A computer terminal was a device that was used to gain access to a computer's mainframe and communicate information. There were several different devices used that could interface with a computer terminal via a wall socket, such as scomp links and rank cylinders. They were mainly known as the perfect interface for astromech droids, though some maintenance points were made at the level of MSE-6-series repair droids. At Yavin there was a specific terminal that hooked up to R2-D2 via a cable and downloaded the information about the Death Star plans. On the first Death Star, R2-D2 hacked into a computer terminal to stop Garbage Compactor 3263827. On Bespin, Cloud City's mainframe computer told R2-D2 that the Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive had been deactivated.
Another part of a computer terminal was more usable by humanoids; it had a interface that displayed information and allowed input through the use of the user's fingers or through other means according to how the terminal was made. Obi-Wan Kenobi used such a terminal to disconnect a tractor beam from the Death Star I's main reactor, allowing the Millennium Falcon to escape.