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Interactive TUI Guide

underd0se edited this page Sep 5, 2026 · 4 revisions

πŸ–₯️ Interactive TUI Guide

TAILCAT ZER0 features a responsive, keyboard-driven terminal dashboard designed specifically for Asuswrt-Merlin SSH sessions. It provides real-time service indicators, countdown timers, inline ASCII QR codes, and quick copy-paste snippets.


🎨 Main Dashboard Layout

Run tailcatzero in your router shell to open the dashboard:

  TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1              β•±|、
                                 (˚ˎ 。7
                                  |γ€Λœγ€΅
  Instant Tunnel Manager         γ˜γ—Λ,)γƒŽ

========================================================================

  1. πŸ†˜ Remote Support Shell         Full root or view-only access      [βšͺ Inactive]
  2. πŸ“₯ Receive Files                Direct P2P file transfer           [βšͺ Inactive]
  3. πŸ“ Share Directory (SFTP)       Share a folder from your drive     [βšͺ Inactive]
  4. 🌐 Expose Router WebGUI         Access to router's web interface   [βšͺ Inactive]

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  5. ⏱️ Configure Default Timeout    Current: 30 min
  6. βš™οΈ Manage TAILCAT ZER0          Update, reinstall, or remove

========================================================================

  πŸ‘οΈ View Sessions  |  πŸ›‘ Stop  |  ↩️ Exit: 

When sessions are active and a guest submits an on-demand permission request, the dashboard dynamically alerts you with a notification badge:

  TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1              β•±|、
                                 (˚ˎ 。7
                                  |γ€Λœγ€΅
  Instant Tunnel Manager         γ˜γ—Λ,)γƒŽ

========================================================================

  πŸ”” [1 Permission Request(s) Pending β€” Press P to Review]

  1. πŸ†˜ Remote Support Shell         Full root or view-only access      [πŸ”’ View: 24m]
  2. πŸ“₯ Receive Files                Direct P2P file transfer           [βšͺ Inactive]
  3. πŸ“ Share Directory (SFTP)       Share a folder from your drive     [🟒 Active: 24m]
  4. 🌐 Expose Router WebGUI         Access to router's web interface   [βšͺ Inactive]

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  5. ⏱️ Configure Default Timeout    Current: 30 min
  6. βš™οΈ Manage TAILCAT ZER0          Update, reinstall, or remove

========================================================================

  πŸ”” Pending (1)  |  πŸ‘οΈ View Sessions  |  πŸ›‘ Stop  |  ↩️ Exit: 

Dynamic Service Status Indicators

  • [βšͺ Inactive]: Service is not currently running.
  • [🟒 Active: Xm]: Service is live, showing minutes remaining before auto-kill teardown.
  • [πŸ”’ View: Xm]: View-only diagnostic shell is running.
  • [🟒 Root + πŸ”’ View]: Both root and view-only remote support shells are running concurrently.
  • πŸ”” [1 Permission Request(s) Pending]: Displayed whenever a guest connected to a view-only session has submitted an on-demand command execution request. Pressing P directly opens the interactive approval modal.

πŸ“± The Active Session Card

When you launch any service or press v (View Sessions), TAILCAT ZER0 renders a dedicated Active Session Card:

  TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1              β•±|、
                                 (˚ˎ 。7
                                  |γ€Λœγ€΅
  Instant Tunnel Manager         γ˜γ—Λ,)γƒŽ

========================================================================

  🐱 TAILCAT ZER0 β€” Active Session
========================================================================

  Service:     πŸ”’ View-Only Diagnostic Shell
  Auto-Kill:   ⏱️ 28m remaining
  Security:    πŸ”’ WireGuard P2P β€’ Read-Only (System Writes Blocked)

  πŸ’¬ Copy & Paste to Friend / Admin Support:
  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Hey, I've opened a temporary read-only diagnostic TailCat session on my router (28m remaining).
  Run: tailcat ssh tcpGFwWCBquiVYgLrL7k3HQDl_jERoGKCT7I5VYUIQeZ6LF_q4e2FrWCCGx_dEaW2LF0g2e2n6b1rBPDOYeDTyCVNS2qKtROJmKmFxWCCufT1iqPy9rsILOQQ7EUZk6HsfbXwb3xyO8RbF99tPgGFpGQEv
  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

========================================================================

  πŸ›‘ Stop  |  πŸ“± QR Code  |  πŸ”„ Refresh  |  ↩️ Back: 

Hotkey Actions on Session Cards:

Key / Number Action Description
s / 1 Stop Session Safely terminates the tunnel and revokes the capability token immediately.
q QR Code Toggles an inline ASCII QR code of the capability token.
r Refresh Refreshes the countdown timer and checks connection state.
b / Enter Back Returns to the dashboard (leaves tunnel running in background).

πŸ—‚οΈ Multi-Session Overview

When two or more services run simultaneously, pressing v (View Sessions) opens the Multi-Session Overview:

  TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1              β•±|、
                                 (˚ˎ 。7
                                  |γ€Λœγ€΅
  Instant Tunnel Manager         γ˜γ—Λ,)γƒŽ

========================================================================

  🐱 TAILCAT ZER0 β€” Active Sessions (2 Running)
========================================================================

  [1] πŸ”’ View-Only Diagnostic Shell        ⏱️ 26m remaining  πŸ”’ P2P
  [2] πŸ“ SFTP File Share (/jffs)           ⏱️ 26m remaining  πŸ”’ P2P

  πŸ’¬ Copy & Paste Connect Commands:
  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  β€’ VIEW:    tailcat ssh tcpGFwWCBquiVYgLrL7k3HQDl...
  β€’ FILES:   tailcat ls -l tcpGFwWCBwoiH7ENLsCVJqJ...
  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

========================================================================

  πŸ‘οΈ View (1-2)  |  πŸ›‘ Stop All  |  πŸ”„ Refresh  |  ↩️ Back: 

From this overview:

  • Type 1 or v1 to open the dedicated card for session 1.
  • Type 2 or v2 to open session 2.
  • Type s to stop all sessions.

