---
sidebar_position: 31
title: Access the terminal
description: Access the terminal of a container.
keywords: [podman desktop, podman, containers, terminal]
tags: [accessing-the-terminal]
---

# Accessing the container terminal

You can access the terminal of a container to view its file system, interact with it using commands, or troubleshoot the environment in which it runs.

#### Prerequisites

Make sure you have:

- [A running Podman machine](/docs/podman/creating-a-podman-machine).
- [Started a containerized application](/blog/2024/10/05/kubernetes-blog#building-a-containerized-application).

#### Procedure

1. Go to the **Containers** component page.
1. Click the name of the container, such as `python-app`. The Container Details page opens.
   ![python app container](img/python-app-container.png)
1. Select the **Terminal** tab.
1. Run any commands to interact with the container. For example, run the `ls -al` command to list hidden files.
   ![interaction with container](img/interacting-with-container.png)
1. Click the **close** icon on the right side of the page.

   :::note

   Alternatively, click the **overflow menu** icon and then select the **Open Terminal** option to access the container terminal.
   ![open the terminal](img/opening-terminal.png)

   :::
