# The Console

The console offers the ability to:

Monitor the log in realtime
Manage bundles
Execute runtime commands

# Accessing the Console

The method used to access the console depends on how openHAB was started.

When started in interactive mode using the provided command line scripts (e.g. start.sh or start.bat), openHAB naturally transitions directly to the console prompt.
When started as a service (i.e. when openHAB is running as a background process), access to the console is given by running the $OPENHAB_RUNTIME/bin/client (client.bat for Windows) script or by connecting via SSH. Linux package based installations can also use the command openhab-cli console.

The default username/password is openhab:habopen, so enter habopen at the password prompt.

# Connecting via SSH

The console can also be reached via a secure shell (SSH (opens new window)) connection.

To reach the console using SSH, use the following command to connect to the localhost interface on TCP port 8101:

ssh -p 8101 openhab@localhost

Note

By default, connections are only allowed from localhost, i.e. only from the machine running openHAB. Connections are intentionally not allowed from remote hosts due to security concerns. To change this, see Bind Console to All Interfaces.

A security warning is expected upon the first connection:

The authenticity of host '[localhost]:8101 ([127.0.0.1]:8101)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is SHA256:XjQxBPit+K5m3HuSsEUI/842NTCxLTu3EMGGBuQKNVg.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

Enter yes to proceed.

Warning: Permanently added '[localhost]:8101' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.
Password authentication
Password:

The default username/password is openhab:habopen, so enter habopen at the password prompt.

The first successful connection triggers generation of the Karaf remote console key and will take a few seconds longer than subsequent attempts.

Note

On slower systems, such as Raspberry Pi or Pine64, this first SSH connection may even time out. If this happened, simply try connecting again until successful.

# Using the Console

After successful connection and authentication, the console will appear:

                           _   _     _     ____
   ___   ___   ___   ___  | | | |   / \   | __ )
  / _ \ / _ \ / _ \ / _ \ | |_| |  / _ \  |  _ \
 | (_) | (_) |  __/| | | ||  _  | / ___ \ | |_) )
  \___/|  __/ \___/|_| |_||_| |_|/_/   \_\|____/
       |_|       4.2.0 - Release Build

Use '&lt;tab>' for a list of available commands
and '[cmd] --help' for help on a specific command.
To exit, use '&lt;ctrl-d>' or 'logout'.

openhab>

The command help lists all available commands or describes a specific subsystem/command:

openhab> help
...
openhab> help bundle
...
openhab> help bundle:stop
...

The console also supports auto-completion during input. Auto-completion proposes possible commands based on the current input and is triggered by a <TAB> press on your keyboard. So for example entering "bund" and pressing the <TAB> key will first extend to the only viable candidate "bundle", a subsequent <TAB> press will result in:

openhab> bundle
bundle                   bundle:capabilities      bundle:classes           bundle:diag              bundle:dynamic-import
bundle:find-class        bundle:headers           bundle:id                bundle:info              bundle:install
bundle:list              bundle:load-test         bundle:refresh           bundle:requirements      bundle:resolve
bundle:restart           bundle:services          bundle:start             bundle:start-level       bundle:stop
bundle:tree-show         bundle:uninstall         bundle:update            bundle:watch

Another useful feature is the combination of the | (pipe) and grep functionality, which can be used to filter output:

openhab> bundle:list | grep openHAB
135 │ Active │ 80 │ 4.2.0 │ openHAB Core :: Bundles :: Core
136 │ Active │ 80 │ 4.2.0 │ openHAB Core :: Bundles :: Add-on XML
137 │ Active │ 80 │ 4.2.0 │ openHAB Core :: Bundles :: Audio
138 │ Active │ 80 │ 4.2.0 │ openHAB Core :: Bundles :: Automation
139 │ Active │ 80 │ 4.2.0 │ openHAB Core :: Bundles :: Automation Media Modules
...

The session is ended by using the logout command (or by pressing ctrl-d):

openhab> logout

Learn about all of the available commands by using the help command.

# Modifying the Console Settings

Changing the console password, interface, and port is described here.

