---
id: sudo-terminal-modal/a-modal-carrying-a-terminal-emulator-for
title: "A modal carrying a terminal emulator, for anything that needs `sudo`"
theme: sudo-terminal-modal
status: open
created: 2026-08-21
date_source: stated
order: 1
---

**A modal carrying a terminal emulator, for anything that needs `sudo`.** Wanted 2026-08-21.
Anywhere a command needs `sudo`, the modal opens with a live terminal session, the command runs
in it, and the user types his password into the terminal himself — the password goes to the pty,
never through the platform or an agent. Plumbing exists: the pty sidecar already serves ad-hoc
sessions, and xterm.js is already in the terminal panel; the new part is the modal surface and
an entry point ("run this with sudo") that other surfaces can invoke.
**Needs an affordance** (`capabilities/affordances/`) so chat agents know the mechanism exists
and reach for it instead of attempting `sudo` non-interactively or asking the owner to paste a
command.