.09.04a
Cisco IOS Software [Cupertino], ISR Software (X86_64_LINUX_IOSD-UNIVERSALK9-M), Version 17.9.4a
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport

ROM: IOS-XE ROMMON
BOOTLDR: System Bootstrap, Version 17.9.4a

core-rtr-01 uptime is 127 days, 4 hours, 23 minutes
System returned to ROM by PowerOn

cisco ISR4451-X/K9 (2RU) processor with 3670016K/6147K bytes of memory.
Processor board ID FJC2316A0GJ
32768K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.

Step 6: Try AI assistance

Open the AI chat panel with Cmd+Shift+A (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+A (Windows/Linux). Ask a question like:

What IOS version is this device running?

The AI reads the terminal output from your session and provides a contextual answer based on the show version output.

Step 7: Save the session

Click the star icon in the active tab or press Cmd+S (macOS) / Ctrl+S (Windows/Linux) to save this connection as a profile. Next time you launch NetStacks, the device will appear in your saved sessions for one-click reconnection.

Step 8: Open a second tab

Press Cmd+T (macOS) or Ctrl+T (Windows/Linux) to open a new tab. Use Quick Connect again to connect to another device -- for example, a distribution switch at dist-sw-01.dc1.example.net.

Step 9: Split the view

Press Cmd+D (macOS) or Ctrl+D (Windows/Linux) to split the pane horizontally. You can now see both sessions side by side and compare outputs or run commands on both devices simultaneously using Multi-Send Mode (Cmd+Shift+M / Ctrl+Shift+M).

Code Examples

Real network engineering commands you can try during your first session.

SSH connection (what Terminal does under the hood)

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new netadmin@10.0.1.1

Common first commands on a Cisco IOS device

! Check software version and uptime
show version

! List interfaces with IP addresses and status
show ip interface brief

! View running config for interface sections
show running-config | section interface

! Check routing table summary
show ip route summary

Expected output: show ip interface brief

core-rtr-01# show ip interface brief
Interface              IP-Address      OK? Method Status                Protocol
GigabitEthernet0/0/0   10.0.1.1        YES NVRAM  up                    up
GigabitEthernet0/0/1   10.0.2.1        YES NVRAM  up                    up
GigabitEthernet0/0/2   unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down
Loopback0              192.168.1.1     YES NVRAM  up                    up

Common first commands on a Juniper Junos device

# Check software version
show version

# List interfaces with status
show interfaces terse

# View interface configuration
show configuration interfaces

Enterprise mode: Connect Terminal to Controller

If your team runs a NetStacks Controller, connect your Terminal to it from Settings > Enterprise. Enter the Controller URL and log in with your enterprise credentials. After connecting, devices from the centralized inventory appear in your device list.

Verify Controller health from the command line

curl -s http://localhost:3000/health | jq
# {"status": "ok"}

Q&A

How do I connect to my first device?

Press Cmd+Shift+N (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows/Linux) to open Quick Connect. Enter the host, port, username, and authentication method, then click Connect. See the step-by-step guide above for a complete walkthrough.

What authentication methods does NetStacks support?

NetStacks supports password authentication, SSH key authentication (RSA, Ed25519, ECDSA), SSH certificate authentication (via Controller), and keyboard-interactive challenges. In enterprise mode, the Controller can also issue short-lived SSH certificates for zero-standing-privilege access.

How do I save a session for later?

Click the star icon in the active tab header or press Cmd+S (macOS) / Ctrl+S (Windows/Linux). Saved sessions appear on the welcome screen and in the sidebar for one-click reconnection.

Can I connect to multiple devices at once?

Yes. Open additional tabs with Cmd+T / Ctrl+T and connect each to a different device. Split panes with Cmd+D / Ctrl+D to view sessions side by side. Enable Multi-Send Mode (Cmd+Shift+M / Ctrl+Shift+M) to type a command once and send it to all active sessions simultaneously.

How do I use AI assistance during a session?

Open the AI chat panel with Cmd+Shift+A / Ctrl+Shift+A. The AI can read your terminal output, suggest commands, explain error messages, and help troubleshoot issues. You need to configure an LLM provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Ollama) in Settings > AI Assistant first.

What is the difference between standalone and enterprise mode?

In standalone mode, Terminal works independently -- you provide credentials directly and sessions are stored locally. In enterprise mode, Terminal connects to a Controller server that provides centralized device inventory, encrypted credential vault, SSH certificate authentication, session recording, and audit logging.

How do I connect Terminal to the Controller?

Open Settings > Enterprise, enter your Controller URL (for example, https://controller.company.com), and log in with your enterprise credentials. Once connected, devices and credentials from the Controller are available in your Terminal.

Troubleshooting

Connection refused

The device is not reachable on the specified port. Verify the IP address and port are correct, confirm the device is powered on and has SSH enabled, and check for firewalls or ACLs blocking the connection.

# Verify the host is reachable
ping 10.0.1.1

# Check if the SSH port is open
nc -zv 10.0.1.1 22

Authentication failed

Wrong password, SSH key not accepted, or key algorithm mismatch. Verify your credentials, ensure the device accepts the key type you are using (some older devices do not support Ed25519), and check that the username matches an account on the device.

Host key verification failed

This appears when connecting to a device for the first time or when a device's host key has changed (reimaged, replaced, or new firmware). NetStacks prompts you to accept the new key. If the device was legitimately rebuilt, accept the key. If unexpected, investigate before proceeding -- a changed host key can indicate a man-in-the-middle attack.

Connection timed out

The device did not respond within the timeout window. Common causes: routing issue between your machine and the device, device powered off, or an intermediate firewall silently dropping packets. Verify routing with traceroute 10.0.1.1.

Terminal shows garbled or unreadable output

Usually caused by a terminal type or character encoding mismatch. NetStacks defaults to xterm-256color, which works with most modern network devices. If you see garbled output on older equipment, try changing the terminal type in the connection settings to vt100.

Related Features

Now that you have connected to your first device, explore these features to get the most out of NetStacks:

• Installation -- platform-specific installation instructions and Controller setup
• Terminal Overview -- deep dive into the Terminal interface and all available features
• Connecting to Devices -- advanced connection options including jump hosts and proxy settings
• Keyboard Shortcuts -- complete reference for all keyboard shortcuts
• Session Recording -- record and replay terminal sessions for training and compliance
• AI Chat -- use AI to analyze output, suggest commands, and troubleshoot issues
• Credential Vault -- securely store and manage device credentials