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Use Sandbox.shell() for interactive TTY sessions. It returns a TerminalSession with raw byte streaming and no output buffering, purpose-built for interactive use. For batch command execution, use exec() instead.

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Shell session

Create a sandbox and open an interactive shell session. Sandbox.run() with no arguments uses the default long-running command. The examples that follow assume this context is still active. 
from cwsandbox import Sandbox

with Sandbox.run() as sandbox:
    terminal = sandbox.shell(
        ["/bin/bash"],
        width=80,
        height=24,
    )
shell() always allocates a TTY and enables stdin. The returned TerminalSession streams raw bytes (no UTF-8 decode/encode round-trip), making it safe for terminal escape sequences and binary output.

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Send commands and read output

import sys

terminal.stdin.writeline("echo hello").result()
terminal.stdin.writeline("ls -la /tmp").result()
terminal.stdin.writeline("exit").result()

# Iterate raw byte output
for chunk in terminal.output:
    sys.stdout.buffer.write(chunk)
    sys.stdout.buffer.flush()  # Flush so output appears as the session runs.

# Get exit code
exit_code = terminal.wait(timeout=5.0)
TerminalSession does not buffer output. Stdout and stderr are merged into a single raw byte stream on terminal.output (there are no separate stdout/stderr attributes on the result). Consume terminal.output continuously; if you stop reading, backpressure from the bounded queue stalls the remote session.

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Terminal resize

Send resize messages when the terminal dimensions change. 
terminal.resize(120, 40)
resize() is fire-and-forget on TerminalSession.

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Exiting

End a shell session by closing stdin or sending an exit command: 
terminal.stdin.writeline("exit").result()  # Ask the remote shell to exit
# or
terminal.stdin.close().result()            # Close the stdin stream
The shell session completes when the remote process exits. Call terminal.wait() or terminal.result() to block for the exit code.

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Commands and use cases

Use caseApproach
One-off command from terminalcwsandbox exec <id> echo hello
Interactive shell from terminalcwsandbox sh <id>
Run a script, capture output (SDK)exec(["python", "script.py"])
Interactive shell session (SDK)shell(["/bin/bash"])
Send input to a command (SDK)exec(["cat"], stdin=True)
Terminal application (vim, htop)shell(["vim"]) + CLI raw mode

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See also

Last modified on May 20, 2026