Skip to content

Command Line (Terminal)

Command Line

A fully interactive persistent remote shell — the remote machine's terminal streamed live to the operator.

Capabilities

  • Opens a persistent interactive shell on the remote device
    • Windows → cmd.exe
    • Linux / macOS → bash or sh
  • Streams real-time output back to the controller as it is produced
  • Fully interactive — run commands, navigate directories, execute scripts, launch programs
  • Session-based — the shell process stays alive between commands (not one-shot execution)
  • Color-coded terminal output with a dark console theme
  • Device selector to switch between multiple connected devices

How It Works

  1. Operator selects a device and clicks Connect
  2. The controller sends a START_SHELL command
  3. The agent spawns a shell process (ProcessBuilder) and keeps it alive
  4. The agent streams stdout and stderr back to the controller in real time
  5. Every line the operator types is sent as SHELL_INPUT to the agent's stdin
  6. The shell session persists until explicitly disconnected

What You Learn

Industry Comparison

This is the same model used by SSH (Secure Shell), Telnet, Cobalt Strike's interactive shell, and Metasploit Meterpreter's shell command. The key difference between a one-shot command executor (run command → get output → done) and a persistent PTY session (shell stays alive, maintains state like current directory and environment variables) is a fundamental concept in remote administration.