BossTerm

A modern terminal emulator built with Kotlin and Compose Desktop.

BossTerm is a high-performance terminal emulator designed for developers who want a fast, customizable, and feature-rich terminal experience on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Performance

BossTerm delivers industry-leading throughput for developer workflows. Benchmarked against iTerm2, Terminal.app, and Alacritty (December 2025, Latency Mode):

Raw Throughput @ 50MB (MB/s) - Higher is Better

BossTerm   ████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 1,645 MB/s ✓
Alacritty  ██████████████████████████████████████████████████   1,633 MB/s
iTerm2     █████████████████████████████████████████████████    1,599 MB/s
Terminal   ████████████████████████████████████████████████     1,491 MB/s

Raw Throughput @ 1MB (MB/s) - Higher is Better

BossTerm   ████████████████████████████████████████████████████  364 MB/s ✓
iTerm2     ███████████████████████████████████                   255 MB/s
Terminal   ██████████████████████████████████                    249 MB/s
Alacritty  █████████████████████████████████                     233 MB/s

Variation Selectors (chars/sec) - Higher is Better

BossTerm   ████████████████████████████████████████████████████  1.01M ✓
iTerm2     █████████████████████████████████████████████████     904K
Terminal   ████████████████████████████████████████████████      879K
Alacritty  █████████████████████████████████████████████         829K

htop Simulation (ms) - Lower is Better

BossTerm   ████████████████████████████████████████████████      3.09 ms ✓
Terminal   █████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 3.21 ms
iTerm2     ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 3.55 ms
Alacritty  ███████████████████████████████████████████████████████ 3.72 ms

Benchmark	BossTerm vs iTerm2
Raw Throughput (1MB)	+43% faster
Raw Throughput (5MB)	+24% faster
Raw Throughput (50MB)	+3% faster
Variation Selectors	+12% faster
CJK Characters	+10% faster
Powerline	+10% faster
htop Simulation	+13% faster
Git Diff Simulation	+5% faster
Flags Emoji	+3% faster

Full benchmark details: benchmark/README.md | Detailed Results

Installation

Universal Installer (Recommended)

The universal installer automatically detects your platform and installs BossTerm using the best method available.

Platform	Command
macOS / Linux	`curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kshivang/BossTerm/master/install.sh \| bash`
Windows (PowerShell)	`iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kshivang/BossTerm/master/install.ps1 \| iex`
Windows (CMD)	`curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kshivang/BossTerm/master/install.bat -o install.bat && install.bat`

Features:

Auto-detects platform (macOS, Linux, Windows) and architecture (x64, ARM64)
Uses the best installation method (Homebrew → DMG on macOS, Deb → RPM → Snap → JAR on Linux)
Installs Java 17+ automatically if needed (Windows)
Creates CLI launcher (bossterm command)
Supports --version, --uninstall, --dry-run, and --method flags

Common operations:

# Install specific version
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kshivang/BossTerm/master/install.sh | bash -s -- --version 1.0.80

# Preview without installing
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kshivang/BossTerm/master/install.sh | bash -s -- --dry-run

# Force specific method (homebrew, dmg, deb, rpm, snap, jar)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kshivang/BossTerm/master/install.sh | bash -s -- --method dmg

# Uninstall
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kshivang/BossTerm/master/install.sh | bash -s -- --uninstall

Alternative Installation Methods

macOS (Homebrew)

brew tap kshivang/bossterm
brew install --cask bossterm

macOS (DMG)

Download the latest DMG from GitHub Releases and drag BossTerm to Applications.

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

# Download the .deb package from GitHub Releases
sudo dpkg -i bossterm_*_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get install -f  # Install dependencies if needed

Linux (Fedora/RHEL)

# Download the .rpm package from GitHub Releases
sudo dnf install bossterm-*.x86_64.rpm

Linux (Snap)

sudo snap install bossterm --classic

Or download the .snap file from GitHub Releases and install manually:

sudo snap install bossterm_*.snap --classic --dangerous

JAR (Cross-platform)

Requires Java 17+:

# Download bossterm-*.jar from GitHub Releases
java -jar bossterm-*.jar

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/kshivang/BossTerm.git
cd BossTerm
./gradlew :bossterm-app:run

