Introduction
The Manage tab gives you direct access to four background management tools: Terminal, File Explorer, Processes, and Services. All four run in your browser over a peer-to-peer (P2P) encrypted connection — no VPN required, and the end user won't see a thing.
Use these tools to run commands, transfer files, kill runaway processes, or restart a stuck service without ever touching the remote control.
⚙️ PREREQUISITES
Level agent installed and online on the target device
Technician has access to the device's group (see Workspace → Permissions)
Accessing Background Management
Open any device from Devices (or any global view) and click Manage in the left-side device navigation. The tab opens directly to Terminal.
The Connected: P2P badge confirms your browser is connected directly to the device. All session data is encrypted end-to-end. If a direct connection can't be established (usually due to a firewall), the session falls back to Connected: Relay, which routes traffic through a Level relay server. Both connection types are end-to-end encrypted.
ℹ️ NOTE: For details on P2P vs. relay — including how to diagnose a persistent relay connection — see Remote Control → P2P vs. Relay.
Terminal
Run commands on a device without opening a remote control session. The terminal connects to the device's native shell and responds just like a local terminal would.
Keyboard Shortcuts
The Level terminal supports standard keyboard behavior:
Tab— autocomplete↑/↓— scroll through command historyHome,End,Ctrl+Arrow— cursor navigationShift+Arrow— select text;Ctrl+C/Cmd+C— copyCtrl+Shift+V/Cmd+Shift+V— pasteRight-click — select text, copy, and paste via context menu
⚠️ WARNING: Standard Ctrl+C is intercepted by the terminal as a keyboard shortcut (copy), not as a signal interrupt. To interrupt a running command, use the terminal's built-in cancel mechanism for your shell.
Changing the Terminal Theme
The theme dropdown in the top-right corner of the terminal controls the color scheme.
Theme preference is saved locally in your browser. It persists across sessions on the same machine but doesn't sync to other technicians or other browsers.
File Explorer
Browse, upload, and download files on a device without disturbing the end user. The file explorer gives you full read access to the device's file system from your browser.
Navigating the File System
When you open the file explorer, Level presents the available drives. Double-click any drive or folder to navigate into it. The breadcrumb path at the top of the explorer shows your current location — click any folder in the path to jump back to it.
Back and forward navigation buttons sit to the left of the breadcrumbs.
Uploading and Downloading Files
To download a file, double-click it — or select it and click the Download button (arrow pointing down) in the toolbar.
To upload a file, drag it from your local machine into the file explorer window — or click the Upload button (arrow pointing up) and select a file.
The Transfers button (top right) shows the status of any active or completed file transfers in the current session.
ℹ️ NOTE: Creating, renaming, and deleting files and folders isn't currently supported in the file explorer. Use the terminal for those operations. These capabilities are planned for a future update.
Processes
See what's running on a device in real time. The processes view gives you CPU and memory usage across all active processes, with the ability to end processes remotely.
Reading the Process List
Each row shows:
Name — friendly process name
Process ID — the system PID
CPU — current CPU usage as a percentage
Memory (%) — memory usage as a percentage of total RAM
Memory (MB) — memory usage in megabytes
User Name — the account running the process
Process Name — the underlying executable name
The Memory (MB) column uses a color gradient — rows shade from light to dark amber as usage increases. This makes high-memory processes easy to spot at a glance without sorting.
The CPU and memory summary in the top-right corner shows total device utilization alongside hardware specs (core count, clock speed, total RAM).
All columns are sortable. Click a column header to sort; click again to reverse.
Searching Processes
Use the Search field to filter the list by process name or executable name. Results update as you type.
Ending a Process
Check the box next to one or more processes.
Click End processes.
To end a single process without selecting it first, click the three-dot menu on the row and choose End process.
⚠️ WARNING: Ending a process is immediate and can't be undone. Ending a critical system process may cause the device to become unstable or require a restart.
Services
View and control Windows, macOS, and Linux services from a single browser tab. Start, stop, or restart services and change their startup type without a remote control session.
Reading the Service List
Each row shows:
Display name — the human-readable service name
Service name — the short system identifier
Description — a brief description of what the service does
Status — Running or Stopped
Startup type — Disabled, Manual, Automatic, or Delayed Start
Executable path — the full path to the service binary
All columns are sortable. Use the Search field to filter by display name or service name.
Starting, Stopping, and Restarting Services
Select one or more services using the checkboxes, then click Start, Stop, or Restart in the toolbar.
To act on a single service without selecting it, click the three-dot menu on the row.
Changing the Startup Type
Select one or more services using the checkboxes.
Click the Startup type dropdown in the toolbar.
Choose Disabled, Manual, Automatic, or Delayed start.
The change applies to all selected services at once.
FAQ
What's the difference between background management and remote control? Remote control shares the device's screen and lets you interact with the desktop directly. Background management (the Manage tab) runs in the background without touching the user's session — the end user won't see a prompt, a screen share notification, or any interruption. Use background management for most routine tasks; use remote control when you need to see or interact with the desktop.
Why does it say "Connected: P2P" instead of just showing the tools? The P2P badge means your browser has established a direct encrypted connection to the device. The connection happens automatically when you open the Manage tab. If you see a relay connection instead, it means a direct P2P path couldn't be established (usually a network/firewall restriction) and traffic is routing through Level's relay infrastructure. Either way, the session is encrypted.
Can I use the terminal to run scripts from the Level script library? The terminal is an interactive shell — you can paste and run scripts manually, but it doesn't pull from the script library directly. To run a saved script against a device, use Actions from the device's Actions menu or build an automation. See Automations → Scripts.
Who can access background management on a device? Any technician with access to the device's group can use the Manage tab. Access is controlled at the group level. See Workspace → Permissions for how to configure which technicians can access which groups.
Why can't I access the Manage tab on a device? The Manage tab requires the device to be online. If the device is offline, the tab is still visible but the tools won't connect. Check the device's status on the Overview tab. If it shows Online and the tab still won't connect, the Level agent may need to be reinstalled — see Install Level → Standard Install.
Can I upload or download folders in the file explorer? No — the file explorer handles individual files only. To transfer a folder, compress it into an archive first, transfer the archive, then extract it on the other end.