Guides
Read-only sessions
Share your terminal as view-only so viewers can watch but not type.
Use read-only mode when you want someone to watch — a demo, a walkthrough, a livestream of a long-running job — without the risk of them touching your shell.
porthole host --readonlyThe viewer sees everything in real time but cannot send input.
Read-only is enforced by the agent on your machine. Even if a modified viewer tries to send keystrokes, the agent ignores them — the guarantee doesn't depend on the browser behaving.
When to use it
- Presenting to a group where only you should drive.
- Sharing a public or semi-public link.
- Streaming build/test output to teammates who just need to see it.
When you do want someone to type, drop the flag and optionally gate the session with a password instead.