PW4 Terminal or SSH through experimental browser

SirMassive · 03-26-2021, 12:07 AM

I would like to use shellinabox, anyterm, ajaxterm, GoTTy, WeTTY, or any other browser based terminal application to access my linux machine from the kindle's experimental browser. Firmware version 5.13.4.

GoTTY gives a websockets error on the handshake, and shellinabox shows an empty screen on the kindle, although there are no errors in the logs for the server. Kindle-TTY, an old github project, also shows an empty screen on the paperwhite 10th gen, but the title of the window is correct.

I understand that the experimental browser is not exactly feature complete. If I can figure out why these applications don't work I could fork and do a workaround, but I don't know what the kindle browser is lacking that is causing the trouble. Any help would be appreciated!

hius07 · 03-26-2021, 12:54 AM

SkipStone browser might he better (or not)
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...96&postcount=4

SirMassive · 03-26-2021, 01:25 AM

The firmware version I am using cannot be rooted/jailbroken afaik, so unfortunately I have to use what our dear overlords at Amazon deign to offer.

SirMassive · 03-27-2021, 04:28 PM

Quick update: I was able to get shellinabox working by cloning it from github and building it myself. A few adjustments needed to be made to get the on-screen keyboard button to show on the web page without having to right-click, since the kindle paperwhite doesn't have a right click, and the response time is abysmal, but I can ssh onto my computer and use tmux to see the session, which allows me to use the keyboard for the computer but the display on the kindle.
I tried GoTTY again, and it didn't work. WeTTY also does not work. Ajaxterm and Anyterm might work but I couldn't either of them to build. I got the Kindle-TTY project to work by adding webkit prefixes to the CSS, but it's a very clunky approximation of a terminal.
In summary, I think that the kindle's ability to process javascript is rather poor, and this results in a large latency between the session and the web page. The refresh rate of the screen is perfectly adequate. Makes me regret not jail-breaking it so I could use kterm to ssh directly.

NiMa · 03-28-2021, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirMassive

I would like to use shellinabox, anyterm, ajaxterm, GoTTy, WeTTY, or any other browser based terminal application to access my linux machine from the kindle's experimental browser. Firmware version 5.13.4.

GoTTY gives a websockets error on the handshake, and shellinabox shows an empty screen on the kindle, although there are no errors in the logs for the server. Kindle-TTY, an old github project, also shows an empty screen on the paperwhite 10th gen, but the title of the window is correct.

I understand that the experimental browser is not exactly feature complete. If I can figure out why these applications don't work I could fork and do a workaround, but I don't know what the kindle browser is lacking that is causing the trouble. Any help would be appreciated!

Such a coincidence. I had the exact same idea a few days ago. I got WeTTY working on a Kobo with an Alpine Linux chroot, though it didn't show anything in the browser, even if it did show that it was indeed on the right page. I also tried https://github.com/nickola/web-console , which did get to the (fake) prompt, but couldn't return back what I did due to an AJAX error. I used nginx web server and node http-server, none of them worked.
You can follow my guide on how to set up a chroot environment here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=336175
It's for Kobos but should be very similar for Kindles too.

Good luck!

Edit: I think I'll grab courage and upgrade to some 5.13.x jailbreakable version (from 5.6.5) via KindleBreak and see if I can get that working on my PW3.

SirMassive · 03-29-2021, 06:25 PM

I think part of the issue with Wetty/Gotty is the websockets dependency since the kindle experimental browser doesn't support websocket 13, but the other part of the problem is that the full terminal implemented in JS is a bit heavy for the poor experimental browser, even with the older options like ajaxterm/shellinabox.
I was thinking of trying to lighten the load somehow by adjusting shellinabox. Or I might start something from scratch.
For some reason shellinabox only works sometimes, and other times I end up with a blank screen. Shellinabox also has the drawback of not opening the kindle's keyboard.

NiMa · 03-30-2021, 09:15 PM

GoTTY works *kind of* well on the Kobo, though...

NiLuJe · 03-30-2021, 09:51 PM

That's because the WebKit version shipped on Kobo is only very slightly less shitty than the Kindle one ;p.

03-26-2021, 12:07 AM	#1
SirMassive Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2021 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10th gen	Terminal or SSH through experimental browser I would like to use shellinabox, anyterm, ajaxterm, GoTTy, WeTTY, or any other browser based terminal application to access my linux machine from the kindle's experimental browser. Firmware version 5.13.4. GoTTY gives a websockets error on the handshake, and shellinabox shows an empty screen on the kindle, although there are no errors in the logs for the server. Kindle-TTY, an old github project, also shows an empty screen on the paperwhite 10th gen, but the title of the window is correct. I understand that the experimental browser is not exactly feature complete. If I can figure out why these applications don't work I could fork and do a workaround, but I don't know what the kindle browser is lacking that is causing the trouble. Any help would be appreciated!

03-30-2021, 09:15 PM	#7
NiMa Evangelist Posts: 479 Karma: 2390534 Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Somewhere in the Universe Device: Kobo Libra, Glo HD, Touch C/B, Mini, Glo, Aura SE, Clara HD, KT	GoTTY works kind of well on the Kobo, though... Attached Thumbnails

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03-26-2021, 12:54 AM	#2
hius07 Wizard Posts: 1,084 Karma: 3592495 Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Ukraine Device: Kindle PW2, PW3, PW4, Voyage	SkipStone browser might he better (or not) https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...96&postcount=4

03-26-2021, 01:25 AM	#3
SirMassive Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2021 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10th gen	The firmware version I am using cannot be rooted/jailbroken afaik, so unfortunately I have to use what our dear overlords at Amazon deign to offer.

03-27-2021, 04:28 PM	#4
SirMassive Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2021 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10th gen	Quick update: I was able to get shellinabox working by cloning it from github and building it myself. A few adjustments needed to be made to get the on-screen keyboard button to show on the web page without having to right-click, since the kindle paperwhite doesn't have a right click, and the response time is abysmal, but I can ssh onto my computer and use tmux to see the session, which allows me to use the keyboard for the computer but the display on the kindle. I tried GoTTY again, and it didn't work. WeTTY also does not work. Ajaxterm and Anyterm might work but I couldn't either of them to build. I got the Kindle-TTY project to work by adding webkit prefixes to the CSS, but it's a very clunky approximation of a terminal. In summary, I think that the kindle's ability to process javascript is rather poor, and this results in a large latency between the session and the web page. The refresh rate of the screen is perfectly adequate. Makes me regret not jail-breaking it so I could use kterm to ssh directly.

03-29-2021, 06:25 PM	#6
SirMassive Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2021 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10th gen	I think part of the issue with Wetty/Gotty is the websockets dependency since the kindle experimental browser doesn't support websocket 13, but the other part of the problem is that the full terminal implemented in JS is a bit heavy for the poor experimental browser, even with the older options like ajaxterm/shellinabox. I was thinking of trying to lighten the load somehow by adjusting shellinabox. Or I might start something from scratch. For some reason shellinabox only works sometimes, and other times I end up with a blank screen. Shellinabox also has the drawback of not opening the kindle's keyboard.

03-30-2021, 09:51 PM	#8
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,497 Karma: 26047188 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	That's because the WebKit version shipped on Kobo is only very slightly less shitty than the Kindle one ;p.