Why I built xtty: the terminal I couldn’t find
As a developer, I use a terminal throughout the day. I kept finding parts of the experience I wanted in different terminals, but not the combination I needed for my everyday work. I wanted those pieces in one place, ready when the task called for them.
That idea became xtty, a native macOS terminal built around the work I actually do.
A task might take me across several SSH hosts. I want to open the saved hosts I need together. If a command is still running on a remote machine, I want a second, independent session on that host in the same directory, without retracing my steps. I might arrange sessions in tabs or split panes, send input only to the panes I choose, or transfer a file with sz/rz. When a supported coding agent needs attention, I want to find the right session again.
These aren’t separate workflows I want a terminal to prescribe for me. They’re the building blocks I reach for as my work changes. I built xtty so they could work together while my shell and existing SSH configuration still feel familiar.
xtty has a Free edition for local terminal work and existing SSH sessions. You can try its Pro workflows for seven days without a payment method. It’s available for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs at https://xtty.sh/.
What do you reach for in a terminal every day that you still have to piece together? I’d also like to hear where xtty fits your workflow—and where it doesn’t.
Replies
What's the Windows story?
Most "the terminal I couldn't find" posts turn out to be
macOS-only. On Windows I'm still switching between PowerShell
and Git Bash depending on which one won't choke on the command
I'm running. If you've solved that, say it loudly — it's a
bigger gap than people building on a Mac realise.
@ankushchauhandev Fair point. xtty is a native macOS app today, so I haven’t solved the PowerShell–Git Bash problem on Windows. “The terminal I couldn’t find” refers to the everyday terminal experience I wanted on my Mac, and I should be clear about that scope.
I built xtty around a simple idea: the parts of terminal work you rely on every day should fit together naturally, instead of making you piece together different tools. You can see the approach at https://xtty.sh/.
As someone working on Windows, does that philosophy resonate with you? Would you want a Windows version of xtty?