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CloudShell Release History

Version 2026.1​

Maintenance Window By Domain​

Administrators can define maintenance windows scoped to individual domains. This enables planned downtime or restricted access for specific teams without affecting other domains.

Deprecate Properties Capability — All Standards​

The deprecate_properties capability is now recognized across all CloudShell resource standards. Previously only supported on a subset of core standards.

Security Updates​

Updated bundled third-party components:

ComponentPreviousNew
Apache httpd (+OpenSSL)2.4.652.4.66
Node.js22.15.024.14.0 (LTS)
Erlang OTP25.2.326.2.3
MongoDB6.0.47.0.30
Breaking Change

Node.js 24 dropped 32-bit (x86) Windows support. The x86 Node.js prerequisite has been removed from the installer.

Also fixed: an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability (CWE-611) on the Portal's SAML assertion consumer service endpoint, which could be reached without authentication. Deployments using SSO/SAML should upgrade.

Export Diagram as PNG​

Export sandbox diagrams as PNG images directly from the browser. Available in the diagram toolbar under Export → PNG.

AI Chat Integration​

Configurable AI Assistant menu item in the Portal. Administrators can set a URL template to integrate with AI chat services.

Portal Session Resilience​

Portal users — including those signing in via SSO/SAML — are no longer logged out when the Portal application pool recycles. CloudShell rebuilds the session from the existing sign-in cookie, so open tabs and background page refreshes keep working without a forced re-login, and a transient CloudShell Server outage no longer signs users out. Controlled by the EnableSessionRehydration setting (enabled by default).

Custom PyPI Repository Honored at Execution Server Setup​

A configured custom PyPI repository (RequirementsRepository, RequirementsTrustedHost, RequirementsExtraRepository) is now used during Execution Server setup and default-environment bootstrap, not only when running driver commands. Environments with a private or HTTPS-only PyPI index can complete Execution Server setup against a reachable custom index without a workaround.

Server Default Changes​

  • UseRabbitServer now defaults to false
  • UseEmbeddedSandboxService now defaults to false
  • Job Scheduling now follows the global UseRabbitServer setting instead of an independent default, so scheduled and manually launched reservations take the same messaging path

Docker Execution Server​

  • Consolidated Dockerfile with Python 3 virtualenv and TLS/Kerberos compatibility
  • Support for passing Execution Server Selector attributes to Docker containers

New TestShell API methods for managing application links (SSH, Telnet, RDP, etc.) on resources programmatically. Administrators can disable specific links per resource or set family-wide defaults:

  • SetResourceApplicationLinks — Set which application links are disabled for a specific resource
  • GetResourceApplicationLinks — Get the current application links configuration for a resource
  • SetFamilyDefaultApplicationLinks — Set default disabled links for an entire resource family
  • GetFamilyDefaultApplicationLinks — Get the family-level default configuration

GetResourceReservations API​

New TestShell API method that returns the list of reservations (current and historical) associated with a given resource.

Improved Abstract Resource Resolution Diagnostics​

When a blueprint reservation fails due to unresolvable abstract resources or route conflicts, the error message now includes detailed diagnostics — showing which resources could not be resolved, which routes failed, and the specific conflicts that prevented resolution.

Preserve the Diagram Arrangement When the View Style Changes​

Changing a diagram's View Style can now resize the resource cards in place and keep the saved arrangement, instead of applying the legacy per-axis resize (Large ×2/×3, Small ÷2.7 and ×1.3) that visibly displaces resources and link endpoints. This is opt-in — set PreserveDiagramLayoutOnViewStyleChange to True in the Portal's customer.config; the default is unchanged behavior.

Independently of that setting, three flows that could move or persist diagram coordinates incorrectly were fixed: Arrange, dragging resources to new positions, and resizing a sticky note.

Execution Server Resilience on Linux​

Execution Servers running on Linux/Mono handle bursts of driver launches more reliably. Under a burst, reads from driver child processes could starve the socket-completion callbacks that service the Execution Server's messaging channel, wedging the agent until it was restarted. The Execution Server now reserves a floor of thread-pool worker threads at startup so the two cannot compete, and CloudShell Server tolerates a much longer transient stall — up to roughly 100 seconds — when dispatching an execution request to an Execution Server, instead of giving up after a few seconds.

Also fixed: virtual environments on Linux Execution Servers were resolved using the Windows interpreter path layout (Scripts rather than bin).

Driver Command Queue Inspection and Recovery API​

New system-administrator Automation API methods for seeing which resource driver commands are queued or running, and cancelling them. They address a resource left blocked by a command belonging to a previous — possibly already ended — sandbox, which a new sandbox could not previously see or cancel:

  • GetRunningCommands — the driver commands queued or running in a reservation.
  • GetResourceCommandExecutions — the driver commands queued or running on a resource, across all reservations.
  • CancelResourceCommand — cancel one command by its execution id.
  • ClearResourceCommands — cancel every command queued or running on a resource. Does not wait behind the command it is clearing, so it can be called from a Setup script.

For details and examples, see Inspecting and Clearing Driver Commands on a Resource.

