# Shell introduction

As member of {{organisation}}
you can get a shell account at {{shellhost}}.

A shell account provides you a "home" at the system,
that you can access with a command-line console interface
either interactively or automated by scripts.

You need to {{contact_sysadmins}} to get your shell account created.
Provide your full name, email, and cellphone number,
which is shared with all users
for use in case of problems with your account.
You may also suggest a name for your account
(only lower-case simple letters).


## Remote access

Your shell environment is accessed via Secure Shell (ssh)
authenticated by one or more public keys that you provide.

Ssh public keys are stored on your own computer.

Existing public keys can often be shown like this:

	cat ~/.ssh/id_*.pub

You can create a new key with a command like this:

	ssh-keygen -t ed25519

On Windows systems above does not work,
and you can instead try use the tool PuTTY.


## Mosh

Regular SSH access require a reliable and responsive internet access.

Optionally you can use the SSH wrapper tool [Mosh][]
which allows your shell sessions to survive disruptive connections.

[Mosh]: <https://mosh.org/>
  "Mobile Shell"