Remote shell access

[jimh12345 (jim hughes)]

Sometimes a question is just so common, and so much has been posted about it, that you can’t actually find the answer anymore and have to start fresh

I run HA and HAOS on an RPi4 located in a closet. My understanding - and I hope this is right - is that HA is not in a container. I want to get full remote access to an HAOS command shell, via Telnet. It looks like telnet isn’t enabled - without attaching a keyboard and display to the Pi, is there a way I can turn it on? It seems I can’t get a real command shell from within HA, over the web.

( I want Telnet, not SSH - I know many will disagree but I need access from several systems and I’m not messing with all those keys.)

[Tinkerer (aka DubhAd on GitHub)]

@jimh12345

My understanding - and I hope this is right - is that HA is not in a container

HA is in a container

@jimh12345

I want to get full remote access to an HAOS command shell, via Telnet

Telnet is an insecure protocol from the dark ages of IT. Thankfully there’s no support.

@jimh12345

I want Telnet, not SSH - I know many will disagree but I need access from several systems and I’m not messing with all those keys.

You can, if you want, use passwords with SSH just like with Telnet, though frankly keys are so much easier.

[koying (Chris B)]

Also, to avoid the inevitable coming confusion, you have to follow the procedure below to get access to HAOS itself in SSH. The “Terminal & SSH” addon is just another container.

Debugging the Home Assistant Operating System | Home Assistant Developer Docs

[jimh12345 (jim hughes)]

I installed standard HAOS. According to this page, HA therefor is not in a container:

Installation

If my HA is in fact in a container, then that documentation page is seriously misleading.

The confusion surrounding HA’s various installation schemes is endless…

[Tinkerer (aka DubhAd on GitHub)]

@jimh12345

I installed standard HAOS. According to this page, HA therefor is not in a container:

Installation - Home Assistant

Scroll down

HAOS uses containers, as shown in the summary there.

[jimh12345 (jim hughes)]

Ok I give up, this is like a mirror maze. I’ll find some other way to do what I want.

[koying (Chris B)]

You never mentioned what you ultimately wanted to achieve by the way…

[C_Container]

Yeah he did “I want to get full remote access to an HAOS command shell, via Telnet.” and “Remote shell access” in title.

[koying (Chris B)]

Having shell access to a system, especially HAOS, is not a goal. It’s a mean to reach a goal.
The only reason why I use shell access to HAOS is to get full addon logs, which I didn’t find another way to obtain. You cannot/are not supposed to do anything through the shell, beyond debugging.