Support CustomTerminal local commands in Royal TS for Windows

Ghost93 · July 12, 2026, 11:56am

Hi,

I would like to request Windows parity for local custom terminal commands in Royal TS.

Royal TSX supports rJSON TerminalConnection objects using TerminalConnectionType: "CustomTerminal", CustomCommand, and RunInsideLoginShell. This allows interactive local commands to run inside an embedded Royal TSX terminal tab.

The official AWS EC2 SSM Dynamic Folder uses this pattern and explicitly documents that it currently works only with Royal TSX for macOS:

github.com/royalapplications/toolbox

Dynamic%20Folder/Amazon%20Web%20Services/EC2/AWS%20EC2%20SSM%20(Python).rdfe

master

{
  "Name": "Dynamic Folder Export",
  "Objects": [
    {
      "Type": "DynamicFolder",
      "Name": "AWS EC2 SSM (Python)",
      "Description": "This Dynamic Folder sample for AWS SSM EC2 supports grabbing all EC2 instances of a specified region managed by AWS Systems Manager.",
      "Notes": "<h2><strong>Dynamic Folder sample for Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 managed by SSM</strong></h2>\n\n<p><strong>Version</strong>: 1.0.0<br />\n<strong>Author</strong>: Chrysostomos Galatoulas</p>\n\n<p>This Dynamic Folder sample for AWS EC2 SSM supports grabbing all EC2 instances of a specified region managed by SSM. The script creates terminal connections with custom commands which is a feature only Royal TSX (for macOS) supports at the moment. That means this script currently only works on macOS and does NOT support Windows.</p>\n\n<h3><strong>Prerequisites</strong></h3>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) needs to be installed and configured.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<h3><strong>Setup</strong></h3>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>Enter the region that you want to grab instances from in the &quot;Region&quot; field in the &quot;Custom Properties&quot; section or leave it as an empty string if you configured the AWS CLI with a default region.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<h3><strong>Notes</strong></h3>\n\n<ul>\n\t<li>You can append the --profile option on AWS cli commands to use a configured profile instead of a default.</li>\n</ul>\n",
      "CustomProperties": [
        {
          "Name": "Region",
          "Type": "Text",
          "Value": "us-east-1"
        }
      ],
      "ScriptInterpreter": "python",
      "Script": "import subprocess\nimport json\n\ndef get_instances(region = \"\"):\n\tcmd = \"aws ssm describe-instance-information --output json\"\n\n\tif region != \"\":\n\t\tcmd += \" --region \" + region\n\n\taws = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, shell=True)\n\t(response_json, err) = aws.communicate()\n\texit_code = aws.wait()\n\n\tresponse = json.loads(response_json)\n\n\tconnections = [ ]\n\n\tfor instance in response.get(\"InstanceInformationList\", None):\n\t\tinstance_id = instance.get(\"InstanceId\", \"\")\n\t\tplatform = instance.get(\"PlatformType\", \"\")\n\n\t\tis_windows = platform.lower() == \"windows\"\n\n\t\tcomputer_name = instance.get(\"ComputerName\", \"\")\n\t\tprivate_ip_address = instance.get(\"IPAddress\", \"\")\n\n\t\tname = instance_id\n\n\t\tconnection = { }\n\t\tif not is_windows:\n\t\t\tconnection[\"Type\"] = \"TerminalConnection\"\n\t\t\tconnection[\"TerminalConnectionType\"] = \"CustomTerminal\"\n\t\telse:\n\t\t\tconnection[\"Type\"] = \"RemoteDesktopConnection\"\n\n\t\tconnection[\"ID\"] = instance_id\n\t\tconnection[\"Name\"] = computer_name\n\t\tconnection[\"ComputerName\"] = computer_name\n\n\t\tconnection[\"CustomCommand\"] = f\"aws ssm start-session --target {instance_id}\"\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tconnection[\"Properties\"] = {}\n\t\tconnection[\"Properties\"][\"RunInsideLoginShell\"] = True\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tconnections.append(connection)\n\n\tstore = {\n\t\t\"Objects\": connections\n\t}\n\n\tstore_json = json.dumps(store)\n\n\treturn store_json\n\t\nprint(get_instances(\"$CustomProperty.Region$\"))\n"
    }
  ]
}

My primary use case is Azure AD-based SSH:

az ssh vm -g <resource_group_name> -n <vm_name> --subscription <sub_id>

I want a Dynamic Folder to generate an embedded terminal tab that runs this local interactive command.

On Royal TS 7.4.50622 with Windows 11, the generated connection is created successfully, but opening it attempts a conventional SSH connection to ComputerName and reports:

Could not connect to SSH endpoint. Unable to resolve hostname.

The configured CustomCommand is not executed.

Similar limitations have previously been discussed in the Royal Apps community regarding embedded local terminals and connecting the Rebex terminal to a local shell.

