Web Terminal Extension Skill

Repository

https://github.com/yayayahei/skills/tree/main/terminal-in-chrome

Overview

This skill manages the local backend server for the Web Terminal Chrome Extension, which injects a fully functional, resizable local terminal into any website via xterm.js.

Architecture

1. Server (/server): A lightweight Node.js backend running locally (ws://localhost:8989) that spawns the actual terminal process (bash or zsh) using node-pty.
2. Extension (/extension): A Chrome extension that injects xterm.js into websites and connects back to the local server via WebSockets.

Operations

Start the Server

Trigger phrases: "start web terminal", "run terminal server", "start terminal backend"

Action:
Navigate to the server directory and start the Node.js server in the background.

cd server
npm start

The server will run on port 8989.

Stop the Server

Trigger phrases: "stop web terminal", "kill terminal server", "stop terminal backend"

Action:
Find the process running on port 8989 and kill it.

lsof -i :8989
kill -9 <PID>

Check Status

Trigger phrases: "web terminal status", "is terminal running?", "check terminal server"

Action:
Check if port 8989 is in use to determine if the server is running.

lsof -i :8989

User Instructions for Extension

If the user asks how to use the extension, provide these steps:
1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
2. Enable Developer mode (toggle in the top right corner).
3. Click Load unpacked.
4. Select the extension folder from this project (web-terminal-extension/extension).
5. Go to any website.
6. Press Ctrl + \``** or **Cmd + J` to toggle the terminal.
7. Drag the top border to resize it.