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LiveTerminal

An interactive shell for live demos, with optional setup commands.

The dev server runs a local pseudo-terminal (PTY) through node-pty. xterm.js renders the terminal. A WebSocket carries input, output, and resize events.

Enable the terminal server​

Command execution

Commands run on the server’s machine with the permissions of the user running StageRoutine.

Add --terminal to the dev command in package.json to start the terminal server with your presentation:

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "stageroutine dev --terminal"
  }
}

The server accepts local connections only.

Add a terminal​

import { LiveTerminal } from "stageroutine";

const demo = LiveTerminal({
  position: "center",
  width: 120,
  rows: 6,
  title: "Live demo",
  cwd: ".",
  command: "export DEMO_MODE=1",
  restartButton: true,
  transcript: ["$ export DEMO_MODE=1", "$ pnpm test", "Tests: 42 passed"],
});

cwd selects a folder inside the project (default: project root). command runs before a new shell opens (default: none). Folder changes and exported variables carry into the shell.

rows sets the height in text rows. If omitted, the terminal fits height (default: 44 stage units).

Session behavior​

Sessions persist across scene changes and page reloads. Setup runs only for a new session or an explicit restart.

restartButton: true adds a header button (default: false). It stops the shell, clears the screen, and runs setup again. demo.restart() does the same.

autoFocus: true focuses the terminal on scene entry (default: false). interactive: false disables typing (default: true). Click outside the terminal to return keyboard control to the presentation.

Sessions stop with the dev server, or after 2 minutes without a connected page by default.

Fallback transcript​

transcript is text shown when a live session cannot start: the terminal server is disabled or cannot be reached. Default: [].

See the LiveTerminal API reference for all options and controls.