---
title: Editor
description: Edit compose files and environment variables, and manage containers directly from the dashboard.
---

Selecting a stack opens the editor view, a two-column layout. The left column shows the command center (stack controls, containers, and an embedded terminal). The right column holds the Monaco code editor.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/editor/editor-overview.png" alt="Editor view showing command center on the left and Monaco editor on the right" />
</Frame>

## Files tab

The **Files** tab gives you a browseable directory tree for everything inside the stack's folder. Community users can view text files in read-only mode. Skipper and above can upload, download, edit and save, create folders, and delete files. Protected files (`compose.yaml`, `.env`, and their variants) redirect to their dedicated editor tabs when clicked.

For full details on permissions, viewing limits, upload caps, and troubleshooting, see the [Stack File Explorer](/features/stack-file-explorer) guide.

## Compose file editor

The right panel shows your `compose.yaml` with full syntax highlighting. By default the editor is **read-only** to prevent accidental changes.

Click **Edit** to enter edit mode. Your changes are unsaved until you explicitly save them.

### Save options

The primary action button is **Save & Deploy**, which writes the file to disk and immediately runs `docker compose up -d`. A dropdown arrow next to it reveals additional options:

| Action | What it does |
|--------|--------------|
| **Save & Deploy** | Writes the file, then runs `docker compose up -d` to apply changes immediately. |
| **Save Only** | Writes the file to disk without restarting any containers. |
| **Discard Changes** | Reverts the editor to the last saved version. Unsaved changes are lost. |

## Environment file editor

Click the **.env** tab to switch to the environment file editor. If your `compose.yaml` references multiple env files (via `env_file:`), a dropdown lets you select which file to edit.

The `.env` editor has the same save/discard controls as the compose editor. Changes take effect the next time the stack is deployed.

<Note>
  Sencho reads the `env_file:` paths from your `compose.yaml` to discover available env files. If no `env_file:` is declared, a default `.env` in the stack directory is used.
</Note>

## Container panel

The left column lists all containers that belong to the selected stack under the **CONTAINERS** heading. Each container shows:

- **Status badge** - `running`, `exited`, `starting`, or `unhealthy` (hover for detailed status text)
- **Live stats** - CPU %, RAM usage, and network I/O displayed inline, updated every few seconds

### Container actions

Each container row has action buttons on the right side:

| Button | What it does |
|--------|--------------|
| **Open App** | Opens the container's web UI in a new tab (uses the detected web port). Only shown when a port is mapped. |
| **View Live Logs** | Opens a live log stream modal for that container. Only available when the container is running. |
| **Open Bash Terminal** | Opens an interactive bash session inside the container. Admin only, only available when running. |

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/editor/container-actions.png" alt="Container row showing status badge, live stats, and action buttons" />
</Frame>

## Embedded terminal

Below the container list, an embedded terminal streams the combined output from the stack's containers. This provides a persistent view of container logs without opening a separate modal.

The terminal supports search (find text within the log output) and export (download the current log buffer).

### Container terminal (exec)

The terminal modal from the container action buttons gives you an interactive bash shell inside a running container, equivalent to `docker exec -it <id> bash`. It uses a full terminal emulator with colour support, tab completion, and automatic resizing when you resize the browser window.

#### Access requirements

- **Admin role required.** Only admin users see the terminal button in the container actions. Non-admin users cannot open a shell session.
- **Container must be running.** The button is disabled for stopped containers, and the backend will reject exec attempts against non-running containers.
- **API token restrictions.** API tokens with `read-only` or `deploy-only` scope cannot open exec sessions. Only `full-admin` API tokens are permitted.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/editor/container-exec-modal.png" alt="Container exec modal showing a connected bash session with a root shell prompt" />
</Frame>

#### Shell selection

Sencho tries `/bin/bash` first. If bash is not available inside the container, it automatically falls back to `/bin/sh`. This happens transparently; no user action is needed.

<Warning>
  The container terminal requires the container to have `bash` or `sh` installed. Minimal base images (e.g. `scratch`, `distroless`) that ship no shell will not work with container exec.
</Warning>

#### Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Cause | Resolution |
|---------|-------|------------|
| "Container is not running" error | The container stopped between clicking the button and the exec starting | Start the container and try again |
| "Failed to start shell" error | The container image has no shell binary (`/bin/bash` or `/bin/sh`) | Use an image that includes a shell, or install one in your Dockerfile |
| Terminal connects but immediately shows "Session ended" | The shell process inside the container exited immediately | Check the container logs for errors; the container's entrypoint may be overriding the shell |
| Terminal is unresponsive | WebSocket connection dropped silently | Close the modal and reopen it to establish a new session |

## Log viewer

The log viewer (opened from the container action buttons) streams output from a single container in real-time using Server-Sent Events. Logs auto-scroll to the bottom as new lines arrive. Close the modal to stop the stream.