Sandbox Owners and Permitted Users Accepted by Display Name​

Creating a sandbox could fail with User "<name>" does not exist for a user who did exist, when that user's display name differed from their username — most often for users provisioned through SSO or Active Directory, where the directory supplies a display name such as Jane Doe (Engineering) while the login remains jdoe. Sandbox owners and permitted users may now be given as a user ID, a username, or a display name.

Usernames are matched first, so no existing behavior changes. Because display names are not required to be unique, a display name shared by more than one user is rejected rather than resolved arbitrarily, and the error asks for the username instead. Permissions are unchanged — a user resolved this way must still be allowed to own a sandbox in the relevant domain.

Bundled Python 3 Upgraded to 3.13 (Windows)​

The Python 3 interpreter bundled with CloudShell on Windows has been upgraded from CPython 3.9.9 (32-bit) to 3.13.15 (64-bit). Shell drivers and orchestration scripts that run on a Windows Execution Server now execute on Python 3.13. The bundled Python 2.7.18 slot is unchanged and still ships, so legacy Python 2 shells are unaffected.

Driver compatibility

Driver code and its requirements.txt must be valid on Python 3.13. Modules and aliases removed between 3.9 and 3.13 are the most common cause of breakage — for example the collections aliases for the abstract base classes (collections.Sequence), which were removed in Python 3.10 and must be imported from collections.abc instead. Test your shells against Python 3.13 before upgrading.

Linux and Docker Execution Servers still use Python 3.9.9

This upgrade covers the Python bundled with CloudShell on Windows. Linux Execution Servers — including the Linux virtual appliance and the Docker Execution Server image — still provide Python 3.9.9. If your shells run on both Windows and Linux Execution Servers, keep driver code compatible with both 3.9 and 3.13.

Global Inputs Kept When Saving a Sandbox as a Blueprint​

Saving a sandbox as a blueprint now keeps global inputs that were linked to a resource requirement, instead of dropping them:

  • Where the requirement is carried over to the saved blueprint (the work order flow), the kept global input is linked back to that requirement, so it still drives something.
  • Where the resource was pinned down as a concrete resource, there is nothing left to link to, so the input is kept as a plain value.

Controlled by the KeepResourceGlobalInputsOnSaveAsBlueprint key (default true). Set it to false to drop these inputs instead, which restores the previous behavior.

Blueprint Import Validates Categories​

Importing a blueprint that references a category that does not exist in the target domain now fails the import with an explicit error, instead of importing the blueprint and silently dropping the category association. This completes the import validation set — family, model, attribute, script, driver and resource references already failed the import when missing.

Bug Fixes​

  • Fixed an issue where App deployment could retry unnecessarily on certain internal errors instead of failing fast with clear diagnostics.
  • Fixed SSO (SAML) users being bounced to the login page in a loop, instead of seeing the maintenance page, when signing in during a maintenance window. Aborted logins no longer leave a half-authenticated session.
  • Fixed an active maintenance window being left stranded open when its end time was edited to a past time. Such edits are now rejected — use Stop to end an active window immediately.
  • Fixed the RabbitMQ messaging service failing to start after an Erlang upgrade. CloudShell now validates and refreshes stale Erlang location settings automatically.
  • Fixed abstract resource port names in Assembly Lab work order fields and route tooltips intermittently truncating to the leaf port name instead of the full path.
  • Fixed the Sandbox API crashing on the Node.js 24 runtime when handling conditional (cache-revalidation) requests to the explore endpoints.
  • Restored the full Ansible package (with bundled collections) in the Docker Execution Server image, fixing playbooks that failed with missing-module errors.
  • The About dialog now shows the full four-part product version, including the build number (for example, 2026.1.0.52).
  • Fixed a resource placed directly into a blueprint being labeled with its own name twice on the sandbox diagram — for example server1 (server1) instead of server1. A resource that does resolve an abstract still shows that abstract's alias, and where an abstract's alias is identical to the resource name the diagram now shows the name once, matching the resource side pane.
  • Fixed a Blueprint not found message repeating indefinitely when the active domain was switched with a blueprint open, which prevented the redirect from completing. The message is now shown once and the redirect proceeds.
  • Fixed a server error (HTTP 500) when downloading a shell or provisioning script whose stored file name has no extension.
  • Fixed the sandbox Properties dialog showing a non-admin user an end time the sandbox does not have, for a sandbox that had been extended beyond the duration cap of its blueprint or user group. The dialog now shows the sandbox's real schedule, and opening it no longer silently shortens the sandbox.

Version 2025.1​

RemoveEntitiesFromTopology API​

New API method for programmatically removing services and abstract resources from a topology/blueprint.

PostgreSQL Database Support (Beta)​

CloudShell now supports PostgreSQL as an alternative database backend. Contact Quali Support for evaluation access.

