Native macOS application · 2026

Terminal

A native macOS terminal built for everyday use.

Fast access. Real shell sessions. No window management.

Download v3.0 View source

Version: Terminal 3.0 · Build 6
Platform: macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon
Status: Stable baseline
License: MIT + Commons Clause

Terminal shown on a MacBook in an editorial product photograph.

Why I built it

The terminal was already powerful. Accessing it didn’t need to feel heavy.

A real terminal, without another window to manage.

Terminal keeps normal local shell sessions close at hand in a compact panel anchored to the macOS menu bar. Hide the interface and the shell keeps running. Open it again and the same process, working directory and session are still there.

Key features

Focused on access, sessions and native behavior.

Always accessible

An icon-only menu-bar presence opens and hides the terminal panel without adding a Dock window to manage.

Real sessions

Each tab is backed by a local PTY through SwiftTerm. Shell processes continue running while the panel is hidden.

Multiple workspaces

Independent tabs preserve their process, PID and working directory, with selection, rename and close controls.

Built around macOS

A native AppKit panel stays anchored to the menu bar, remains resizable and keeps terminal geometry synchronized with the real view size.

Interface

Present when needed. Out of the way when it isn’t.

Terminal 3.0 deliberately removed the earlier floating/notch concept. There is one presentation model: a compact native panel below the menu bar, resizable but intentionally not freely movable.

Terminal interface showing multiple independent terminal tabs.

Sessions

Tabs that remain independent shell sessions.

Switching tabs does not recreate the terminal. Each session keeps its own shell process and working directory, and closing the final tab creates a replacement session so the app never enters an unusable state.

Finder workflow for opening a folder in Terminal.

Folders

Start from the folder you already have.

A new terminal session can be created from a selected folder, keeping the workflow close to Finder instead of forcing a separate navigation step.

Terminal used as part of a coding workflow.

Everyday workflow

Built to sit inside the way the terminal is actually used.

The interface stays deliberately small so the shell, tools and working context remain the focus. Terminal is a presentation layer around normal local terminal sessions, not a replacement shell or remote service.

Architecture

A small presentation layer around persistent PTY sessions.

The UI layer and session layer are kept separate. Ordinary show, hide and resize operations do not recreate terminal processes.

AppDelegate
├─ TerminalSessionManager
│  └─ TerminalSession → SwiftTerm / PTY
└─ TerminalPanelController
   ├─ MenuBarPresentation → NSStatusItem
   └─ TerminalPanel
      └─ TerminalPanelView
         ├─ TabStrip
         └─ SwiftTerm host

Verified status

Terminal 3.0 is a tested stable baseline.

The public validation record covers builds, automated tests, real PTY interaction, repeated show/hide, resize behavior, tab persistence and foreground-process persistence within the documented test scope.

v3.0 / 6
Version / build: 11 / 0
XCTest / failures: PASS
Debug + release builds: PASS
Release smoke test

Distribution

Install it without a development environment.

The compiled application is distributed as a ZIP through GitHub Releases. Xcode, Swift, Homebrew and Command Line Tools are not required on the destination Mac.

Download v3.0

Download Terminal-v3.0-macOS.zip.
Extract Terminal.app.
Move Terminal.app to Applications.
Open Terminal from Applications.

The current build is ad-hoc signed and is not yet Developer ID notarized. If Gatekeeper blocks the first launch, control-click the app, choose Open and confirm.

Privacy

Local by design.

Terminal has no telemetry, analytics, advertising, accounts, cloud sync or application backend. Commands executed inside a shell can access the network or files according to the command itself and the user’s normal macOS permissions.

License

Source-available, with a commercial-use restriction.

Terminal uses the MIT License with the Commons Clause License Condition v1.0. The source can be used, studied, modified and redistributed under those terms, but Terminal should not be described as OSI-approved open-source software.

Terminal panel open below the macOS menu bar.

A terminal that stays close without taking over the desktop.

Terminal 3.0 is available now for macOS 14+ on the currently validated Apple Silicon target.

Download v3.0 View source