# TERM39
[](https://github.com/alejandroqh/term39/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[](https://github.com/alejandroqh/term39/actions/workflows/release.yml)
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
[](https://www.rust-lang.org)
A modern, retro-styled terminal multiplexer inspired by Norton Disk Doctor (MS-DOS), built with Rust. TERM39 brings the classic DOS aesthetic to your terminal with a full-screen text-based interface, window management, and terminal emulation.
```
████████╗███████╗██████╗ ███╗ ███╗██████╗ █████╗
╚══██╔══╝██╔════╝██╔══██╗████╗ ████║╚════██╗██╔══██╗
██║ █████╗ ██████╔╝██╔████╔██║ █████╔╝╚██████║
██║ ██╔══╝ ██╔══██╗██║╚██╔╝██║ ╚═══██╗ ╚═══██║
██║ ███████╗██║ ██║██║ ╚═╝ ██║██████╔╝ █████╔╝
╚═╝ ╚══════╝╚═╝ ╚═╝╚═╝ ╚═╝╚═════╝ ╚════╝
```
## Screenshot
*TERM39 running multiple terminal windows with btop, vim, and file navigation*
## Features
- **Retro DOS Aesthetic**: Classic blue-and-white color scheme with box-drawing characters
- **Multiple Terminal Windows**: Create, manage, and switch between multiple terminal sessions
- **Window Management**: Drag, resize, minimize, and maximize windows with mouse or keyboard
- **Double-Buffered Rendering**: Smooth, flicker-free display at ~60fps
- **Cross-Platform**: Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows
- **ASCII Compatibility Mode**: Optional `--ascii` flag for maximum terminal compatibility
- **Full Terminal Emulation**: Complete VT100/ANSI escape sequence support
- **Mouse & Keyboard Support**: Intuitive interface with both input methods
## Installation
### From crates.io (Recommended)
The easiest way to install TERM39 is via cargo:
```bash
cargo install term39
```
This requires Rust to be installed. [Install Rust](https://rustup.rs/)
### From Source
Ensure you have Rust installed (1.70 or later). [Install Rust](https://rustup.rs/)
```bash
git clone https://github.com/alejandroqh/term39.git
cd term39
cargo build --release
./target/release/term39
```
### Binary Release
Download the latest binary from the [Releases](https://github.com/alejandroqh/term39/releases) page.
## Usage
### Basic Usage
```bash
# Run with Unicode characters (recommended)
./term39
# Run with ASCII-only characters for compatibility
./term39 --ascii
```
### Keyboard Shortcuts
| `t` | Create new terminal window (from desktop) |
| `q` or `ESC` | Exit application (from desktop) |
| `h` | Show help screen |
| `ALT+TAB` | Switch between windows |
| `TAB` | Navigate between dialog buttons |
| `ENTER` | Activate selected button |
### Mouse Controls
- **Click title bar** - Drag window to move
- **Click [X]** - Close window
- **Drag ╬ handle** - Resize window (bottom-right corner)
- **Click window** - Focus window
- **Click bottom bar** - Switch between windows
### Window Controls
Each window has three buttons in the title bar:
- **[X]** (red) - Close window
- **[+]** (green) - Maximize/restore window
- **[_]** (yellow) - Minimize window
## Architecture
### Core Components
- **Video Buffer System**: Double-buffered rendering with dirty region tracking
- **Window Manager**: Z-order management with focus handling
- **Terminal Emulator**: VT100/ANSI escape sequence parser using VTE
- **Charset Configuration**: Switchable Unicode/ASCII rendering modes
- **PTY Integration**: Real shell integration via portable-pty
### Rendering System
TERM39 uses a sophisticated double-buffer system:
- Front/back buffers for flicker-free rendering
- Per-cell dirty tracking (only updates changed cells)
- Save/restore regions for efficient window management
- Shadow system for 3D depth effect
## Building and Development
### Prerequisites
- Rust 1.70 or later
- Cargo (comes with Rust)
### Build Commands
```bash
# Development build
cargo build
# Optimized release build
cargo build --release
# Run directly
cargo run
# Run with ASCII mode
cargo run -- --ascii
# Run tests
cargo test
# Check code quality
cargo clippy
# Format code
cargo fmt
```
### Project Structure
```
term39/
├── src/
│ ├── main.rs # Entry point and event loop
│ ├── charset.rs # Unicode/ASCII character sets
│ ├── video_buffer.rs # Double-buffered rendering
│ ├── window.rs # Window rendering and UI
│ ├── window_manager.rs # Multi-window management
│ ├── terminal_emulator.rs # VT100/ANSI parser
│ ├── terminal_window.rs # Terminal integration
│ ├── term_grid.rs # Terminal cell grid
│ ├── ansi_handler.rs # ANSI escape handling
│ ├── button.rs # UI button component
│ └── prompt.rs # Dialog/prompt system
├── Cargo.toml
├── LICENSE
└── README.md
```
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Whether you're fixing bugs, adding features, or improving documentation, your help is appreciated.
### How to Contribute
1. **Fork the repository**
2. **Create a feature branch**: `git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature`
3. **Make your changes**: Follow the existing code style
4. **Test your changes**: `cargo test && cargo clippy`
5. **Commit your changes**: `git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'`
6. **Push to the branch**: `git push origin feature/amazing-feature`
7. **Open a Pull Request**
### Development Guidelines
- Follow Rust best practices and idioms
- Run `cargo fmt` before committing
- Ensure `cargo clippy` passes without warnings
- Add tests for new functionality
- Update documentation as needed
- Keep commits atomic and well-described
### Areas for Contribution
- **Terminal emulation**: Improve ANSI/VT escape sequence coverage
- **Performance**: Optimize rendering and buffer management
- **Features**: Tab completion, session saving, themes, etc.
- **Platform support**: Testing and fixes for Windows/Linux/macOS
- **Documentation**: Tutorials, examples, code comments
- **Testing**: Unit tests, integration tests, edge cases
## Roadmap
- [ ] Configuration file support (colors, keybindings)
- [ ] Custom themes
- [ ] Session persistence (save/restore windows)
- [ ] Tab completion
- [ ] Split panes within windows
- [ ] Scrollback buffer
- [ ] Search functionality
- [ ] Copy/paste support
## Dependencies
- [crossterm](https://github.com/crossterm-rs/crossterm) - Cross-platform terminal manipulation
- [chrono](https://github.com/chronotope/chrono) - Date and time library
- [portable-pty](https://github.com/wez/wezterm/tree/main/pty) - Cross-platform PTY support
- [vte](https://github.com/alacritty/vte) - ANSI/VT parser
## Similar Projects
If you're interested in terminal multiplexers, check out:
- [tmux](https://github.com/tmux/tmux) - Terminal multiplexer
- [GNU Screen](https://www.gnu.org/software/screen/) - Terminal multiplexer
- [byobu](https://www.byobu.org/) - Text-based window manager
- [zellij](https://github.com/zellij-org/zellij) - Modern terminal workspace
## License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
```
MIT License
Copyright (c) 2025 Alejandro Quintanar
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.
```
## Acknowledgments
- Inspired by **Norton Disk Doctor** and classic DOS applications
- Built with the amazing [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/) programming language
- Thanks to the open source community for the excellent libraries
## Support
- **Issues**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/alejandroqh/term39/issues)
- **Discussions**: [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/alejandroqh/term39/discussions)
- **Documentation**: Check the [Wiki](https://github.com/alejandroqh/term39/wiki)