AI COCKPIT · NATIVE macOS

Live in AI tools all day? Give your terminal a cockpit

Claude Code, Codex, or any AI CLI — TronTerm builds AI into the terminal itself: ⌘I turns plain English into commands, ⌘E explains your screen, engines swap in one click, and agents keep running after you close the window.

Developer ID signed · notarized by Apple macOS 13 Ventura or later No API keys UI in 7 languages
TronTerm — ~/ai/TronTerm
~/ai/TronTerm git:(main) ⌘I kill whatever is using port 8080
AI suggests
lsof -ti tcp:8080 | xargs kill -9
Press Enter to run, or edit it first
~/ai/TronTerm git:(main) lsof -ti tcp:8080 | xargs kill -9
killed 1 process (node, pid 48213)
~/ai/TronTerm git:(main)

▲ Press ⌘I and describe what you want — nothing runs until you press Enter.

why-tronterm

Not an iTerm2 replacement.
Your AI cockpit.

iTerm2 and Ghostty are excellent, mature terminals — built for humans typing, not for AI redrawing the screen a thousand times a second.

When an AI TUI floods output, an ordinary terminal's main thread is busy parsing and repainting, and the UI locks up. TronTerm makes jank architecturally impossible: PTY reads and VT parsing run on background queues, the main thread only handles your input and drawing; rendering coalesces to 60 fps and only ever paints the latest frame; scrollback and memory have hard ceilings.

Rendering rides the mature CoreText + NSView system path — no custom GPU pipeline to destabilize your Mac. The AI core runs as an isolated subprocess: if it dies, your terminal doesn't even notice.

60 fps
coalesced rendering · latest frame only
0
API keys · SDK lock-in
120 s
hard AI timeout · zero zombie processes
Three defenses against jank
01
Background parsing
PTY reads and VT parsing run on background queues; the main thread only handles input and drawing
02
Frame coalescing
Parsing digests all output in real time; rendering paints at most 60 fps, latest frame only
03
Hard resource caps
Scrollback tops out at 10,000 lines; memory has a computable ceiling
AI TUI redraws 1,000×/sec still smooth
features

AI built in, not bolted on

Other AI terminals lock you to one provider and make you paste an API key. TronTerm doesn't.

⌘I Plain English → command

Describe what you want. The AI uses your screen, working directory, and history as context, and fills the input line with a shell command — nothing runs until you press Enter.

screen-aware context
01

⌘E Explain the screen

Ask what an error means and how to fix it — you get the exact command to run. No copy-pasting into another window.

cause + fix
02

Every AI you have, auto-detected

On launch TronTerm scans your PATH and lists the AI CLIs you already have — claude, codex, gemini, llm, ollama, and more. Switch from the AI ▸ Engine menu; add a custom command too.

vendor-neutral
03

Agents run overnight

tt-daemon keeps sessions alive independently of the window. Kick off an agent, close the window, reattach later — the shell and your agent kept running, and you rejoin the live stream, not a frozen snapshot. No tmux to install or learn.

native session persistence
04

Won't freeze under AI floods

Parsing runs off the main thread, rendering coalesces to 60 fps and only paints the latest frame, memory has a provable ceiling. A thousand redraws a second stays smooth.

60 fps coalesced
05

Memory stays on-device

Command history and AI interactions live in a local SQLite database (~/.tronterm/tronterm.db). Not a byte leaves your machine. Delete it whenever you like.

SQLite · zero upload
06

Also a genuinely good terminal

The AI is a bonus — the daily essentials are all here.

  • split panes
  • Quick Terminal drop-down
  • ⌘F scrollback search
  • mouse reporting
  • prompt marks + jump
  • resize reflow
  • undercurl
  • true color
  • full CJK + IME
  • configurable themes
  • ⌘click opens URLs
  • UI in 7 languages
screenshots

Real screens, not mockups

Actual captures from TronTerm's own development — TronTerm is built using TronTerm.

TronTerm
⌘I natural language → command
⌘I natural language → commandDescribe the task, the AI fills the input line — it only runs when you press Enter
TronTerm
Everyday work
Everyday workTrue color, prompt marks, and full CJK — shown in the developer's native Traditional Chinese
TronTerm
Native CoreText rendering
Native CoreText renderingThe mature system path — stable and battery-friendly, no custom GPU pipeline
keymap

Two keys to learn

AI takes exactly two shortcuts: ⌘I to ask, ⌘E to explain. Everything else you already know. The Quick Terminal global hotkey is configurable.

AI
  • ⌘IAsk AI: natural language → shell command
  • ⌘EExplain the current screen: cause + fix
Windows & tabs
  • ⌘NNew window
  • ⌘TNew tab
  • ⇧⌘RRename tab
  • ⌘WClose pane or window
Panes
  • ⌘DSplit vertically
  • ⇧⌘DSplit horizontally
  • ⌘]Focus next pane
More
  • ⌘FSearch scrollback
  • ⌘clickOpen URL
  • ⌘,Settings (switch AI engine here)
getting-started

Three minutes to takeoff

01

Download, open

Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple — drag to Applications and it just opens, no security warnings. No account either.

no account · no setup
02

Pick your AI engine

Your installed AI CLIs are auto-detected. Already using Claude Code? Nothing to configure. Switch to codex, gemini, ollama, or a custom command from the AI ▸ Engine menu.

auto-detected from PATH
03

Press ⌘I and ask

Describe the task; the AI fills the input line with a command. Review it, press Enter to run — you stay in control, always.

nothing runs before Enter
faq

Questions, answered

How much does TronTerm cost?

US$19, one-time — no subscription. One license activates on up to 3 Macs. The AI features use CLIs you already have (like Claude Code); TronTerm never charges extra for AI usage.

Do I need an API key?

No. TronTerm's engines are the AI CLIs on your machine — it auto-detects claude, codex, gemini, llm, ollama, and more from your PATH, and uses whichever you pick, already logged in. No keys to paste, no SDK lock-in.

How is this different from iTerm2 / Ghostty?

Those are excellent, mature general-purpose terminals, and TronTerm isn't trying to out-feature them. The difference is focus: TronTerm is an AI cockpit — AI built in (⌘I / ⌘E) and vendor-neutral, no freezing under AI output floods, and agents that survive closing the window. If you live in AI CLIs, you'll use all three every day.

How do agents survive closing the window?

tt-daemon keeps sessions alive independently of the window: start an agent, close the window, reopen TronTerm later and reattach — the shell and the agent kept running. Native session persistence; no tmux to install or learn.

Are my commands or screens uploaded anywhere?

No. TronTerm has no servers, no accounts, no analytics. History and AI interactions live in a local SQLite database (~/.tronterm/tronterm.db). Only when you press ⌘I / ⌘E is screen context handed to the AI CLI you configured — how that data is handled is governed by the provider you chose.

System requirements?

macOS 13 Ventura or later. The app is Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple, so downloads open without warnings. The UI ships in English, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, French, and Spanish.

install

Let an agent run overnight — tonight

Download, open, press ⌘I — three minutes from now, your terminal is an AI cockpit.

macOS 13 Ventura or later · Developer ID signed · notarized by Apple

© 2026 TronTerm · Crafted in Taiwan by 一創系統 (1tron)
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