Features

Native Performance - Built with Kotlin/Compose Desktop for smooth 60fps rendering
Multiple Windows - Cmd/Ctrl+N opens new window, each with independent tabs
Multiple Tabs - Ctrl+T new tab, Ctrl+W close, Ctrl+Tab switch
Split Panes - Horizontal/vertical splits with Cmd+D / Cmd+Shift+D
Themes - Built-in theme presets (Dracula, Solarized, Nord, etc.) with custom theme support
Window Transparency - Adjustable opacity with background blur effects
Background Images - Custom background images with blur and opacity controls
Xterm Emulation - Full VT100/Xterm compatibility
True Color - Full 256 color and 24-bit true color support
Mouse Reporting - Click, scroll, and drag support for terminal apps (vim, tmux, htop, less, fzf)
Full Unicode - Emoji (👨‍👩‍👧‍👦), variation selectors (☁️), surrogate pairs, combining characters
Nerd Fonts - Built-in support for powerline symbols and devicons
Inline Images - Display images in terminal via iTerm2's imgcat (OSC 1337)
Progress Bar - Visual progress indicator for long-running commands (OSC 1337)
Search - Ctrl/Cmd+F to search terminal history with regex support
Hyperlink Detection - Auto-detect URLs, file paths, emails with Ctrl+Click to open
Copy/Paste - Standard clipboard + copy-on-select + middle-click paste + OSC 52
Context Menu - Right-click for Copy, Paste, Clear, Select All
Drag & Drop - Drop files onto terminal to paste shell-escaped paths (iTerm2 style)
Auto-Scroll Selection - Drag selection beyond bounds to scroll through history
IME Support - Full Chinese/Japanese/Korean input method support
Visual Bell - Configurable visual flash for BEL character
Command Notifications - System notifications when long commands complete (OSC 133)
OSC 7 Support - Working directory tracking for new tabs
Settings UI - Full GUI settings panel with live preview
Debug Tools - Built-in terminal debugging with Ctrl+Shift+D
Welcome Wizard - First-time setup wizard for shell, tools, and AI assistants
Customizable - JSON-based settings at ~/.bossterm/settings.json

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl/Cmd+N	New window
Ctrl/Cmd+T	New tab
Ctrl/Cmd+W	Close tab/pane
Ctrl+Tab	Next tab
Ctrl+Shift+Tab	Previous tab
Ctrl/Cmd+1-9	Jump to tab
Ctrl/Cmd+D	Split pane vertically
Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+D	Split pane horizontally
Ctrl/Cmd+Option+Arrow	Navigate between panes
Ctrl/Cmd+,	Open settings
Ctrl/Cmd+F	Search
Ctrl/Cmd+C	Copy
Ctrl/Cmd+V	Paste
Ctrl+Space	Toggle IME

Shell Integration

Enable working directory tracking and command completion notifications:

Bash (~/.bashrc):

# OSC 7 (directory tracking) + OSC 133 (command notifications)
__prompt_command() {
    local exit_code=$?
    echo -ne "\033]133;D;${exit_code}\007"  # Command finished
    echo -ne "\033]133;A\007"                # Prompt starting
    echo -ne "\033]7;file://${HOSTNAME}${PWD}\007"  # Working directory
}
PROMPT_COMMAND='__prompt_command'
trap 'echo -ne "\033]133;B\007"' DEBUG  # Command starting

Zsh (~/.zshrc):

# OSC 7 (directory tracking) + OSC 133 (command notifications)
precmd() {
    local exit_code=$?
    print -Pn "\e]133;D;${exit_code}\a"      # Command finished
    print -Pn "\e]133;A\a"                   # Prompt starting
    print -Pn "\e]7;file://${HOST}${PWD}\a"  # Working directory
}
preexec() { print -Pn "\e]133;B\a" }         # Command starting

This enables:

New tabs inherit working directory from active tab
System notifications when commands > 5 seconds complete while window is unfocused

Project Structure

BossTerm/
├── bossterm-core-mpp/     # Core terminal emulation library
│   └── src/jvmMain/kotlin/ai/rever/bossterm/
│       ├── core/          # Core utilities and types
│       └── terminal/      # Terminal emulator implementation
├── compose-ui/            # Compose Desktop UI library (embeddable)
│   └── src/desktopMain/kotlin/ai/rever/bossterm/compose/
│       ├── ui/            # Main terminal composable (ProperTerminal)
│       ├── terminal/      # Terminal data stream handling
│       ├── input/         # Mouse/keyboard input handling
│       ├── rendering/     # Canvas rendering engine
│       ├── tabs/          # Tab management
│       ├── window/        # Window management (WindowManager)
│       ├── search/        # Search functionality
│       ├── debug/         # Debug tools
│       └── settings/      # Settings management
├── bossterm-app/          # Main BossTerm application
│   └── src/desktopMain/kotlin/ai/rever/bossterm/app/
│       └── Main.kt        # Application entry point
├── embedded-example/      # Example: single terminal embedding
├── tabbed-example/        # Example: tabbed terminal embedding
└── .github/workflows/     # CI configuration

