Preview websites and use the terminal
See a website a bot is running on its computer, and open a command line on the bot's computer yourself.
Preview a website (Browser tab)
When a bot builds a website or web app, it usually runs it on its computer to test it. The Browser tab lets you see that website.
What "localhost:3000" means
When a bot runs a website on its computer, it gives it an address like
localhost:3000. localhost means "this computer" (the bot's), and the
number is the port, like a door number for that website. Different
websites on the same computer use different numbers.
Open a preview
- Click the monitor icon in the chat header.
- Open the Browser tab.
- Websites the bot has started appear as Running chips. Click one.
Or type an address, like
localhost:3000, into Address on the bot's computer and click Open.
Don't see a Browser tab?
On Machine Desktop, the Browser tab only shows while it's the view you
have open. The easiest way to preview a site is the Browser window in
the Live view: type localhost:3000
into its address bar. To open the Browser tab itself, choose Go → Real
Browser in the Live view's menu bar. On phones, the Browser tab is
always there.
If nothing is running, you'll see "Nothing to show yet". Ask the bot to start the site:
Run the site so I can preview it.
Other ways to see it
- In the chat: when a bot starts a website, a live preview appears in the conversation, with Reload preview and Open in browser.
- File or Server: when the page is an HTML file the bot wrote, the chat preview and the Live view's Browser window show a small switch, Show the page from File or Server. File (the default) shows the file itself, so the page still shows after the server has stopped. Server shows the running server, for pages that need it, like ones that load data.
- Share it: create a public link to send to anyone. See Find, share, and export.
- Put it online for good: see Deployments.
Use the terminal (Terminal tab)
The Terminal tab is a command line on the bot's computer. It's for people who are comfortable typing commands. You don't need it to use Machine: the bot does all of this for you. It's there if you want to look around or run something yourself.
Open the terminal
- Click the monitor icon in the chat header.
- Open the Terminal tab.
It opens in the bot's workspace folder. Opening it wakes the computer if it was asleep.
Buttons
Each terminal has its own tab at the top, like a terminal app.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| + (New terminal) | Opens another terminal in a new tab. |
| × on a tab | Closes that terminal. Closing the last one opens a fresh one. |
| Reconnect | Appears if the connection dropped. Click it to start the shell again. |
The terminal session ends when you close the panel. Programs you started in it stop too. Switching to another part of the panel, like the Computer tab, doesn't end it: your terminals keep running, with their history, until you come back.
Keyboard shortcuts
The terminal uses the same keys as Windows Terminal:
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+C | Copies the selected text. With nothing selected, it stops the running command, as usual. |
| Ctrl+V | Pastes. |
| Ctrl+Shift+C / Ctrl+Shift+V | Copy and paste, always. |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Opens a new terminal. |
| Ctrl+Shift+W | Closes the current terminal. |
| Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Switches to the next or previous terminal. |
| Right-click | Copies the selected text, or pastes when nothing is selected. |
On a Mac, ⌘ also works in place of Ctrl, except for switching terminals, which is always Ctrl+Tab.
Useful commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
ls | List files in the current folder. |
cd foldername | Go into a folder. cd .. goes up one. |
cat filename | Show a text file. |
pwd | Show which folder you're in. |
Anything you change in the terminal changes the thread's computer, so the bot will see it too.