A blazingly fast, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator built for developers who demand zero-latency input and buttery-smooth rendering. Designed from the ground up for vibe coding sessions with Claude Code and modern development workflows.
Because every millisecond matters when you're in the flow. The Dev Terminal is engineered for developers who:
- Can't stand input lag disrupting their thought process
- Want GPU-accelerated rendering for smooth scrolling at any speed
- Need a terminal that keeps up with AI-assisted coding workflows
- Appreciate native macOS performance with Metal acceleration
- Demand instant feedback for every keystroke
Speed First, Everything Else Second
This isn't just another pretty terminal. Every architectural decision prioritizes raw performance:
- Direct Metal/GPU rendering pipeline (via wgpu)
- Zero-copy data paths from PTY to screen
- Lock-free async architecture where possible
- Native performance, no Electron overhead
- Optimized for M-series Apple Silicon
- Native Metal Rendering - Direct GPU acceleration via wgpu
- Instant Input Response - Every keystroke rendered in under 1 frame
- Smooth Inertial Scrolling - Buttery smooth trackpad scrolling with physics
- Smart Selection - Single/double/triple click for char/word/line selection
- URL Detection - Cmd+Click to open URLs in browser
- Search Functionality - ⌘F to search through terminal content
- Smart Zoom Controls - ⌘+/⌘-/⌘0 with dynamic grid recalculation
- Proper VT Parsing - Full ANSI/VT escape sequence support with CSI modes
- Unicode Support - Handles wide characters correctly
- Real PTY Integration - Proper shell interaction with bracketed paste
- Configuration System - TOML-based config with hot-reload support
- Performance Monitoring - Built-in FPS counter and latency tracking
- Scrollback Buffer - 10,000 lines of history with efficient memory usage
- Copy/Paste - Full system clipboard integration
- 256 Color Support - Complete ANSI color palette
- Edge-Clamped Scrolling - No jitter at viewport boundaries
- Sub-Row Rendering - Pixel-perfect smooth scrolling
- Resize Preservation - Content stays stable during window resize
- Stick-to-Bottom - Auto-follow new content when at bottom
- Memory Efficient - < 50MB for typical sessions
Built with a modular Rust workspace:
crates/
├── core/ # VT parser, grid management, PTY handling
├── ui-wgpu/ # GPU renderer with Metal backend
└── apps/terminal/ # Window management and event loop
- Language: Rust (stable, 2024 edition) - For zero-cost abstractions
- GPU: wgpu with Metal backend - Native macOS performance
- Text Rendering: Glyphon + Cosmic Text - GPU-accelerated text
- Window System: Winit - Minimal overhead event handling
- PTY: portable-pty - Cross-platform terminal interface
- Parser: vte - Battle-tested VT sequence parsing
- Input Latency: < 1ms from keystroke to PTY write
- Render Latency: < 8ms from PTY output to pixels (120fps capable)
- Scroll Performance: 60fps minimum at any speed
- Memory Usage: < 50MB for typical sessions
- Startup Time: < 100ms cold start
- Rust 1.75+ (stable)
- macOS 13+ (Metal support required)
- Xcode Command Line Tools
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Dlaby23/The-Dev-Terminal.git
cd The-Dev-Terminal
# Build and run in release mode (recommended for performance)
cargo run --release
# Run with debug logging
RUST_LOG=info cargo run --release# Run tests
cargo test
# Check types
cargo check
# Format code
cargo fmt
# Lint
cargo clippy| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘C | Copy selection (or send SIGINT if no selection) |
| ⌘V | Paste from clipboard |
| ⌘K | Clear screen and scrollback |
| ⌘F | Toggle search mode |
| ⌘W | Close window |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘+ | Zoom in |
| ⌘- | Zoom out |
| ⌘0 | Reset zoom |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘← | Jump to start of line |
| ⌘→ | Jump to end of line |
| ⌘Backspace | Delete to start of line |
| Option+← | Move back one word |
| Option+→ | Move forward one word |
| Option+Backspace | Delete previous word |
| PageUp | Scroll up one page |
| PageDown | Scroll down one page |
| Shift+Home | Scroll to top |
| Shift+End | Scroll to bottom |
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Click | Position cursor |
| Drag | Select text |
| Double-click | Select word |
| Triple-click | Select line |
| ⌘Click on URL | Open URL in browser |
| Scroll | Smooth inertial scrolling |
- Basic PTY integration
- VT parser implementation
- GPU text rendering
- Keyboard input handling
- Zoom functionality
- Performance optimizations
- Smooth inertial scrolling with physics
- Smart viewport management
- Edge-clamped scrolling
- Resize preservation
- Enhanced copy/paste with smart selection
- Search functionality (⌘F)
- URL detection and clicking
- Double/triple click selection
- Configuration system (TOML-based)
- Performance profiling tools
- Memory usage tracking
- FPS and latency monitoring
- Tabs and splits
- Theme hot-reload
- Plugin architecture
- AI integration features
- Collaborative sessions
- Cloud sync
- Advanced rendering effects
- Ligature support
This project is optimized for development with Claude Code. Contributions that improve performance, reduce latency, or enhance the developer experience are especially welcome.
Coming soon - We'll be publishing comprehensive latency measurements and comparisons
- Imperceptible Latency - If you can feel it, it's too slow
- Predictable Performance - No random stutters or slowdowns
- Developer First - Built for people who live in the terminal
- AI-Native - Optimized for AI-assisted development workflows
- macOS Native - Take full advantage of Apple Silicon
MIT - Because fast terminals should be free.
Built for developers who type faster than they think, and think faster than their current terminal can render.
Status: 🚧 Active Development - Breaking changes expected until v1.0
This project is currently in public development. As I'm working on multiple projects simultaneously, there is no set release date for The Dev Terminal. Development happens when time permits, and features are added incrementally.
Feel free to:
- Watch the repository for updates
- Try out the current builds
- Report issues or suggest features
- Contribute if you're interested
The terminal is functional for daily use, but expect ongoing changes and improvements.