App Commander & Container File Browser

Learn how to use TurboV's built-in App Commander web terminal and container file browser for zero-SSH operations, migrations, and file inspection.

1. What is App Commander?

Developers frequently need to run one-off tasks inside running application containers:

  • Executing database schema migrations (e.g. npx prisma migrate deploy, alembic upgrade head, rails db:migrate).
  • Running administrative scripts (e.g. seeding initial accounts, clearing Redis cache keys).
  • Opening interactive language REPLs (e.g. node, python, rails console).

App Commander allows authorized team members to execute interactive commands inside running containers directly through the TurboV web dashboard—without needing host SSH keys or exposing terminal ports.

2. Running Commands in a Container

  1. In the dashboard, open your application and select the target environment.
  2. Click the Commander tab.
  3. Select the target service (e.g. web or worker).
  4. Enter the command to run: 
    npx prisma migrate deploy
  5. Choose your execution mode:
    • Standard Output: Runs command in the background and streams standard output and error.
    • Interactive Terminal: Launches a full interactive xterm.js terminal session (sh or bash) attached directly via docker exec -it.

3. Container File Browser

To inspect files, configuration manifests, or volume uploads without logging into the server:

  1. In your application, open the Files tab.
  2. The tree view displays the container filesystem structure: 
    /app/
  ├── dist/
  ├── node_modules/
  ├── package.json
  └── uploads/ (Mounted persistent volume)
  3. Click any text file to view its contents directly in the built-in syntax-highlighted code viewer.
  4. Verify whether custom config files (e.g. .env, nginx.conf, certs/) were properly generated during the build.

4. Security & Audit Logging

Giving developers terminal access requires rigorous security guardrails:

  • RBAC Enforcement: Only users with the OWNER or ADMIN role can execute arbitrary shell commands via App Commander.
  • Audit Logging: Every command executed via App Commander is recorded in the organization's Audit Log (OrgAuditLog), capturing:
    • Actor User ID & Email
    • Target Application & Container Name
    • Exact command string executed
    • Client IP address and timestamp
    • Exit code and execution duration