term39 0.10.0

A modern, retro-styled terminal multiplexer with a classic MS-DOS aesthetic
term39-0.10.0 is not a library.

TERM39

CI Release License: MIT Rust Version

A modern terminal multiplexer with classic MS-DOS aesthetic, built with Rust. Full-screen interface with window management and complete terminal emulation.

Screenshots

Features

  • Retro DOS Aesthetic: Classic blue-and-white color scheme with box-drawing characters, ~60fps rendering
  • Multiple Terminal Windows: Create, drag, resize, minimize, and maximize windows with mouse or keyboard
  • Window Management: Automatic tiling, snap to corners, focus management with ALT+TAB
  • Clipboard Support: System clipboard integration with drag-to-select, Ctrl+Shift+C/V, right-click menu
  • Customizable Themes: Classic, Dark, Monochrome, Green Phosphor, Amber (via --theme flag)
  • Cross-Platform: Linux, macOS, Windows with full VT100/ANSI support and true color
  • Linux Framebuffer Mode: Direct /dev/fb0 rendering with DOS text modes (40x25, 80x25, ... , 320x200), requires --features framebuffer-backend
  • ASCII Compatibility: --ascii flag for maximum terminal compatibility

Installation

From crates.io

# Standard installation
cargo install term39

# Linux with framebuffer support
cargo install term39 --features framebuffer-backend

Requires Rust (Install)

Linux Packages

Homebrew (Recommended):

brew tap alejandroqh/term39
brew install term39

Or download from Releases:

  • Fedora/RHEL: 
    sudo rpm -i term39-*-1.x86_64.rpm
# or: sudo dnf install term39-*-1.x86_64.rpm
  • Arch (AUR): yay -S term39-bin or yay -S term39
  • Tarball: 
    tar xzf term39-v*-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
sudo mv term39 /usr/local/bin/

macOS

Homebrew (Recommended):

brew tap alejandroqh/term39
brew install term39

Or download from Releases:

Option 1: PKG Installer

  • Intel: term39-v*-macos-intel.pkg
  • Apple Silicon: term39-v*-macos-apple-silicon.pkg

Right-click the PKG file and select "Open" to install (macOS will show a security warning for unsigned apps). The binary will be automatically placed in /usr/local/bin/.

Option 2: DMG Installer

  • Intel: term39-v*-macos-intel.dmg
  • Apple Silicon: term39-v*-macos-apple-silicon.dmg

Right-click the DMG file and select "Open", then drag the app into the Applications folder.

Option 3: Manual Installation

# Intel (x86_64)
tar xzf term39-v*-macos-64bit-x86-binary.tar.gz
sudo mv term39 /usr/local/bin/

# Apple Silicon (ARM64)
tar xzf term39-v*-macos-64bit-arm-binary.tar.gz
sudo mv term39 /usr/local/bin/

Windows

Download from Releases:

# Option 1: Run the installer (x86_64)
.\term39-v*-windows-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc-installer.exe

# Option 2: Portable - Extract ZIP
Expand-Archive term39-v*-windows-x86_64.zip
# Add to PATH (optional)
$env:Path += ";$PWD\term39-v*-windows-x86_64"

From Source

git clone https://github.com/alejandroqh/term39.git
cd term39
# Add --features framebuffer-backend for Linux framebuffer
cargo build --release
./target/release/term39

Android/Termux

For Android/Termux, install or build without the clipboard feature:

# Install Rust in Termux
pkg install rust

# Option 1: Install from crates.io (disable clipboard for Android compatibility)
cargo install term39 --no-default-features

# Option 2: Build from source
git clone https://github.com/alejandroqh/term39.git
cd term39
cargo build --release --no-default-features
./target/release/term39

Note: The --no-default-features flag disables system clipboard integration (which is not supported on Android). Copy/paste will still work within the app using an internal buffer.

Usage

./term39                 # Run with Unicode (recommended)
./term39 --ascii         # ASCII mode for compatibility
./term39 --theme dark    # Themes: classic, dark, monochrome,
                         #         green_phosphor, amber

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Key Action Key Action
t / T New window / Maximized window q / ESC Exit (desktop)
F1 / h Show help s Settings
l License c Calendar

Window & Session

Key Action Key Action
F2 / ALT+TAB Switch windows F3 Save session
F4 / Ctrl+L Clear terminal

Copy & Paste

Key Action Key Action
F6 / Ctrl+Shift+C Copy selection F7 / Ctrl+Shift+V Paste
Cmd+C (macOS) Copy selection Cmd+V (macOS) Paste

Dialog Controls

Key Action Key Action
TAB / Arrow keys Navigate buttons ENTER Activate button
ESC Close dialog

Mouse Controls

  • Title bar: Drag to move | [X]/[+]/[_]: Close/Maximize/Minimize | ╬ handle: Resize
  • Click window: Focus | Bottom bar: Switch | Drag/Right-click: Select/Context menu

Architecture

Core: Double-buffered video system, window manager (Z-order/focus), VT100/ANSI parser (VTE), PTY integration (portable-pty) Rendering: Front/back buffers with dirty tracking, save/restore regions, shadow system for depth

Development

Prerequisites: Rust 1.70+ (Install)

cargo build --release                     # Build optimized binary
cargo run -- --ascii                      # Run in ASCII mode
cargo test && cargo clippy && cargo fmt   # Test, lint, format

Contributing

Fork, create branch, test with cargo test && cargo clippy, commit, push, open PR. Follow Rust best practices, run cargo fmt, keep commits atomic.

Dependencies

Core: crossterm (terminal I/O), chrono (clock), portable-pty (PTY), vte (ANSI parser), clap (CLI args), serde/toml (config)

Optional: arboard (clipboard, default), framebuffer (Linux FB mode)

Cargo Features

clipboard (Default: ON)

System clipboard integration with Ctrl+Shift+C/V.

  • Enable: Desktop usage, copy/paste between apps
  • Disable: Android/Termux, headless servers → --no-default-features

framebuffer-backend (Default: OFF)

Direct Linux framebuffer rendering with DOS text modes (40x25, 80x25, ... , 320x200).

  • Modes: 40x25, 80x25, 80x43, 80x50, 160x50, 160x100, 320x100, 320x200
  • Enable: Linux console (TTY), pixel-perfect retro rendering → --features framebuffer-backend
  • Disable: Terminal emulators, SSH, macOS/Windows
  • Requires: /dev/fb0 access (root or 'video' group), physical console only
# Build/Install
cargo build --release                            # Standard
cargo build --release --no-default-features      # No clipboard
cargo build --release --features framebuffer-backend  # + framebuffer

cargo install term39                             # Standard
cargo install term39 --no-default-features       # No clipboard
cargo install term39 --features framebuffer-backend   # + framebuffer

# Run framebuffer
sudo ./target/release/term39 --fb-mode=80x25

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file.

Support

Issues | Discussions | Wiki