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---
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stage: Verify
group: Runner
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#designated-technical-writers
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type: reference
---
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# Interactive Web Terminals
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> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/50144) in GitLab 11.3.
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Interactive web terminals give the user access to a terminal in GitLab for
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running one-off commands for their CI pipeline. Since this is giving the user
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shell access to the environment where [GitLab Runner ](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/ )
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is deployed, some [security precautions ](../../administration/integration/terminal.md#security ) were
taken to protect the users.
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NOTE: **Note:**
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[Shared runners on GitLab.com ](../quick_start/README.md#shared-runners ) do not
provide an interactive web terminal. Follow [this
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issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/24674) for progress on
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adding support. For groups and projects hosted on GitLab.com, interactive web
terminals are available when using your own group or project runner.
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## Configuration
Two things need to be configured for the interactive web terminal to work:
- The Runner needs to have [`[session_server]` configured
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properly](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/configuration/advanced-configuration.html#the-session_server-section)
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- If you are using a reverse proxy with your GitLab instance, web terminals need to be
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[enabled ](../../administration/integration/terminal.md#enabling-and-disabling-terminal-support )
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NOTE: **Note:**
Interactive web terminals are not yet supported by
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[`gitlab-runner` Helm chart ](https://docs.gitlab.com/charts/charts/gitlab/gitlab-runner/index.html ),
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but support [is planned ](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/charts/gitlab-runner/-/issues/79 ).
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## Debugging a running job
NOTE: **Note:** Not all executors are
[supported ](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/executors/#compatibility-chart ).
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NOTE: **Note:** The `docker` executor does not keep running
after the build script is finished. At that point, the terminal will automatically
disconnect and will not wait for the user to finish. Please follow [this
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issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/-/issues/3605) for updates on
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improving this behavior.
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Sometimes, when a job is running, things don't go as you would expect, and it
would be helpful if one can have a shell to aid debugging. When a job is
running, on the right panel you can see a button `debug` that will open the terminal
for the current job.
When clicked, a new tab will open to the terminal page where you can access
the terminal and type commands like a normal shell.
If you have the terminal open and the job has finished with its tasks, the
terminal will block the job from finishing for the duration configured in
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[`[session_server].session_timeout`](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/configuration/advanced-configuration.html#the-session_server-section) until you
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close the terminal window.
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## Interactive Web Terminals for the Web IDE **(ULTIMATE ONLY)**
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Read the Web IDE docs to learn how to run [Interactive Terminals through the Web IDE ](../../user/project/web_ide/index.md ).
