---
layout: docs
page_title: Manage Sessions
sidebar_title: Manage Sessions
description: How to manage Boundary sessions
---
# Manage Sessions
[Sessions](/docs/concepts/domain-model/sessions) are Boundary resources which enables connecting to a [target](/docs/concepts/domain-model/target). A target allows Boundary users to define an endpoint with a default-port and a protocol to establish a session. Unless specified with a `-host-id` flag when establishing a session, Boundary will choose one [host](/docs/concepts/domain-model/hosts) from the target's host-sets to connect to at random.
In this section, we'll show you the basics of how to start a session in Boundary on the CLI and the admin console.
We assume you're running Boundary in dev mode and have a default target of `ttcp_1234567890`. We also assume you've logged in on the command line and the admin console. See the output of `boundary dev` for these login values.
## Authorize with a target
For this example, we're going to authorize that you are able to connect to a target which results in an Authorization Token being returned which can be used to connect to the session through the proxy.
```bash
$ boundary targets authorize -id ttcp_1234567890
Target information:
Authorization Token: $LONG_STRING_OF_TEXT
Created Time: 2020-09-30T15:18:14-07:00
Host ID: hst_1234567890
Scope ID: p_1234567890
Session ID: s_h7vBIhH5SZ
Target ID: ttcp_1234567890
Type: tcp
User ID: u_1234567890
```
#> Note: You can also provide a -host-id flag in the request above which ensures connecting using the provided Authorization Token will connect you to this specific host.
## Connect to the session
Once we have received an Authorization Token a Boundary session has been created and is waiting to proxy connection to the target. We'll now connect our local proxy to the Boundary deployment.
```bash
$ boundary proxy -authz $LONG_STRING_OF_TEXT
Proxy listening information:
Address: 127.0.0.1
Connection Limit: 1
Expiration: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 23:18:14 MST
Port: 61991
Protocol: tcp
Session ID: s_h7vBIhH5SZ
```
With the above address and port information we can now connect to our local proxy and have our tcp traffic sent through the boundary system.
```bash
$ ssh 127.0.0.1 -p 61991
...
```
For SSH connections we'll likely receive a notice that the authenticity of the host can't be established.
## Viewing Sessions
Beyond establishing sessions we can also view and cancel sessions. Here we'll view all sessions that have recently happened in the project scope that are default target is in.
```bash
$ boundary sessions list -scope-id p_1234567890
Session information:
ID: s_h7vBIhH5SZ
Status: active
Created Time: 2020-09-30T15:18:14-07:00
Expiration Time: 2020-09-30T23:18:14-07:00
Updated Time: 2020-09-30T15:18:35-07:00
User ID: u_1234567890
Target ID: ttcp_1234567890
```
We can get a more detailed view of this specific session by reading it.
```bash
$ boundary sessions read -id s_h7vBIhH5SZ
Session information:
Auth Token ID: at_51XQGx0bzk
Created Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:18:14 MST
Endpoint: tcp://localhost:22
Expiration Time: 2020-09-30T23:18:14-07:00
Host ID: hst_1234567890
Host Set ID: hsst_1234567890
ID: s_h7vBIhH5SZ
Status: active
Target ID: ttcp_1234567890
Type: tcp
Updated Time: 2020-09-30T15:18:35-07:00
User ID: u_1234567890
Version: 2
Scope:
ID: p_1234567890
Name: Generated project scope
Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890
Type: project
States:
Start Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:18:35 MST
Status: active
End Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:18:35 MST
Start Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:18:14 MST
Status: pending
```
## Cancelling Sessions
To shut down a session the person initiating the connection can disconnect all connections or a request can be sent to Boundary to cancel a specific session.
```bash
$ boundary sessions cancel -id s_h7vBIhH5SZ
Session information:
Auth Token ID: at_51XQGx0bzk
Created Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:18:14 MST
Endpoint: tcp://localhost:22
Expiration Time: 2020-09-30T23:18:14-07:00
Host ID: hst_1234567890
Host Set ID: hsst_1234567890
ID: s_h7vBIhH5SZ
Status: canceling
Target ID: ttcp_1234567890
Type: tcp
Updated Time: 2020-09-30T15:19:17-07:00
User ID: u_1234567890
Version: 3
Scope:
ID: p_1234567890
Name: Generated project scope
Parent Scope ID: o_1234567890
Type: project
States:
Start Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:19:17 MST
Status: canceling
End Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:19:17 MST
Start Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:18:35 MST
Status: active
End Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:18:35 MST
Start Time: Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:18:14 MST
Status: pending
```
Boundary will then cancel the session and move it into a "Terminated" state.