Sessions
Sessions provide persistent terminal environments within your devbox that survive browser tab closures, network disconnections, and even devbox pause/resume cycles.
What are Sessions?
A Session is a named, persistent terminal environment that preserves your terminal state. Sessions allow you to:
- Detach and reattach: Close your browser and reconnect later to find your terminal exactly as you left it
- Survive restarts: Sessions persist across devbox pause/resume cycles
- Run persistent processes: Keep long-running processes (servers, watchers, builds) running while disconnected
Sessions vs. Regular Terminals
| Feature | Session | Regular Terminal (SSH/Tab) |
|---|---|---|
| Persists after disconnect | Yes | No |
| State preserved on browser close | Yes | No |
| Survives devbox pause/resume | Yes (with auto-restart) | N/A |
| Named and manageable | Yes | No |
| Visible in dashboard sidebar | Yes | No |
Creating Sessions
From the Dashboard
- Navigate to your devbox in the Namespace dashboard
- In the left sidebar, click New session under the Sessions section
- A new session is created with a randomly generated name and you're automatically connected
Managing Sessions
Viewing Sessions
All active sessions are displayed in the left sidebar of the devbox dashboard.
Connecting to a Session
Click on any session in the sidebar to connect to it. Connecting to a session takes exclusive control, so if another browser tab was connected to that session, it will be detached.
Deleting Sessions
Hover over a session in the sidebar and click the close button to delete it. This terminates any running processes in that session.
Session Behavior
Persistence Across Pause/Resume
When your devbox is paused, session metadata is preserved but running processes are stopped. When your devbox resumes, sessions remain available and you can restart your processes.
Use Cases
Development Servers
Run your dev server in a session. The server keeps running when you close your browser, and all logs are available when you reconnect.
Multiple Workstreams
Create separate sessions for different tasks: a dev server, test runner, and general shell. Switch between them instantly without losing context.
Long-Running Tasks
Start a build or test suite in a session, then disconnect and check the results later.
Technical Details
Sessions provide:
- Full terminal emulation
- Scroll-back buffer preservation
- Session persistence independent of connection state
Session state is stored in the devbox's persistent storage and survives devbox restarts.
Next Steps
Remote Development → Connect to your devbox via SSH, VS Code, Cursor, Zed, or JetBrains.
Managing Devboxes → Lifecycle operations, machine sizes, workspace defaults, and monitoring.
Custom Images → Build custom base images with your tools and runtimes pre-installed.