# Console Settings Files and Directories

The pertinent files controlling console settings are stored under $OPENHAB_USERDATA/etc/:

File	Purpose
`org.apache.karaf.shell.cfg`	Controls most console settings
`users.properties`	Stores the list of users and passwords
`keys.properties`	Stores the list of users and ssh keys

The exact locations of these files will vary based on your platform and installation method, e.g. /var/lib/openhab/etc/ or openhab/userdata/etc/.

Be aware that these files may get overwritten when upgrading openHAB. You can customize any of the console settings from org.apache.karaf.shell.cfg by adding the relevant entries inside the runtime.cfg file which can be found in the $OPENHAB_CONF/services directory, e.g. /etc/openhab/services/runtime.cfg. When adding your custom settings into runtime.cfg, prefix the configuration key with org.apache.karaf.shell:. See the examples in the sections below.

Note

The users and passwords here are not to be confused with the web UI login. The users listed in the above files are for logging into the console.

To manage web UI users, use openhab:users console command.

# Changing the Password

The password is stored in the file users.properties, located in the etc directory as mentioned above. By default, the line with the password contains the text openhab =, followed by the current password (e.g. habopen) or a password hash (e.g. {CRYPT}4AE1A0FD...{CRYPT}).

To change the authentication password edit the file manually, replacing the password or password hash (including {CRYPT}) with your new password in clear text. Alternately, run the following Linux shell command, which will perform the replacement for you. Substitute securePassword with your desired password.

sudo sed -i -e "s/openhab = .*,/openhab = securePassword,/g" /var/lib/openhab/etc/users.properties

Depending on your system, you may have to change the directory at the end of the command. Please restart openHAB for the changes to take effect. The clear text password will be replaced by a unique cryptographic password hash.

# Bind Console to All Interfaces

The sshHost entry controls the interface address to bind to. sshHost = 127.0.0.1 (localhost) is the default due to obvious security reasons. If you are on a secure network or you are fully aware of all of the risks of exposing your system to the public, you can change the bind address. Replace the sshHost IP 127.0.0.1 by 0.0.0.0 to bind to all available network interfaces. Please be aware that the console will now be accessible from any device that can reach this host and it is only secured by the password defined in users.properties (same path). You should therefore change the password! Depending on your network configuration the console may also be exposed to the public internet, so check your routing and firewall configuration.

To enable binding to all interfaces, uncomment the line

#org.apache.karaf.shell:sshHost = 0.0.0.0

in services/runtime.cfg.

# Change the Port Number

The sshPort entry controls the port number. sshPort = 8101 is the default.

To change it, add the following line to the runtime.cfg file inside $OPENHAB_CONF/services directory.

org.apache.karaf.shell:sshPort = 1234

Substitute 1234 with your desired port number.

# Using Key-Based Authentication

The Karaf console can also accept key-based authentication to enable passwordless login. The list of users with their associated key is stored in the keys.properties file inside the $OPENHAB_USERDATA/etc/ directory. The format of this file is: [username]=[key],_g_:admingroup.

To set up passwordless login, create your ssh key-pair if you haven't got one, e.g. using ssh-keygen, or PuTTYgen. Then add the public key into the keys.properties file.

For example, to allow user openhab to login with key-based authentication:

openhab=AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAAAgQC49lufVEVq9uCzLeCdP84ubVZioQl2NRjjBZiil7vvRZzEuFBP8gnkc+6SHsDibH858gcfYg5dHrpW0yfFV6FUi0CSB3hrSisI2LDXcB8gxvVRKqL0nM9ITqesNiDfUPP1UL00+N4sqTGIjwaBmo5c6bpfxJE9C59VQBL412t9tQ==,_g_:admingroup

The username openhab above is not a special username. It can be anything that you prefer. Multiple login/keys can be added into this file.

Note that this does not automatically disable the password-based login. For security reasons, be sure to change the default password, or remove the user from password login if your host is publicly accessible.

# More Information

Please check the Apache Karaf reference (opens new window) for more details.

Caught a mistake or want to contribute to the documentation? Edit this page on GitHub (opens new window)

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