OpenFrame

Using the Remote Shell

BEST PRACTICESOPENFRAMEREMOTE ACCESSTUTORIAL

Phase 7 — Remote Access · Step 2

Section

June 23, 2026

Published

Vladislav Marchenko

Vladislav Marchenko

Head Of Marketing

Using the Remote Shell

Phase 7 — Remote Access · OpenFrame Onboarding

When you know exactly what you need to type, the full desktop is overkill. The Remote Shell drops you straight into a live command line on the remote machine — right in your browser — so you can run a command and get out. This guide covers launching it and which shell you get on each OS.

Before you start

  • The device must be ONLINE (a live terminal needs a live connection).
  • You're on the device's detail page (open it from Devices, or from a ticket).

Launch it

On the device detail page, click Remote Shell (top right). It opens a live terminal session connected to the machine. The dropdown arrow next to the button lets you pick which shell.

Which shell you get

OpenFrame offers the native shells for each platform:

  • Windows — CMD or PowerShell. Use the dropdown to choose. PowerShell for anything modern; CMD when a tool or script expects it.
  • Linux / macOS — bash (the shell). Standard Unix command line.

Pick the one that matches what you're about to do, and you're typing on the remote box.

When to use the shell vs. other tools

  • Remote Shell — you know the command. Fastest path for a targeted fix, a quick check, a one-liner.
  • Remote Control (full desktop) — you need to see the screen or drive a GUI app (Phase 7, Remote Control Overview).
  • Run Script — you have a repeatable, tested script to push (Phase 5). Prefer this over typing the same thing into a shell on machine after machine.

Tip: for anything you'll do more than once, or across more than one device, write it as a script (Phase 5) instead of typing it live. The shell is for one-off, in-the-moment work.

Good habits

  • Confirm the target. The session title shows the device — make sure it's the machine you mean before you start running commands.
  • Mind the blast radius. A live shell runs with real privileges on a real machine. Destructive commands are just as destructive here as locally.
  • Close when done. Navigate away to end the session cleanly.

Quick checklist

  • Device is ONLINE
  • Opened Remote Shell from the device page
  • Picked the right shell (CMD/PowerShell on Windows, bash on Linux/macOS)
  • Confirmed the target device before running anything
  • Considered whether a script (Phase 5) would be better for a repeatable task

What's next

To move files instead of running commands, see Using the File Manager. For the copy-paste and special-key behavior inside remote sessions, see Clipboard & Input Sharing During Remote Sessions.

Based on OpenFrame v0.9.19. Available shells depend on the device OS and agent — what's in your console wins.

Vladislav Marchenko

Vladislav Marchenko

Head Of Marketing

Hi all! My name is Vlad and I’ve been brought on to head the marketing team at Flamingo. Thankfully, this isn’t the first time I will be building a marketing department from scratch, so the experience should come in handy. Now it’s time to dive into the world of MSPs and find myself in this new world.

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