---
title: "Manage sessions"
description: "Manage and share Websh terminal sessions in Alpacon. Learn to reconnect, share by email or a one-time link, set permissions and expiry, and manage participants."
---

> Full documentation index: https://docs.alpacax.com/llms.txt

# Manage sessions

Reconnect to a Websh terminal through its work session and share it when your plan supports sharing.

## Session continuity

A terminal opens through a [work session](/use/work-sessions/), and the connection stays alive even if you close the browser tab. You can reconnect while the session is active and, on supported plans, share it with teammates for real-time collaboration.

## Reconnect to a session

Terminal sessions stay active in the background. To return to one, open the work session's **Resume** tab and click **Reconnect** on the terminal; see [Open terminals and editors](/use/work-sessions/detail/#open-terminals-and-editors). Active sessions appear under **Access > Sessions**; superusers can also see others' active sessions.

To end a terminal, type `exit`, or close it from the session.

## Connection status

The terminal header shows its current connection state:

| Status              | What it means                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Connecting**      | Alpacon is opening the connection.                                                                                                                                                                        |
| **Connected**       | You're connected and ready to type.                                                                                                                                                                      |
| **Reconnecting**    | The connection dropped and Alpacon is retrying automatically. Anything you type is held and delivered in order once the connection returns, up to a limit. Past it, further input is not sent and the terminal tells you so. |
| **Offline**         | Your browser has no network connection. The terminal waits and reconnects automatically once you're back online.                                                                                        |
| **Connection lost** | Automatic reconnection gave up. Select **Retry**, or switch to another browser tab and back—that also retries.                                                                                          |
| **Disconnected**    | You were removed from the session, or the connection closed for a reason Alpacon couldn't identify. This doesn't reconnect automatically—select **Retry** to rejoin.                                    |
| **Session closed** | The session has ended. See [Why a session ended](#why-a-session-ended) for the cause and next step. |

When you close the session yourself or the shell exits, the browser tab also closes automatically if **Auto-close terminal** is on (see [Websh settings](/use/settings/websh/#session-management)). Every other closure leaves the tab open so you can read why.

## Why a session ended

Find the console message below to see why the terminal ended and what to do next. The **The session has been closed.** message can appear after a user closes the terminal, the agent restarts, or the approved account changes, or when no specific reason is available.

If you see **You were disconnected from this session.**, select **Retry**. Shared-link viewers see **Connection closed** and need another link from the owner. **The session has already been closed.** means the terminal has ended; **This URL has expired.** means the share link is not valid.

## Limits

| Limit | What applies |
| --- | --- |
| Session duration | 1 day by default, counted from when the terminal opened. Personal settings can shorten it; the workspace maximum still applies. |
| Share link expiry | 5–180 minutes, with a default of 30 minutes. A link is single-use. |
| Email invitations | Up to 20 email addresses per invitation, including repeated addresses. |
| Monthly Websh use and sharing | Availability and allowances depend on the workspace plan. |
| Terminal replay | Free has no session replay. The console shows the notice below; paid-plan access depends on the plan. |

On Free, the recording notice is **Terminal recordings start on Essentials.**. See [Plans & billing](/use/workspace/plans-billing/) for plan allowances and [Terminal recordings](/use/audit/sessions/review/#terminal-recordings) for replay.

Keystrokes, terminal output, and browser reconnects do not reset the time limit. Reconnecting from the work session's **Resume** tab does not reset it either. Only the agent's terminal connection reconnecting resets this timer. The work session can also end the terminal before that limit.

Adjust **Websh session timeout** in [Websh settings](/use/settings/websh/#session-management). It must be at least 10 minutes and cannot exceed the workspace's **Websh session retention time**, which an administrator can set from 10 minutes to 1 day.

## Share a session

Only the session owner can share a terminal. Invite workspace members or external collaborators to watch or type alongside you.

Session sharing requires the **Essentials plan or above**. On the Free plan, sharing shows an upgrade prompt. See [Plans & billing](/use/workspace/plans-billing/).

Click **Share** on the session and choose one of:

- **Invite by email**: enter up to 20 email addresses to invite people directly.
- **One-time access link**: generate a link to share.

### One-time access link

When creating a link, set:

- **User permission**: choose **Read only** (watch only) or **Read & write** (type commands). Links are **read-only by default**.
- **Link expiration**: from **5 to 180 minutes** (in 5-minute steps; default 30 minutes). The link is single-use: it also expires immediately after it's first accessed.

Anyone with the link and password can join while the owner is connected. A person who is not signed in must enter a nickname. A used or expired link cannot be reused; ask the owner for another link.

### Participants

Select the participants icon in the terminal header to open the **Participants** panel. The icon shows how many people are in the session, and the list refreshes on its own while the panel is open. As the owner, select a participant to:

- change their permission between **Read only** and **Writable**—the change applies immediately;
- remove them with **Remove from session**.

An administrator can open another user's session without a share link only in read-only mode. A superuser can use **Force close** on another user's session from the session list.

## Use cases for sharing

- **Debug together**: a teammate sees exactly what you see and can suggest or run commands.
- **Train safely**: share read-only so others can observe without typing.
- **Get help**: bring in a senior engineer to look at live output.

## Related docs

- [Connect to terminal](/use/work-sessions/terminal/connect/)
- [Work sessions](/use/work-sessions/)
- [Run commands](/use/work-sessions/terminal/commands/)

Source: https://docs.alpacax.com/use/work-sessions/terminal/sessions/