term39-1.5.1 is not a library.

TERM39

A modern terminal multiplexer with classic MS-DOS aesthetic, built with Rust. Full-screen interface with window management and complete terminal emulation. ( Linux / Windows / macOS / FreeBSD / NetBSD / OpenBSD / Android-Termux )

Screenshots

Features

General

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
System Menu: Centralized panel with WiFi status, time/date, clipboard, and settings access
Session Persistence: Background daemon keeps terminal sessions alive across disconnects (Unix); auto-save/restore of window layouts
Command Launcher: Quick command palette with Ctrl+Space
Clipboard Support: System clipboard integration with drag-to-select, Ctrl+Shift+C/V, right-click menu
Lockscreen: System-authenticated lockscreen with Shift+Q, supports PAM (Linux), Directory Services (macOS), and Windows Security
Customizable Themes: Classic (default), Dark, Monochrome, Green Phosphor, Amber, Dracu, NDD, QBasic, TurboP, NCC, XT, WP, dB, System (via --theme flag)
Battery Indicator: Real-time battery status display in the top bar
Cross-Platform: Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD with full VT100/ANSI support and true color
ASCII Compatibility: --ascii flag for maximum terminal compatibility

Linux Only

Framebuffer Mode: Direct /dev/fb0 rendering with DOS text modes (40x25, 80x25, ... , 320x200)
Console Mouse: Native mouse support on Linux TTY via raw /dev/input devices

Installation

From crates.io (Recommended)

# Standard installation
cargo install term39

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

Requires Rust (Install)

Linux Packages

Homebrew:

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"

Runtime Requirement: If you see errors about MSVCP140.dll or VCRUNTIME140.dll, install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable (x86 version for 32-bit systems).

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.

FreeBSD (Experimental)

Note: BSD support is experimental. Please report any issues on GitHub.

Download from Releases:

tar xzf term39-*-freebsd-64bit-x86-binary.tar.gz
sudo mv term39 /usr/local/bin/

Or build from source:

# FreeBSD with PAM lockscreen
cargo build --release --no-default-features --features bsd

# FreeBSD without lockscreen
cargo build --release --no-default-features --features bsd-minimal

NetBSD / OpenBSD (Experimental)

Note: BSD support is experimental. Please report any issues on GitHub.

Build from source (no pre-built binaries available):

# NetBSD with PAM lockscreen
cargo build --release --no-default-features --features bsd

# OpenBSD (no PAM, use PIN authentication)
cargo build --release --no-default-features --features bsd-minimal

Note: On OpenBSD, PAM is not available. Use bsd-minimal feature which enables PIN-based lockscreen authentication instead.

Usage

./term39                 # Run with Unicode (recommended)
./term39 --ascii         # ASCII mode for compatibility
./term39 --theme dark    # Themes: classic, dark, monochrome,
                         #         green_phosphor, amber, dracu,
                         #         ndd, qbasic, turbo, nc, xt,
                         #         wp, db, system

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
`Ctrl+Space`	Command launcher	`Shift+Q` / `F12`	Lock screen

Window & Session

Key	Action	Key	Action
`F2` / `ALT+TAB`	Switch windows	`Ctrl+S` / `F3`	Save session
`F4` / `Ctrl+L`	Clear terminal	` / `F8`	Window Mode

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 | Ctrl+Drag: Move without snap | ╬ handle: Resize
[X]/[+]/[_]: Close/Maximize/Minimize | Click window: Focus
Bottom bar: Switch windows | Drag text: Select | Right-click: Context menu

Keyboard-Only Mode (Window Mode)

Press ` (backtick) or F8 to enter Window Mode for full keyboard control of windows. Press again to exit.

Navigation

Key	Action
`h` / `←`	Focus window to left
`j` / `↓`	Focus window below
`k` / `↑`	Focus window above
`l` / `→`	Focus window to right
`Tab`	Cycle to next window
`Shift+Tab`	Cycle to previous window

Snap to Half Screen

Key	Action
`H` (Shift+h)	Snap to left half
`J` (Shift+j)	Snap to bottom half
`K` (Shift+k)	Snap to top half
`L` (Shift+l)	Snap to right half

Numpad-Style Snap Positions (1-9)

7 Top-Left     8 Top-Center     9 Top-Right
4 Middle-Left  5 Center         6 Middle-Right
1 Bottom-Left  2 Bottom-Center  3 Bottom-Right

Window Actions

Key	Action
`m`	Enter Move mode
`r`	Enter Resize mode
`z` / `+` / `Space`	Toggle maximize
`-` / `_`	Toggle minimize
`x` / `q`	Close focused window
`?`	Show help overlay

Move Mode (press m to enter)

Key	Action
`h/j/k/l` or arrows	Move window (adaptive speed)
`Shift+H/J/K/L`	Snap window to edge
`Enter` / `Esc` / `m`	Exit Move mode

Resize Mode (press r to enter)

Key	Action
`h` / `l`	Shrink / Grow width
`k` / `j`	Shrink / Grow height
`Shift` + key	Invert resize direction
`Enter` / `Esc` / `r`	Exit Resize mode

Tip: Double-press ` quickly to send a literal backtick to the terminal.

