FAQs for IBM Cloud Shell

What type of shell does Cloud Shell use?

IBM Cloud Shell uses a Red Hat® Linux® bash shell.

What tools and plug-ins are included in Cloud Shell?

IBM Cloud Shell includes all available IBM Cloud CLI plug-ins and dozens of tools, packages, and runtimes. For the full list, see Installed plug-ins and tools.

What browsers does Cloud Shell support?

To work in Cloud Shell, you need to use one of the IBM Cloud supported browsers. For more information, see What are the IBM Cloud prerequisites?. If you use a browser that is not supported, you might see blank screens or other display problems when you use Cloud Shell.

How do I copy and paste text in Cloud Shell?

To copy text in Cloud Shell, select the text that you want to copy, and then do one of the following:

• In your browser menu, click Edit, and then click Copy or Paste.
• For macOS, use the keyboard shortcuts Cmd+C and Cmd+V.
• For Linux®, use Ctrl+Insert for copy and Shift+Insert for paste.
• For Windows®, use Ctrl+Insert for copy and either Shift+Insert or Ctrl+Shift+V for paste.
• Select text and then right-click to use the pop-up menu, and select Copy or Paste.

Firefox and Internet Explorer might not support clipboard permissions properly.

How long can I use Cloud Shell?

You can use Cloud Shell for up to 50 hours within a single week. If you reach this limit, all Cloud Shell sessions are closed, and any data in your workspace is deleted. But don't worry, you can still access Cloud Shell only in 5-minute increments until the week resets.

How can I audit Cloud Shell usage?

Cloud Shell generates IBM Cloud Activity Tracker events for your sessions and commands. You can analyze these events by using the Activity Tracker service. For more information, see Activity Tracker events for IBM Cloud Shell.

How can I delete my data in Cloud Shell?

Your data in Cloud Shell is automatically deleted when Cloud Shell is closed after inactivity or reaching the usage limits.

How can I edit files in Cloud Shell?

Cloud Shell includes two text editors, Vim (vim) and Nano (nano). You can use either of these editors to work with files in Cloud Shell.

How can I customize my Cloud Shell?

As with any bash shell, you can modify the .bashrc file in your home directory to run commands or scripts every time a session starts. For example, you might set command aliases or environment variables that you often use. Because your home directory space is temporary, you need to edit the .bashrc file each time Cloud Shell restarts.

Be careful when you edit these values because you can introduce errors that cause your sessions to not start. Don't change the CLOUDSHELL, BLUEMIX_HOME, ACCOUNT_ID, and SESSION_NAME environment variables, because they're required for your Cloud Shell environment to work.

How can I switch accounts in Cloud Shell?

To switch the default account for all sessions, close Cloud Shell, switch the account in the IBM Cloud console menu bar, and then reopen Cloud Shell.

Can I use sudo to run commands?

Cloud Shell is a restricted shell, so sudo isn't supported in Cloud Shell.

How do I manage access and locations for Cloud Shell?

Account owners or Cloud Shell administrators can control whether users in an account can access Cloud Shell, and they can select the location for storing user session data. For more information, see the following topics:

• Updating Cloud Shell settings
• Actions and roles for account management services