RetroTerminal
Chat with modern LLMs through a old-school terminal
142 followers
Chat with modern LLMs through a old-school terminal
142 followers
A blazing-fast, browser-native Gemini-powered chatbot wrapped in a retro-futuristic terminal UI. - Full theme support (dark, neon, glitch) - Chat history & memory saved locally - Uses your own API key securely, so you control data
RetroTerminal
I created Retro Terminal because I felt most AI interfaces today lacked personality and presence. I wanted to explore what an assistant could feel like if it lived inside a nostalgic, character-driven terminal UI, something that brought emotion and style to each interaction.
✨ What makes it unique:
1. Retro terminal-inspired UI with smooth transitions
2. Customizable AI personas (including a sarcastic hacker-style assistant)
3. Fully local settings: system prompt, temperature, memory, and themes
4. Lightweight, no-login experience with client-side chat history
It’s built to be minimal, fast, and different, without compromising control or creativity.
📊 What I’m proud of
After a soft launch, it organically reached users in over 70 countries within 24 hours. The response confirmed that there’s a niche audience hungry for something quirky yet functional. This was built solo, from scratch, just for fun and seeing others enjoy it has been incredibly rewarding.
Would love your thoughts and feedback!
Chunk
Wow love the nostalgic vibe. Definitely a fun and unique approach to a standard LLM.
RetroTerminal
@dudley_spence Appreciate it, Dudley! Wanted to do something a bit different with it, glad you liked the vibe 🙌
This is awesome! The retro-futuristic terminal vibe combined with Gemini’s speed makes for a fun and functional chat experience. Love the local-first design and full theme support — stylish, fast, and privacy-conscious.
RetroTerminal
@supa_l Thanks a lot! Been working on this for about a month now.
Product Hunt
I enjoy this aesthetic so much, well done. Did you mostly build it using @Cursor agents or how were you able to get something so clean? Congrats on the launch!
RetroTerminal
@gabe Thanks so much, Gabe, that means a lot! 🙏
Honestly couldn’t have pulled this off solo without @Cursor . The agents are super fast and efficient. Learnt a lot in making the project.
Super grateful for the platform and honored to have RetroTerminal catch your eye!
Product Hunt Wrapped 2025
Retro Terminal sounds like a breath of fresh air in the world of AI interfaces! 🎉 The blend of nostalgia with customizable personas is such a unique approach. It's amazing to see so many people embracing this quirky yet functional idea. Huge congrats on the global reach! 🌍✨
RetroTerminal
@alex_cloudstar Appreciate it, Alex! Means a lot. More fun updates on the way 🚀
Scrapeless
Hi RetroTerminal team,
Big congratulations on your product launch — it looks truly impressive and caught our attention! 🚀
I’m Liam from Scrapeless, and we’d love to explore a potential collaboration with you.
We offer a a scraping infrastructure built specifically for AI companies — stable browser automation, anti-bot bypassing, and high concurrency, all optimized for scale and robust Deep SERP API, providing high-quality access to both Google Search and Google Trends data — fast, reliable, and tailored for AI-native products and analytics workflows.
We’d love to offer you free access to our API in exchange for a mention or shoutout on your Twitter or LinkedIn, and we're also happy to cover the promotion costs to help boost your visibility.
If this sounds interesting, I’d love to chat more — feel free to suggest a time or just reply here!
RetroTerminal
@liam_tim Hi Liam, really appreciate you reaching out and thank you for the kind words!
Scrapeless sounds impressive, especially the Deep SERP and Google Trends access. I’m definitely open to exploring potential synergies, but I’d love to better understand how you envision this fitting into RetroTerminal’s current or future roadmap.
Could you share a few concrete examples of integrations or use cases you think would make strategic sense?
Scrapeless
@paramjot_singh Thanks so much for the thoughtful reply — really appreciate your openness to explore potential synergies!
Would you happen to have another preferred contact method? I’d be happy to continue the conversation more fluidly.
You can also find me on Twitter in my PH profile and we can have a discuss there.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and diving deeper into how Scrapeless could add value to RetroTerminal’s roadmap.
Scrapeless
@paramjot_singh Thks for your response! Since RetroTerminal supports user API keys and runs fully in-browser, integrating Scrapeless is seamless — you could add real-time Google search (/search) and trends data (/trends) directly into your project, which great fit for RAG-style workflows. Let me know if you'd like some test credits!
Okay, you've officially made AI chats cool again! The retro UI is pure genius - finally an interface with actual personality. Love that it's lightweight yet packed with customization. That sarcastic hacker persona? Instant favorite. Consider me a convert!
RetroTerminal
@rani_zagita I am glad that you like the look! Syntra was actually the first persona that i made for this app. Fits the vibe of the app the best, I think. Anything you will like to see in future updates?
@paramjot_singh Ohhh yes please! A classic Matrix-style green-on-black theme would be perfect - complete with that nostalgic character-by-character typing effect (maybe even optional CRT scanlines for extra 90s authenticity?). And some retro 'beep-boop' terminal sounds? Would make Syntra's sarcasm even more delightful to receive 😄
RetroTerminal
@rani_zagita Love the Matrix-style suggestion - it’s right in Syntra’s element.
Quick rundown of what’s already in place:
Green terminal theme → Available via the theme dropdown (top right) or themes switch command (type /commands to see all available commands)
Dark mode → Toggle with /dark or via Settings → Dark Mode
CRT scan lines → Head to Settings → General → CRT Scan Lines
I'm building this solo, so I really appreciate thoughtful ideas like these. The character-by-character typing, retro terminal sounds, and other nostalgic effects are definitely on the radar as they’d add a lot of personality, and I’d love to bring them in over time.
Also, would love your feedback on how to improve the CRT scanline effect - more realism? Subtle curvature? Let me know!
@paramjot_singh For extra realism, maybe something like this, make it as real as possible, but maybe you might considering speed it up depends on how much content Iris/Syntra is saying every time.. just a random imagination from my side though.. Hope you don't mind much 😅