Configuration

Settings are stored in ~/.bossterm/settings.json:

{
  "fontSize": 14,
  "fontName": "JetBrains Mono",
  "copyOnSelect": true,
  "pasteOnMiddleClick": true,
  "scrollbackLines": 10000,
  "cursorBlinkRate": 500,
  "enableMouseReporting": true,
  "performanceMode": "balanced",
  "notifyOnCommandComplete": true,
  "notifyMinDurationSeconds": 5
}

Performance Modes

BossTerm offers configurable performance optimization via Settings > Performance:

Mode	Best For
Balanced (default)	General use - good balance of responsiveness and throughput
Latency	SSH, vim, interactive commands - fastest response time
Throughput	Build logs, large files - maximum data processing speed

Note: For fontName, use a monospace font name installed on your system (e.g., "SF Mono", "Menlo", "JetBrains Mono"). If not set, BossTerm uses the bundled MesloLGS Nerd Font which includes powerline symbols.

Embedding in Your App

BossTerm provides embeddable terminal libraries for Kotlin Multiplatform projects.

Full Documentation: See docs/embedding.md for the complete embedding guide, including custom context menus, focus management, and session persistence.

Gradle Setup

Maven Central (recommended):

// build.gradle.kts
repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}

dependencies {
    // Core terminal emulation engine
    implementation("com.risaboss:bossterm-core:<version>")

    // Compose Desktop UI component
    implementation("com.risaboss:bossterm-compose:<version>")
}

JitPack (alternative):

// settings.gradle.kts
dependencyResolutionManagement {
    repositories {
        maven { url = uri("https://jitpack.io") }
    }
}

// build.gradle.kts
dependencies {
    implementation("com.github.kshivang.BossTerm:bossterm-core-mpp:<version>")
    implementation("com.github.kshivang.BossTerm:compose-ui:<version>")
}

GitHub Packages (requires authentication):

// settings.gradle.kts
dependencyResolutionManagement {
    repositories {
        maven {
            url = uri("https://maven.pkg.github.com/kshivang/BossTerm")
            credentials {
                username = System.getenv("GITHUB_ACTOR")
                password = System.getenv("GITHUB_TOKEN")
            }
        }
    }
}

// build.gradle.kts
dependencies {
    implementation("com.risaboss:bossterm-core:<version>")
    implementation("com.risaboss:bossterm-compose:<version>")
}

Usage

import ai.rever.bossterm.compose.EmbeddableTerminal
import ai.rever.bossterm.compose.rememberEmbeddableTerminalState

@Composable
fun MyApp() {
    // Basic usage - uses default settings from ~/.bossterm/settings.json
    EmbeddableTerminal()

    // With custom settings path
    EmbeddableTerminal(settingsPath = "/path/to/settings.json")

    // With custom font (via settings)
    EmbeddableTerminal(settings = TerminalSettings(fontName = "JetBrains Mono"))

    // With callbacks
    EmbeddableTerminal(
        onOutput = { output -> println(output) },
        onTitleChange = { title -> window.title = title },
        onExit = { code -> println("Shell exited: $code") },
        onReady = { println("Terminal ready!") }
    )

    // Programmatic control
    val state = rememberEmbeddableTerminalState()

    Button(onClick = { state.write("ls -la\n") }) {
        Text("Run ls")
    }

    // Send control signals (useful for interrupting processes)
    Button(onClick = { state.sendCtrlC() }) {
        Text("Stop (Ctrl+C)")
    }

    EmbeddableTerminal(state = state)

    // Session preservation across navigation/visibility changes
    val persistentState = rememberEmbeddableTerminalState(autoDispose = false)

    if (showTerminal) {
        EmbeddableTerminal(state = persistentState)
    }
    // Terminal process keeps running even when hidden!

    // Don't forget to dispose when truly done:
    DisposableEffect(Unit) {
        onDispose { persistentState.dispose() }
    }

    // Custom PlatformServices - override process spawning, notifications, etc.
    // Uses Kotlin's 'by' delegation to wrap defaults while customizing specific services
    val customServices = object : PlatformServices by getPlatformServices() {
        val defaults = getPlatformServices()
        override fun getProcessService() = object : PlatformServices.ProcessService {
            private val delegate = defaults.getProcessService()
            override suspend fun spawnProcess(config: PlatformServices.ProcessService.ProcessConfig)
                : PlatformServices.ProcessService.ProcessHandle? {
                println("Spawning: ${config.command}")
                return delegate.spawnProcess(config)
            }
        }
    }
    EmbeddableTerminal(platformServices = customServices)
}

Technology Stack

Kotlin - Modern JVM language
Compose Desktop - Declarative UI framework
Pty4J - PTY support for local terminal sessions
ICU4J - Unicode/grapheme cluster support

Documentation

Embedding Guide - Embed a single terminal with custom context menus
Tabbed Terminal Guide - Full-featured tabbed terminal with splits
Onboarding Wizard - First-time setup wizard for users
Troubleshooting Guide - Common issues and solutions
Release Notes - Detailed changelog for each version

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.