πŸ›‘ Safe Stop Confirmation

Pressing s (Stop) prompts you to confirm which session to terminate, preventing accidental service interruptions:

  TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1              β•±|、
                                 (˚ˎ 。7
                                  |γ€Λœγ€΅
  Instant Tunnel Manager         γ˜γ—Λ,)γƒŽ

========================================================================

  πŸ›‘ Active Sessions to Stop:

  1. πŸ”’ View-Only Diagnostic Shell
  2. πŸ“ SFTP File Share (/jffs)

========================================================================

  πŸ›‘ Stop (1-2)  |  πŸ›‘ All  |  ↩️ Back: 
  • Enter 1 or s to stop session 1.
  • Enter 2 to stop session 2.
  • Enter a to stop all sessions.
  • Enter b to cancel.

πŸ“· Inline ASCII QR Codes

If Entware has qrencode installed, pressing q renders an inline ASCII QR code directly inside your terminal:

β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆ β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„ β–ˆβ–€ β–ˆβ–€β–€β–€β–€β–€β–„β–ˆ β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„ β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆ β–ˆ   β–ˆ β–ˆβ–€ β–„ β–€β–€β–ˆ  β–ˆ β–ˆ   β–ˆ β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆ β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–ˆ β–ˆβ–€β–ˆ β–ˆβ–„β–€β–„β–€β–€β–ˆ β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–ˆ β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–ˆβ–„β–ˆβ–„β–ˆ β–ˆβ–„β–€β–„β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆβ–„ β–„ β–„β–€β–„β–„β–„ β–„β–€β–€β–„β–€β–„β–€ β–ˆ β–ˆ β–€β–„β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆβ–€ β–€β–„β–ˆ β–„β–ˆβ–„ β–€β–€β–€β–ˆβ–€ β–„β–€β–„β–„β–„β–ˆβ–ˆ  β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆβ–€β–„β–„ β–„β–ˆβ–„ β–ˆβ–„β–€β–€β–€β–„β–„β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„ β–„β–„ β–ˆβ–„β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆ β–ˆβ–„β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–„β–€  β–€β–€β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–ˆβ–€β–ˆβ–ˆβ–„β–ˆβ–„ β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆβ–„β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–ˆβ–€β–ˆβ–„β–€β–„β–„β–„  β–„β–„β–„  β–„ β–„β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆ β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„ β–ˆβ–„β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ β–ˆ β–ˆβ–„β–ˆ β–ˆβ–„β–„ β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆ β–ˆ   β–ˆ β–ˆ  β–€β–€β–€ β–€ β–„β–„ β–„  β–„ β–€β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆ β–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–ˆ β–ˆ β–„β–ˆβ–ˆ β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–€β–ˆβ–€β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–„β–ˆβ–„β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–„β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–„β–„β–ˆβ–ˆβ–„β–„β–„β–ˆβ–ˆ
β–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆβ–ˆ

This allows instant token capture using mobile devices or laptops with webcams without copying long tokens.


⏱️ Timeout Management & Persistent Mode

By default, every session is guarded by an ephemeral watchdog timer set to 30 minutes.

Select Option 5 (Configure Default Timeout) from the main menu:

  TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1              β•±|、
                                 (˚ˎ 。7
                                  |γ€Λœγ€΅
  Instant Tunnel Manager         γ˜γ—Λ,)γƒŽ

========================================================================

  ⏱️ Configure Session Auto-Kill Timeout

  Current Timeout: 30 minutes

  1. ⏱️ 30 Minutes                   Standard auto-kill (Default)
  2. ⏱️ 60 Minutes                   1 Hour session
  3. ⏱️ 120 Minutes                  2 Hours session
  4. ♾️  Persistent (0 min)           No auto-kill; runs until stopped

========================================================================

  ⏱️ Set Timeout (1-4 or minutes)  |  ↩️ Back: 
  • Enter 1, 2, or 3 for quick presets.
  • Enter custom minutes (e.g. 45 or 180).
  • Enter 4 or p for Persistent Mode (0 min), disabling auto-kill until manually stopped.

βš™οΈ Managing TAILCAT ZER0

Select Option 6 (Manage TAILCAT ZER0) from the main menu:

  TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1              β•±|、
                                 (˚ˎ 。7
                                  |γ€Λœγ€΅
  Instant Tunnel Manager         γ˜γ—Λ,)γƒŽ

========================================================================

  βš™οΈ  Manage TAILCAT ZER0:

  1. πŸ”„ Check & Update TAILCAT ZER0  Update script & engine (v1.7.1 / v0.6.0)
  2. ⚑ Force Reinstall TAILCAT ZER0 Fresh download of script & binary
  3. πŸ—‘οΈ Complete Uninstall           Remove addon, configs & init hooks

========================================================================

  πŸ”„ Update  |  ⚑ Reinstall  |  πŸ—‘οΈ Complete Uninstall  |  ↩️ Back: 
  • Enter u or 1 to run the smart updater.
  • Enter r or 2 to force-reinstall fresh copies from GitHub.
  • Enter c or 3 to perform a complete clean uninstallation.

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