Skip to content

ttyd 1.7.7

ttyd – Feature Overview

ttyd is a lightweight tool that exposes a local terminal session over a web interface. It acts as a bridge between a PTY (pseudo-terminal) and a browser-based client.

It is typically used to provide remote shell access without SSH clients, using only a browser.

ttyd is a terminal-to-web bridge providing:

  • full interactive shell in browser
  • WebSocket-based real-time I/O
  • minimal runtime overhead
  • strong suitability for embedded and headless systems
  • full keyboard input (including control sequences)
  • clipboard integration (browser-dependent)
  • real-time stdout/stderr streaming
  • resize events forwarded to PTY

Core architecture

ttyd implements a simple model:

Terminal process (bash/sh/any CLI) ⇄ PTY ⇄ ttyd server ⇄ WebSocket ⇄ Browser

Key properties:

  • each browser session attaches to a pseudo-terminal
  • full bidirectional I/O streaming
  • low latency via WebSocket transport

Session handling

  • spawns a configurable shell or command
  • multiple concurrent sessions supported
  • each session is isolated at PTY level
  • automatic session cleanup on disconnect

Web interface

  • single-page web UI
  • terminal emulation via xterm.js-style rendering

  • full ANSI escape sequence support:

  • colors

  • cursor movement
  • screen buffers
  • responsive layout for mobile and desktop