I included links to those discussions, along with the complete rJSON example and reproduction details, in this GitHub issue:

github.com/royalapplications/toolbox

Add `CustomTerminal` local-command parity to Royal TS for Windows

opened 11:38AM - 12 Jul 26 UTC

Ghost93

### Environment - Royal TS 7.4.50622 - Windows 11 - Dynamic Folder generating r…JSON ### Feature request Please support rJSON `TerminalConnection` objects using: - `TerminalConnectionType: "CustomTerminal"` - `CustomCommand` - `Properties.RunInsideLoginShell: true` on Royal TS for Windows, with the local interactive command displayed in an embedded Royal TS tab. The official AWS EC2 SSM Dynamic Folder already uses this pattern, but its documentation states that terminal connections with custom commands are currently supported only by Royal TSX for macOS: https://github.com/royalapplications/toolbox/blob/master/Dynamic%20Folder/Amazon%20Web%20Services/EC2/AWS%20EC2%20SSM%20%28Python%29.rdfe ### Primary use case Azure CLI provides Azure AD-based SSH through an interactive local command: ```powershell az ssh vm -g <resource-group> -n <vm-name> --subscription <subscription-id> ``` We want a Dynamic Folder to generate an embedded terminal connection that runs this command locally, similar to how the official AWS SSM sample runs aws ssm start-session on macOS. Example generated object: ```json { "Type": "TerminalConnection", "TerminalConnectionType": "CustomTerminal", "Name": "VM (AZSSH)", "ComputerName": "vm-name", "CustomCommand": "az ssh vm -g resource-group -n vm-name --subscription subscription-id", "Properties": { "RunInsideLoginShell": true } } ``` ### Current behavior Royal TS creates the connection object, but opening it produces: ``` Could not connect to SSH endpoint. Unable to resolve hostname. ``` The local `CustomCommand` is not executed. RDP connections generated by the same Dynamic Folder work normally. ### Expected behavior Royal TS should run the local command interactively in an embedded terminal tab, providing parity with Royal TSX. If this object type cannot be supported on Windows, Royal TS should report that custom terminal commands are unsupported instead of attempting an SSH connection. ### Additional context The PuTTY plugin may provide a workaround for some direct SSH certificate scenarios, but it does not provide general support for interactive local commands such as `az ssh vm` , AWS SSM sessions, or other CLI-backed terminal connections. Related issue: #58 added general rJSON support to Royal TS for Windows, but did not add local `CustomTerminal` command support. ### Related community discussions This limitation has also been discussed in the Royal Apps community: - Local Terminal Embedded in Royal TS: https://community.royalapps.com/t/local-terminal-embedded-in-royal-ts/748 - Connect to local shell from Rebex terminal?: https://community.royalapps.com/t/connect-to-local-shell-from-rebex-terminal/1893 In the second discussion, Royal Apps confirms that the Windows Rebex terminal requires an SSH server, while Royal TSX can open a local shell through iTerm. The external-application workaround discussed in the first thread does not provide the same terminal integration, including logging, text highlighting, clipboard review, and reliable Royal TS keyboard shortcuts.

Could Royal TS for Windows support interactive local CustomTerminal commands inside embedded tabs, including connections generated through Dynamic Folders?

If this combination cannot be supported, an explicit unsupported-feature message would also be preferable to attempting a normal SSH connection.

stefan_koell · July 13, 2026, 6:34am

Hi!

Royal TS v26 for Windows (currently available as beta), is able to run local processes (such as cmd or pwsh) in an interactive terminal (PTY).

There are currently no docs for the properties yet but the easiest way to get this done in rJson is to simply configure one custom terminal in a test doc and look at the XML. This way you can find out the property names and values you need in rJson.

Let me know if this helps.

Regards,
Stefan

Ghost93 · July 30, 2026, 8:29am

Quick follow-up now that Royal TS v26 has shipped Custom Terminal PTY support on Windows.

I put together a Dynamic Folder sample that uses this on Windows for exactly the Azure AD SSH scenario in the original post, and opened a PR against the official toolbox repo:

• PR: Add Microsoft Azure VM Dynamic Folder for Royal TS on Windows by Ghost93 · Pull Request #142 · royalapplications/toolbox · GitHub
• Tracking issue: Add `CustomTerminal` local-command parity to Royal TS for Windows · Issue #141 · royalapplications/toolbox · GitHub

The sample generates RDP, password-based SSH, and Azure AD-based AzSSH connections for a single Azure VM per Dynamic Folder. AzSSH runs az ssh vm with a forced TTY and Bash login shell inside an embedded Custom Terminal tab, so Azure CLI handles the Azure AD authentication. Verified on Windows 11 with Royal TS v26.

@stefan_koell - would you mind taking a look when you have a moment?

Thanks again for adding the Windows PTY support - it was the missing piece for this workflow

stefan_koell · July 30, 2026, 2:18pm

My colleague will review your PR and will provide feedback.

Regards,
Stefan