Deploy and Host Ubuntu 20.04 Terminal on Railway

Ubuntu 20.04 Terminal gives you a full browser-accessible bash shell running on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) — no SSH client, no local setup, no configuration needed. Files and packages you install persist across restarts thanks to a built-in volume mounted at /root. Just open the URL, enter your credentials, and you're in a live Linux terminal from anywhere.

About Hosting Ubuntu 20.04 Terminal

Hosting Ubuntu 20.04 Terminal on Railway spins up an Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Docker container with a ttyd web terminal exposed over HTTP. Railway handles the HTTPS proxy, domain, and container lifecycle automatically. A persistent volume is mounted at /root, meaning anything you install or create survives redeploys. You simply set your username and password, deploy, and access your terminal via the Railway-provided URL. The container comes pre-installed with a full set of commonly used CLI tools, making it ready for immediate use without any additional setup.

Common Use Cases

• Run and test shell scripts from any device without a local Linux environment
• Test software and packages on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS before upgrading to a newer version
• Use as a lightweight persistent remote development environment accessible from a browser

Dependencies for Ubuntu 20.04 Terminal Hosting

• Docker (handled automatically by Railway)
• A Railway account with an active project

Deployment Dependencies

• ttyd — Terminal over HTTP
• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Docker Image
• Railway Docs — Dockerfiles

Implementation Details

The container starts ttyd bound to the Railway-injected $PORT, protected by $USERNAME and $PASSWORD:

/bin/ttyd -p $PORT -c $USERNAME:$PASSWORD /bin/bash

A volume is mounted at /root to persist all user files across restarts.

Pre-installed tools:

Editors: vim, nano System: htop, tree, lsof, strace, less, man Files: unzip, zip Build: gcc, g++, make, build-essential Network: ifconfig, ip, ping, dig, openssh-client, telnet, netcat Data: jq General: sudo, python3, pip, git, curl, wget, neofetch

Need more? Install anything with:

apt-get install -y

No sudo needed — the container runs as root. Files saved inside /root persist across restarts. Note that packages installed via apt-get are stored outside /root and will not survive a full redeploy.

Why Deploy Ubuntu 20.04 Terminal on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying Ubuntu 20.04 Terminal on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.