Terminal Overview

Interface Overview

The NetStacks Terminal provides a clean, modern interface optimized for network operations. The interface consists of several key areas:

Tab Bar

Located at the top of the window, the tab bar displays all open sessions. Each tab shows the session name, connection status, and device type icon. You can:

• Click a tab to switch to that session
• Right-click for context menu options (rename, duplicate, close)
• Drag tabs to reorder them
• Double-click to rename
• Click the star icon to save as a favorite session

Terminal Area

The main terminal area supports XTerm-compatible rendering with full 256-color and true color support. Features include:

• Hardware-accelerated rendering
• Configurable scrollback buffer (up to 100,000 lines)
• Text selection with mouse or keyboard
• URL detection and clickable links
• Search within scrollback (Cmd/Ctrl+F)

Status Bar

The status bar at the bottom shows connection information, recording status, and AI assistance status. It displays:

• Connection state (connected, disconnected, connecting)
• Detected device type
• Session duration
• Recording indicator

Sidebar (Optional)

Toggle the sidebar to access saved sessions, recent connections, and device inventory (when connected to Controller).

Session Types

NetStacks supports multiple session types:

Local Shell

A local shell session runs your system's default shell (bash, zsh, PowerShell). This is useful for:

• Running local commands and scripts
• SSH connections from the command line
• Development and testing

SSH Session

Direct SSH connections to network devices with support for:

• Password authentication
• SSH key authentication (RSA, ECDSA, Ed25519)
• SSH certificates (when using Controller)
• Keyboard-interactive authentication
• Jump hosts / bastion servers

SSH via Controller

When connected to a Controller, sessions can be proxied through the Controller's SSH proxy. This provides:

• Centralized credential management
• SSH certificate-based authentication
• Session recording stored on Controller
• Audit logging of all commands

Device Detection

NetStacks automatically detects the type of device you're connected to and adjusts its behavior accordingly. Detection happens by analyzing the login banner and command prompt.

Supported Device Types

AI Context

Device detection is used to provide context to the AI assistant. When you ask for help, the AI knows what type of device you're working with and can provide platform-specific guidance.

Operating Modes

NetStacks Terminal operates in two modes:

Standalone Mode

In standalone mode, the Terminal operates independently without a Controller connection. Features include:

• Local credential storage (encrypted)
• Local session recordings
• Direct device connections
• AI assistance (with your own API keys)

This mode is ideal for individual users or those who don't need centralized management.

Enterprise Mode

When connected to a Controller, the Terminal operates in enterprise mode with additional capabilities:

• Credentials from central vault (never stored locally)
• SSH certificate authentication
• Session recordings stored on Controller
• Access to centralized device inventory
• Audit logging of all actions
• Shared AI configuration and knowledge base

# Check current mode in Terminal
# Menu: Help → About NetStacks

# Mode displayed as:
# - Standalone Mode (Local Agent)
# - Enterprise Mode (Controller: https://controller.example.com)