A brutalist, GPU-accelerated terminal with AI-native command workflows. Fast. Minimal. Unapologetically powerful.
Most terminals are either fast but dumb, or smart but heavy. YouNeeK Death Terminal aims for both: low-level performance, AI-native workflows, and zero visual fluff.
It's written in Zig, renders through Vulkan with a software fallback, and is scripted with Lua. AI is optional and async: it assists, it doesn't interrupt, and nothing is inserted unless you accept it.
Ghost text suggestions. Tab to accept.
Straight from the project README.
Suggestions from your typed input, working directory, recent commands with exit codes, recent output, shell and OS. Local Ollama by default, or any OpenAI-compatible server. Ctrl+Shift+A explains the last failed command; Ctrl+Shift+Q asks about the selection or screen. Secrets are redacted before anything is sent.
Risky commands (rm -r, git reset --hard, git push --force, dd, curl | sh and more) are held back. A read-only preview estimates the impact without running the command; y runs it, n cancels.
A snapshot of the working directory before each command, plus a diff after. Scrub the session and rewind the folder to just before a command with Ctrl+Alt+T. The rewind asks first and can be undone.
Share the focused pane live with one other terminal, encrypted with Noise. LAN first, then a relay. The guest is read-only until you grant control, and only that pane is shared.
Repeated command sequences in a project are detected locally and offered as a named shortcut. Run it by name or from the command palette; it stops on the first failure.
Vulkan swapchain and SPIR-V glyph pipeline with a software fallback. FreeType and HarfBuzz text with ligatures, bundled JetBrains Mono, and smooth output under heavy logs and builds.
deathterminal --ssh <profile|user@host> using libssh2, with Lua profiles and your ~/.ssh/config. Local, remote and SOCKS forwards, known_hosts checks. Linux only for now.
Lua 5.4 config with live reload. Sandboxed plugins with memory/CPU limits and only the permissions you grant: hooks, command palette, status bar, themes.
Tabs and horizontal/vertical splits, each pane with its own shell, scrollback, search and AI context. New panes inherit the working directory.
No animations. No distractions. Maximum contrast, maximum signal. Optional retro 8×8 bitmap font.
Windows (x64 or ARM64) · macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) · Linux (x86_64 and aarch64)
Zip download, or a one-line PowerShell install.
Prebuilt nightly binaries for Apple Silicon and Intel, or a one-line install that sets up the app.
No prebuilt binary is published yet. The install script builds it from source with Zig 0.13.
Or install from PowerShell, no administrator prompt:
That installs %LOCALAPPDATA%\DeathTerminal\bin\deathterminal.exe, adds it to your user PATH, and creates a Start Menu shortcut that runs deathterminal --gui. Windows builds are unsigned.
One-line install (Apple Silicon and Intel):
That installs ~/Applications/YouNeeK Death Terminal.app, puts a symlink on the Desktop, and adds ~/.local/bin/deathterminal. Double-click the Desktop app, or run:
Prebuilt nightly binaries (raw executables with SHA-256 checksums, not an app bundle — the install script above is the easier route):
One-line install:
Or build it yourself with Zig 0.13.x:
Requirements: pkg-config, libx11-dev, libwayland-dev, libxkbcommon-dev, libfreetype-dev, libharfbuzz-dev, libfontconfig-dev, libssl-dev. A Vulkan loader + driver (libvulkan1, mesa-vulkan-drivers) at run time, or the software renderer is used. Optional fallback fonts: fonts-noto-cjk, fonts-noto-color-emoji.
Run the install command again to update. Uninstall and more: see the README.
MIT licensed. Contributors interested in terminal emulation, low-level graphics, systems programming, and AI tooling are welcome.