Post-2024.1 GA Patch Releases​

2024.1.0.2534 (October 2024)​

  • Route and Cable Connectivity Events (added in 2024.1.0.2529) — Four new publishable server events, SandboxRouteConnected, SandboxRouteDisconnected, SandboxCableConnected and SandboxCableDisconnected, let MQ subscribers react to connectivity changes in a sandbox. See CloudShell Server Events Queue
  • Abstract Editor: Collapse Nodes — Collapse abstract nodes in the diagram editor for cleaner visualization
  • Reservation State Filter — Now visible for all domain types in the Reservations Dashboard
  • L1 Port Filter — Filter resources by L1 ports when adding resources to a reservation
  • Block Recurring Sandboxes in Assembly Lab — Recurring reservations are blocked in Assembly Lab domains

2024.1.0.2540 (November 2024)​

  • Sticky Notes Activity Feed — When updating sticky notes, a notification appears in the reservation activity feed
  • Work Order Enhancements — Block connectivity changes in pending state; show full abstract port names in Blueprint route editor

2024.1.0.2596 (February 2025)​

  • Attribute Changed Event — Now publishable for MQ integration
  • SSO Login Event — Login events are now created for SSO logins
  • Sandbox API: Schedule Future Reservations — New Start_Time parameter to schedule reservations for a future time
  • Save As Template Confirmation — Confirmation dialogs added for "Save As Template" and "Save a Copy" actions
  • Work Order Improvements — Recursive state updates, alphabetical route sorting, sort resources by request name
  • Domain ID in Events — Domain ID now passed in certain events to simplify handling

2024.1.0.2603 (March 2025)​

  • Copiable Side Panel Text — Text in side panels (activity feed, resource info) is now selectable and copiable
  • Sandbox API: Cancel Pending Reservation — API now supports canceling pending reservations, not just stopping active ones
  • Assembly Lab: Exclusive Requirements — Exclusive requirements now solved only by the device itself, not the entire graph
  • Performance Improvements — Faster entity path queries, optimized published properties retrieval

2024.1.0.2624 (April 2025)​

  • Smart Route Creation — When creating routes between concrete devices, the system prioritizes using existing L1 infrastructure segments (patch panels, Layer 1 switches). Falls back to a provisional direct connection if no valid route exists
  • Node.js Upgrade — Bundled Node.js upgraded from 18.13.0 to 22.15.0
  • Security: L1 Driver Logs — Passwords redacted from Layer 1 driver logs
  • Performance — Reduced CPU usage, faster resource deletion, reduced thread starvation, caching for high-frequency calls

2024.1.0.2634 (May 2025)​

  • PostgreSQL Support (Experimental) — Experimental database support for PostgreSQL. Contact Quali Support for details.

2024.1.0.2650 (June 2025)​

  • Sticky Note Colors — Choose color for sticky notes in sandboxes
  • New API: UndeployApps — Remove an app from the cloud provider while keeping the CloudShell resource. Useful for bulk deletion scenarios.

2024.1.0.2669 (July 2025)​

  • AllowUnicodeForCommandContext — New configuration option to support passing unicode characters to script environment variables (useful when usernames contain unicode)

2024.1.0.2682 (August 2025)​

  • Alias in Assembly Lab — Resource alias now appearing in Assembly Lab reservations
  • Environment Variable Config Override — Override customer.config values using environment variables
  • Permissions Screen Sort — Groups sorted alphabetically in the Permissions screen
  • Connection Properties — Side panel shows changes immediately after modification

2024.1.0.2686 (October 2025)​

  • L1 Port Route Solving — When solving an abstract in a route, if the solution is connected to an L1 port, the port is automatically added to the route
  • Per-Domain Notification Settings API — New UpdateDomainSetting and GetDomainSettings API methods for managing notification settings per domain

Version 2024.1​

Assembly Lab​

A radically different mode of operation for CloudShell is now available!

  • Manage devices on a part by part basis

    • Move sub resources from one device to another
    • Solve abstracts using parts from different devices

  • Sandboxes can be partially solved by algorithm and partially by human involvement

    • Select solutions for abstract requests
    • Change solutions

Capabilities​

CloudShell's RBAC implementation, you can now associate user groups with capability sets. Each capability set can specifically allow or block certain capabilities, overriding the defaults provided by the group role.

Read more here

Display attributes in Resource Search directly on cards​

Configure specific attributes to appear directly on resource search results.

SearchResultsWithAttribute

Filter sandboxes by user input and display the user input in Sandboxes Dashboard​

  • Configure an attribute to be displayed in sandbox dashboard
  • Show only sandboxes which passed a particular value

Sandbox Dashboard Customization

For more details

Minimum Lead Time​

You now have the ability to establish a minimum lead time for reserving Sandboxes within a specific domain. This means that when this setting is configured, any sandbox reservations must be made for a date in the future, not for immediate use.

To implement this, you need to adjust the MinimumLeadTimeMinutes parameter via a specific API call. Detailed instructions on how to make this API call can be found in this guide.

API Changes​

GetResourcesAttributeValues​

Receives a list of resources and returns the values of all the attributes in bulk. This method can be more performant than calling GetResourceAttributeValues or GetResourceDetails in a loop. Available in Cloudshell Automation API.

GetExecutionServers & DeleteExecutionServer​

API calls for getting Execution Servers and removing them using automation.

GetResourceDetails changes​

GetResourceDetails will now show Create & Modified Date for the resource.