#The VM Console
When a module starts, you land in the console — a browser-based view of the VM. It works like a remote desktop: what you see is the VM's actual screen, and your keyboard and mouse drive the VM directly.
#The menu bar
The strip across the top of the console is your control surface. From left to right:
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Status indicator | Shows the VM's current state (Running, Provisioning, Stopped, …). When the green dot is lit, you're connected. Hovering reveals how long until the inactivity timer shuts the VM down. |
| VM Controls | Power on / Power off / Restart / Ctrl+Alt+Del / Scratchpad. See below. |
| Switch VM | Only appears when the module has more than one VM. See Switching between VMs. |
| Briefing | Reopens the module briefing (the description of what you're trying to do) as a side panel. |
| I'm Done | Submits the module for grading. |
| Timer (center) | Contest modules only — your personal countdown. See Timers. |
| Exit VM Console | Leaves the console without submitting. The VM keeps running and the inactivity timer keeps counting. |
#The focus indicator
When you click into the VM screen, a thin green bar appears at the bottom of the menu bar. That means your keyboard is going to the VM — every keystroke is typed inside the guest OS instead of by your browser. Click anywhere outside the VM screen (e.g. the menu bar) to release focus.
This matters more than it sounds. Browser shortcuts like Ctrl+W (close tab) and Ctrl+T (new tab) are intercepted while focus is on the VM, so you can use them inside the guest. But Ctrl+Alt+Del is special — your operating system catches it before the browser can, so you have to use the VM Controls → Ctrl+Alt+Del menu item to send it to the VM.
#VM Controls
Open the VM Controls dropdown for the things you can't reach from inside the guest:
- Power On / Power Off / Restart — direct power-button equivalents. Power Off and Restart are forceful: equivalent to pulling the cord, not a graceful shutdown. Use the OS's own shutdown command first if you care about a clean stop.
- Ctrl+Alt+Del — sends the secure-attention key sequence into the VM. Required for Windows login screens and certain admin prompts.
- Scratchpad — opens a notes panel that docks to the side or bottom of the screen. Notes persist alongside the module across reloads, but disappear when the VM is reprovisioned.
#Briefing panel
The Briefing button reopens the module's instructions as a docked panel on the side of the console, so you can read the prompt without leaving the VM. You can resize the panel and switch which side it docks to.
The briefing panel doesn't update during the module — it's whatever was set when you started.