What is a shell account and why would I need one?
A shell account provides access to a text based UNIX shell which can be used for many purposes. Our shell accounts are ideal for learning UNIX, programming, compiling and running source code, network or server administration and diagnostics, accessing IRC and messaging, and much more.

How do I sign up?
Click here to sign up.

How do I log into my account?
Connect via SSHv2 to shell.cjb.net on TCP port 22 or 443. Log in using your username and password. If you do not have an SSH client installed, we suggest using PuTTY.

How do I download or upload files?
You may transfer files using SCP, SFTP, or the server's command line utilities.

How do I change my e-mail address, password, or shell? How do I remove my account?
Click here to modify your account settings or remove your account. Your account will also be removed if you do not log in within the first 24 hours and at least once every 30 days.

I locked myself out of my account or broke it in some other way.
Click here and select the option to reset your account. This will remove and recreate it as a new account.

I forgot my password.
Click here to retrieve your password.

What commands and software are available?
All shell accounts include access to the FreeBSD binaries and libraries, compilers, scripting languages (Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby), editors (emacs, nano/pico, vi/vim), shells (bash, csh, sh, tcsh), Lynx, wget, and other utilities, along with more than 10,000 software packages to install in your home directory.

How do I install a software package?
Enter the name of the program you want to install at the prompt. If it's available in a package, installation instructions will be provided. Otherwise, you may need to compile and install it from source.

A package I installed didn't work.
Software packages are intended as a quick and easy way to install basic programs. Unfortunately, some packages include hard coded system paths or other dependencies which prevents them from working when installed this way. In these cases, you may need to compile and install the program from source.

How do I list the packages I have installed or remove a package?
Type 'installedhome' at the prompt to list the packages you have installed, including removal instructions.

What operating system do you use and what are the server specifications?
Our shell server runs the FreeBSD 7.2 amd64 operating system on an Intel quad core 3 GHz processor with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of disk space.

What restrictions apply to shell accounts on your server?
Each shell account is restricted to 128MB of disk space and 16,384 files, 256MB of RAM, and 16 total processes. Each process is restricted to 128MB of RAM, 128 open files, and 10 minutes of CPU time. A one hour idle timeout and 24 hour session timeout apply, and there is a limit of one SSH connection per user and IP. Multiple logins or the use of multiple ttys will result in all of your processes being killed.

Can I run background processes or daemons? Can I setup a crontab?
Background processes, daemons, and other processes not attached to an active tty are not allowed and will be killed by the server. We do not offer at/cron access.

Are outgoing connections allowed? Are incoming connections allowed?
Outgoing TCP connections are allowed and are proxied through the Tor network. All other outgoing traffic and all incoming traffic is prohibited by our firewall.

Can I host a web site or use e-mail on your server?
Our shell server does not include a web server or a mail server. Please refer to our main web site for web hosting or e-mail services. You may use a command line mail client on our server to access a third party e-mail account, but we do not offer outgoing SMTP access.

How is resource consumption managed and how do you deal with abuse?
The server enforces the above restrictions by hard limiting usage or killing processes which exceed the limits. Processes requiring a lot of CPU time are gradually deprioritized. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any account which is found to be using an excessive or disproportionate amount of system resources or engaging in abusive or illegal activity or behavior.

Can you help me learn UNIX, help me with my code, or help me compile/install/use software?
Unfortunately, no. There are plenty of web sites and IRC channels available to help you with this.

Can I get root/su/sudo access?
No.