Power-user terminal
Unterm vs Ghostty
Ghostty is a lean, fast, native terminal; Unterm adds the agent-control layer and Windows support.
Ghostty is a fantastic, fast native GPU terminal (built in Zig, MIT-licensed) with great defaults for macOS and Linux. It's deliberately minimal and has no AI/agent story. Unterm is also a GPU terminal, but its whole point is the layer on top — an MCP server and CLI that let agents drive it — and it ships on Windows as well.
| Capability | Unterm | Ghostty |
|---|---|---|
| Driveable from outside via MCP | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scriptable CLI for every action | ✓ | ✗ |
| Built-in AI coding-agent launcher | ✓ ×5 | ✗ |
| Agents auto-wire to the terminal's MCP | ✓ | ✗ |
| Identity profiles (creds per window) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi-instance orchestration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Session recording → markdown | ✓ md | ✗ |
| Screenshot + file upload from MCP | ✓ | ✗ |
| Built-in proxy management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Local-first, no cloud / no login | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI baked inside the terminal | ✓ agent-driven | ✗ |
| GPU rendering | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS + Linux + Windows | ✓ | mac+Linux |
| Open-source client | ✓ MIT | ✓ MIT |
| Native UI languages | ✓ ×9 | en |
| Price | $0 | $0 |
✓ yes · ✗ no · ~ partial · ×N count. The ✗ by design on "AI inside" is the whole thesis: Unterm keeps the AI outside and exposes the terminal as the surface it grips.
Why teams choose Unterm
- ✓ Agents can drive it. A built-in MCP server + scripting CLI let LLM agents run commands, read the screen, and capture output — Ghostty has none of this by design.
- ✓ One-click AI agents. Install and sign into Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, or Aider in a click, auto-wired into their MCP configs.
- ✓ Windows + agent-ops. Runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows, plus identity profiles, multi-instance, session recording, and proxy — Ghostty is mac+Linux only.
Where Ghostty is stronger
Ghostty is leaner and, for a pure terminal, blazing fast with beautiful defaults and a tiny footprint. If you want the most minimal, high-performance terminal on macOS or Linux and have no interest in an AI/agent layer, Ghostty is a superb choice.
Bottom line
Want the leanest, fastest pure terminal on mac/Linux? Ghostty is excellent. Want a GPU terminal that AI agents can actually operate — and that also runs on Windows? That's what Unterm adds.
MIT-licensed · macOS / Linux / Windows · no account, no login.