License

BossTerm is dual-licensed under:

You may select either license at your option.

Authors

Shivang — shivang@risalabs.ai

Open Source Origin and History

BossTerm was originally inspired by JediTerm by JetBrains (authored by Dmitry Trofimov dmitry.trofimov@jetbrains.com and Clément Poulain). The initial version of JediTerm was itself a reworked terminal emulator Gritty, which was in its own turn a reworked JCTerm terminal implementation.

BossTerm has since been completely rewritten from the ground up in Kotlin with Compose Desktop — no JediTerm, Gritty, or JCTerm code remains. Everything was rewritten from scratch with a new rendering engine, new buffer implementation, and new UI framework. A lot of new features were added including split panes, inline images, AI assistant integration, custom platform services, and high-performance incremental snapshot rendering.

Acknowledgments

JediTerm by JetBrains — original inspiration for terminal emulation
iTerm2 — the beloved macOS terminal, inspiration for many UX features
Pty4J — PTY library for local terminal sessions
ICU4J — Unicode and grapheme cluster support

References

Terminal protocol description — Xterm control sequences
Terminal Character Set Terminology and Mechanics — ISO 2022 character sets
VT420 Programmer Reference Manual — DEC terminal reference
UTF-8 Demo — Unicode test file
Control sequences visualization — GNU teseq
Terminal protocol tests — vttest suite

Built by Risa Labs Inc

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 2,143 Commits
.claude/rules		.claude/rules
.github		.github
.serena		.serena
BossTerm.iconset		BossTerm.iconset
benchmark		benchmark
benchmark_results		benchmark_results
bossterm-app		bossterm-app
bossterm-core-mpp		bossterm-core-mpp
cli-resources		cli-resources
compose-ui		compose-ui
docs		docs
embedded-example		embedded-example
fonts		fonts
gradle/wrapper		gradle/wrapper
kotlin-js-store		kotlin-js-store
snap/gui		snap/gui
tabbed-example		tabbed-example
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitignore		.gitignore
.travis.yml		.travis.yml
BossTerm.icns		BossTerm.icns
BossTerm.png		BossTerm.png
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
LICENSE-APACHE-2.0.txt		LICENSE-APACHE-2.0.txt
LICENSE-LGPLv3.txt		LICENSE-LGPLv3.txt
README.md		README.md
VERSION		VERSION
bossterm		bossterm
build.gradle.kts		build.gradle.kts
capture_bossterm_only.py		capture_bossterm_only.py
create_icon.py		create_icon.py
gradle.properties		gradle.properties
gradlew		gradlew
gradlew.bat		gradlew.bat
install.bat		install.bat
install.ps1		install.ps1
install.sh		install.sh
settings.gradle.kts		settings.gradle.kts
snapcraft.yaml		snapcraft.yaml
travis-settings.gradle		travis-settings.gradle
version.properties		version.properties

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BossTerm

Performance

Raw Throughput @ 50MB (MB/s) - Higher is Better

Raw Throughput @ 1MB (MB/s) - Higher is Better

Variation Selectors (chars/sec) - Higher is Better

htop Simulation (ms) - Lower is Better

Installation

Universal Installer (Recommended)

Alternative Installation Methods

Features

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shell Integration

Project Structure

Configuration

Performance Modes

Embedding in Your App

Gradle Setup

Usage

Technology Stack

Documentation

Contributing

License

Authors

Open Source Origin and History

Acknowledgments

References

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BossTerm

Performance

Raw Throughput @ 50MB (MB/s) - Higher is Better

Raw Throughput @ 1MB (MB/s) - Higher is Better

Variation Selectors (chars/sec) - Higher is Better

htop Simulation (ms) - Lower is Better

Installation

Universal Installer (Recommended)

Alternative Installation Methods

Features

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shell Integration

Project Structure

Configuration

Performance Modes

Embedding in Your App

Gradle Setup

Usage

Technology Stack

Documentation

Contributing

License

Authors

Open Source Origin and History

Acknowledgments

References

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