Command-Line Options

General Options

Option	Description
`--ascii`	Use ASCII-compatible characters (`+-\|#`) instead of Unicode box-drawing
`--single-line`	Use single-line Unicode box characters (`┌─┐│└┘`) instead of double-line
`--theme <THEME>`	Set color theme (see Themes section)
`--tint-terminal`	Apply theme-based color tinting to terminal content
`--no-restore`	Don't restore previous session on startup
`--no-save`	Don't save session (disables auto-save and manual save)
`--no-exit`	Disable exit functionality (for use as a window manager)
`--keybindings <PROFILE>`	Set keybinding profile (`term39`, `hyprland`)
`--shell <SHELL>`	Specify custom shell for terminal windows (e.g., `--shell /bin/zsh`)
`--no-persist`	Start a temporary session without background daemon (Unix only)
`--force-attach`	Kick any existing client and attach to the daemon (Unix only)
`--lock`	Lock a running term39 instance and exit (Unix only, see Lockscreen)

Linux Console Options

Option	Description
`-f`, `--framebuffer`	Enable framebuffer mode (requires `/dev/fb0` access)
`--fb-mode <MODE>`	Text mode: `40x25`, `80x25`, `80x43`, `80x50`, `160x50`, `160x100`, `320x100`, `320x200`
`--fb-scale <SCALE>`	Pixel scale factor (`1`, `2`, `3`, `4`, or `auto`)
`--fb-font <FONT>`	Console font name (e.g., `Unifont-APL8x16`)
`--fb-list-fonts`	List available console fonts and exit
`--fb-setup`	Launch interactive framebuffer setup wizard
`--mouse-device <DEVICE>`	Mouse input device (e.g., `/dev/input/event2`)
`--mouse-sensitivity <VALUE>`	Mouse sensitivity for TTY mode (`0.1`-`5.0`, default: auto)
`--swap-mouse-buttons`	Swap left/right mouse buttons
`--invert-mouse-x`	Invert mouse X-axis movement
`--invert-mouse-y`	Invert mouse Y-axis movement

Note: Linux console options require --features framebuffer-backend at compile time and running on a physical console (TTY1-6), not in terminal emulators or SSH.

Themes

Lockscreen

System-authenticated lockscreen using PAM (Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD), Directory Services (macOS), or Windows Security. OpenBSD uses PIN authentication.

Trigger	Command
Keyboard	`Shift+Q`
CLI (Unix)	`term39 --lock`
Signal (Unix)	`kill -USR1 $(pgrep term39)`

Features: Opaque background, progressive lockout (5s→120s after 3+ failures), auto-fill username.

Note: Disabled with warning if authentication system unavailable.

Persist Mode (Unix)

Persist mode keeps your terminal sessions alive in a background daemon. If you close term39, get disconnected from SSH, or your terminal crashes, just run term39 again to reattach with all windows, positions, and running processes intact.

ON by default on Unix (Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD)
Disable with --no-persist for single-shot sessions
Force reattach with --force-attach if another client is connected
Socket path: $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/term39/term39.sock or $TMPDIR/term39-$UID/term39.sock

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

Configuration

Configuration files are stored in ~/.config/term39/:

File	Description
`config.toml`	User preferences (theme, keybindings, gaps, etc)
`session.toml`	Saved session (window layouts, terminal content)
`fb.toml`	Framebuffer settings (Linux only)

Available themes: classic (default), dark, monochrome, green_phosphor, amber, dracu, ndd, qbasic, turbo, nc, xt, wp, db, system

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on how to contribute to this project.

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: ON for Linux)

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

Modes: 40x25, 80x25, 80x43, 80x50, 160x50, 160x100, 320x100, 320x200
Platform: Linux only (automatically disabled on macOS/Windows)
Disable: To opt-out on Linux → --no-default-features --features clipboard
Requires: /dev/fb0 access (root or 'video' group), physical console only

# Build/Install
# Standard (includes framebuffer on Linux)
cargo build --release

# Without framebuffer
cargo build --release --no-default-features --features clipboard

## Minimal (no clipboard, no framebuffer)
cargo build --release --no-default-features

# Standard (includes framebuffer on Linux)
cargo install term39

# Without framebuffer
cargo install term39 --no-default-features --features clipboard

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

`bsd` Feature Profile (Experimental)

Full BSD support with PAM lockscreen (FreeBSD, NetBSD). BSD support is experimental.

cargo build --release --no-default-features --features bsd

`bsd-minimal` Feature Profile (Experimental)

BSD support without PAM (OpenBSD, or when PAM is unavailable). BSD support is experimental.

cargo build --release --no-default-features --features bsd-minimal

Related Projects

TermOS

TermOS is a lightweight Linux distribution designed to run term39 as the primary desktop environment. It provides a complete DOS-like computing experience directly from boot, with term39 serving as the window manager and shell interface.

Contributors

Kevin Gosse (@kevingosse)

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file.

Support

Issues | Discussions | Wiki

term39 1.5.1