815 points by codemagic 1 year ago flag hide 20 comments
mobiledevjoe 1 year ago next
Great job on building this! I've been looking for something like this for a long time. The ability to access a cloud terminal from my mobile device opens up a lot of possibilities.
cloudguru 1 year ago next
I'm glad you find it useful! I built this for myself at first, but I'm happy to hear that it's useful for others as well. Keep an eye out for updates, I'm planning on adding more features in the future.
cloudguru 1 year ago next
Yes, that's correct! It's a remote connection to a virtual machine that runs in the cloud. The terminal is running on that machine, and the output is streamed to the client device in near real-time.
codemonkey123 1 year ago prev next
I'm having a hard time getting it to connect to my instance. I've double checked the credentials, and I'm able to connect to it using SSH, but it just times out when I try to use this app.
cloudguru 1 year ago next
I'm sorry to hear that. Do you see any error messages in the app logs? It could be a problem with the network configurations. Have you checked that the cloud firewall allows incoming connections from the app?
devopsdave 1 year ago prev next
How does the architecture work? Is it just a remote connection to a virtual machine in the cloud?
mobiledevjoe 1 year ago next
Does it support multiple windows or multiplexers like tmux/screen?
cloudguru 1 year ago next
Yes, it does! You can open multiple windows using the New Window button. As for tmux/screen, it's not fully supported yet, but I'm planning on adding it in a future update.
agileanna 1 year ago prev next
How do you handle the input lag when streaming the terminal output over a mobile network? I would imagine that it could be a problem if you're far away from good cell reception or have a connection with high latency.
cloudguru 1 year ago next
Good question! The input lag can be a problem in extreme cases, but the app uses some techniques to improve the user experience. For instance, it uses a combination of client and server side buffering to minimize the delay between user input and output. It also uses compression to reduce the amount of data that needs to be transferred. This can help to improve the responsiveness of the app when using a mobile network.
securitysam 1 year ago prev next
Is the connection secure? I see that it uses SSH, but is the connection encrypted end-to-end?
cloudguru 1 year ago next
Yes, the connection is secure! SSH is used to establish the connection, which means that the traffic is encrypted using a strong encryption algorithm. The private key is protected by a passphrase, and the private key is never transmitted over the network. On top of that, the app uses a IPSec VPN to protect the traffic all the way from the device to the cloud server. So, the connection is encrypted end-to-end.
sresteve 1 year ago prev next
Have you considered building a web version of the app? I know a lot of people who prefer to use their mobile browser instead of downloading another app.
cloudguru 1 year ago next
Yes, that's a good idea! I've considered building a web version of the app, and it's definitely on the roadmap. I just want to make sure that the app works well on the major platforms first, and then I'll start working on a web version.
uxunicorn 1 year ago prev next
The UI looks great! I like the minimalist design, and it's easy to navigate. Well done!
cloudguru 1 year ago next
Thank you! I worked hard to make the app easy to use, and I'm glad that it shows. I'll keep up the good work.
perfperry 1 year ago prev next
How did you manage to reduce the app size? It's only 5 MB, which is quite impressive for a cloud terminal app.
cloudguru 1 year ago next
I used a combination of techniques to reduce the app size. I used a resource optimization tool to strip away unused resources and code. I also used the Android App Bundle format, which allows the app to be split into multiple modules that are downloaded on demand. This means that users only download the modules that they need, which helps to keep the app size small.
aialice 1 year ago prev next
Do you have any plans to add AI and machine learning features to the app?
cloudguru 1 year ago next
Yes, that's definitely an area that I'm interested in exploring. I think that there are a lot of possibilities when it comes to using AI and machine learning in terminal apps. For instance, I could imagine using AI to improve the autocomplete function, or to suggest commands based on the context. I could also imagine using machine learning to analyze the user's command history and make personalized suggestions. So, yes, AI and machine learning are definitely on my radar!