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    Elastic Compute Service:Intelligent command completion

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    Elastic Compute Service:Intelligent command completion

    Last Updated:Mar 17, 2026

    Intelligent command completion is an accessibility feature built into the Alibaba Cloud Elastic Compute Service (ECS) Workbench terminal. As you type on the command line, it predicts and displays a list of possible commands, parameters, or options based on context.

    This feature offers the following benefits:

    • Improves input accuracy: Select commands and parameters from the suggestion list to avoid spelling errors during manual entry. This ensures accurate command execution.

    • Provides intelligent suggestions: Dynamically displays all valid subcommands and parameter options based on your input. This reduces the effort required to remember complex commands.

    • Speeds up command entry: Simplifies command entry to “type a prefix and select.” This greatly reduces keystrokes and improves efficiency, especially for repetitive tasks.

    Scope

    To use this feature, Resource Access Management (RAM) users must have the permissions to connect to an ECS instance using Workbench.

    Procedure

    1. Log on to a Linux instance using Workbench

      Log on to the ECS console - Instances. Find the target instance and click Connect in the Actions column. Next to Workbench, click Sign in now.

    2. Trigger command completion

      • In the Workbench terminal window, enter the prefix of a common command. For example, to manage the firewall service with the systemctl command, enter systemctl status fire.

      • When you type fire, a suggestion list that contains firewalld automatically appears.

        The suggestion list does not block your normal input. You can ignore it and continue typing. The options in the list are filtered and updated in real time based on your input. To manually close the suggestion list, press the Esc key.

        image

    3. Select and complete the command

      Use the ↑ (Up arrow) and ↓ (Down arrow) keys to select the suggestion systemctl status firewalld. Then, press the Tab key to complete the command and press Enter to execute it.

    Disable intelligent command completion

    This feature is enabled by default. To disable it, use one of the following methods:

    • Method 1: In the right-click menu, click Smart Command Completion to disable the feature.

    • Method 2: Click the image icon in the lower-right corner of the interface. Then, open AI Settings > Shell and turn off Command completion.

    FAQ

    • Is there an extra charge for using Workbench intelligent command completion?

      No additional fees apply.

    • Why don't completion suggestions appear after I enter a command?

      This may be caused by network latency. Wait a moment, refresh the page, or reconnect to the terminal and try again.