What is MoltShell?
MoltShell is a browser-based terminal that gives you a dedicated Linux virtual machine. Instead of configuring a local development environment or spinning up a cloud server manually, you open a browser tab and start working.
How it works
When you sign up, MoltShell provisions a GCP Compute Engine VM just for you. You access it through a terminal interface in your browser that connects over WebSocket. The VM runs Ubuntu 22.04 with common development tools pre-installed.
The terminal is not a container or a shared environment. It is a full virtual machine with:
- 2 vCPUs and 4GB of RAM
- Passwordless sudo (full root access)
- Persistent storage that survives restarts
- Your own home directory at
/home/moltshell
Key differences from other tools
vs. a local terminal: No setup required. Works on any device with a browser, including tablets and phones. Your environment is the same regardless of which machine you use.
vs. a VPS: No server management. MoltShell handles provisioning, networking, and lifecycle automatically. Your VM suspends when idle to save resources and resumes when you come back.
vs. Codespaces/Gitpod: Not tied to a specific repository. Your VM is a general-purpose Linux machine where you can work on anything. Install whatever tools you need.
What's included
Every VM comes with:
- Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
- Node.js 22 (LTS)
- Python 3 with pip
- tmux for session persistence
- build-essential (gcc, g++, make)
- git, curl, wget, and standard CLI tools
You can install additional packages with sudo apt install or any other package manager.
Free during early access
MoltShell is free to use during the early access period. Each user gets one VM that auto-suspends after 60 minutes of inactivity to conserve resources.