Web Console: Manage Sessions, Services, and Snapshots from Your Browser

The CLI is powerful, but sometimes you want a visual interface. Today we’re introducing the Web Console - a browser-based control panel for managing your unsandbox resources.

No installation needed. Open your browser, unlock your vault, and you have full control over sessions, services, and snapshots.

Getting Started

1. Visit unsandbox.com/console
2. Unlock your vault with your password (or add a key if you haven’t already)
3. Your sessions, services, and snapshots load automatically

The console uses your browser’s local vault to store API keys securely. Keys are encrypted client-side and never leave your device.

Sessions: Interactive Shells in Your Browser

The Sessions tab lets you create and manage interactive shell sessions.

Creating a Session

Click New Session + to open the creation dialog:

• Network Mode: Choose zerotrust (isolated) or semitrusted (internet access)
• Session Lifetime: From 1 hour to 24 hours, or no limit (until deleted)
• Shell/REPL: Pick from bash, zsh, fish, Python, Node.js, Ruby IRB, Elixir IEx, and more

Connecting to a Session

Click Connect to open a full terminal in your browser. The terminal supports:

• Full PTY with colors and cursor positioning
• Tab completion and command history
• Vim, nano, and other TUI applications
• Window resizing (terminal auto-adapts)

The connection uses WebSockets over TLS, so everything is encrypted.

Session Actions

Each session card shows status, TTL remaining, and network mode. Available actions:

Action	Description
Connect	Open browser terminal
Sleep	Freeze container (saves resources)
Wake	Unfreeze a sleeping session
Snapshot	Capture container state
Lock/Unlock	Prevent accidental deletion
Delete	Permanently remove session

Sleeping sessions use zero resources but preserve all state. Wake them instantly when needed.

Services: Deploy and Manage Persistent Apps

Services are persistent containers that stay running and get public HTTPS URLs. The Services tab shows all your deployed services.

Creating a Service

Click New Service + to configure:

• Service Name: Becomes name.on.unsandbox.com
• Ports: Which ports to expose (e.g., 80, 8000)
• Custom Domains: Your own domains (set CNAME to on.unsandbox.com)
• Network Mode: Usually semitrusted for services that need internet
• Bootstrap Script: Shell commands that run on startup

Example bootstrap script:

#!/bin/bash
pip install flask
cat > /app/server.py << 'EOF'
from flask import Flask
app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/')
def hello():
    return 'Hello from unsandbox!'

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=8000)
EOF
python3 /app/server.py

Service Actions

Action	Description
Logs	View bootstrap output and application logs
Sleep	Pause service (wakes on first HTTP request)
Wake	Manually wake a sleeping service
Redeploy	Re-run bootstrap script
Snapshot	Capture service state
Lock/Unlock	Prevent accidental deletion
Delete	Permanently remove service

Services auto-sleep after periods of inactivity and auto-wake on incoming requests. Zero cost when sleeping.

Viewing Logs

The Logs button opens a modal showing:

• Bootstrap script output
• Application stdout/stderr
• Error messages

Useful for debugging why a service isn’t starting or behaving unexpectedly.

Snapshots: Save and Restore Container State

Snapshots capture the complete filesystem state of a session or service. Think of them as save points.

Note: Snapshots are available on paid tiers only.

Creating a Snapshot

Two ways to create snapshots:

1. From Session/Service card: Click the Snapshot button on any active session or service
2. From Snapshots tab: Click New Snapshot + and select a source

Snapshot options:

• Source Type: Session or Service
• Source: Select from your active resources
• Hot Snapshot: Capture live state without freezing (faster but may be inconsistent)
• Snapshot TTL: Auto-expire after 1 day, 7 days, 30 days, or never

Snapshot Actions

Action	Description
Clone	Create new session or service from snapshot
Restore	Overwrite source with snapshot state
Lock/Unlock	Prevent accidental deletion
Delete	Permanently remove snapshot

Use Cases

Development checkpoints: Snapshot before major changes, restore if things break.

Template environments: Set up a dev environment once, clone it for each project.

Debugging: Snapshot a broken service, clone it, poke around without affecting production.

Migration: Snapshot a session, clone it as a service (or vice versa).

Key Info: Monitor Your API Key

The Key Info tab displays your current API key details:

• Public Key: Your identifier (unsb-pk-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx)
• Status: Active, suspended, or expired
• Tier: Your plan level
• Expiration: When the key expires (ISO 8601)
• Time Remaining: Human-readable countdown
• Rate Limit: Requests per minute and burst limit
• Concurrency: Maximum simultaneous operations

From here you can:

• View Full Details: Link to your key’s detail page
• Extend Key: Link to add more time to your subscription

Multi-Key Support

Have multiple API keys? The console supports them all.

At the top of the console, you’ll see tabs for each key in your vault. Click a tab to switch between keys. Each key shows its own sessions, services, and snapshots.

If you have more than 3 keys, overflow keys appear in a dropdown menu (⋯ +N).

Security Model

The console runs entirely in your browser:

1. Vault encryption: Keys stored in localStorage, encrypted with your password
2. HMAC authentication: Every API request is signed with your secret key
3. Zero-knowledge: We never receive your vault password or secret keys
4. TLS everywhere: All connections use HTTPS/WSS

Your secret key is used to sign requests but never transmitted. Even if our servers were compromised, attackers couldn’t access your resources without your secret key.

Free Tier Limitations

Some features are restricted on the free tier:

• Sessions: Full access
• Services: Paid tiers only
• Snapshots: Paid tiers only

If you have both free and paid keys in your vault, switch to a paid key using the tabs at the top.

Tips and Tricks

Quick Snapshot Before Risky Changes

Working on a session and about to try something dangerous? Click Snapshot first. If things go wrong, restore from the Snapshots tab.

Clone Instead of Starting Fresh

Got a session configured just right? Snapshot it, then clone whenever you need a fresh copy with the same setup.

Sleep Services When Not in Use

Services auto-sleep eventually, but manually sleeping them saves resources immediately. They’ll wake automatically on the first HTTP request.

Lock Important Resources

Accidentally deleted something important? Use the lock button on sessions, services, and snapshots you don’t want to lose. Locked resources can’t be deleted until unlocked.

Use Labels for Organization

When adding keys to your vault, give them descriptive labels like “Production”, “Staging”, or “Personal”. Labels appear in the key tabs for easy identification.

Keyboard Shortcuts

When connected to a terminal:

• Escape: Close terminal modal
• Standard terminal shortcuts work (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+D, etc.)

Troubleshooting

“WebSocket connection error”

• Check that your API key is valid (Key Info tab)
• Ensure the session is in “active” status, not “sleeping”
• Try refreshing the page

“Failed to load sessions/services”

• Verify your vault is unlocked (you should see key tabs at the top)
• Check the Key Info tab to ensure your key is active
• If key is expired, extend it from the Key Info tab

Terminal not accepting input

• Click inside the terminal area to focus it
• If still not working, disconnect and reconnect

“Concurrency limit reached”

• You’re at max simultaneous sessions/services for your tier
• Sleep or delete some resources to free up capacity
• Or upgrade to a higher tier for more concurrency

What’s Next

We’re working on:

• Log streaming: Real-time logs for services
• File browser: Upload/download files without terminal
• Resource metrics: CPU and memory usage graphs
• Team sharing: Multiple users managing the same resources

Get Started

Open unsandbox.com/console, unlock your vault, and start managing your cloud resources from anywhere.

No CLI required. Just your browser.

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