Cloud AI terminal
Unterm vs Warp
Both put AI in the terminal — but Warp bakes in a cloud assistant behind a login, while Unterm stays open-source, local, and agent-driven.
Warp is a genuinely slick AI terminal: command blocks, inline AI suggestions, and team features. The trade-offs are that it's closed-source, requires an account/login, and routes AI through the cloud. Unterm takes the opposite stance — the AI lives outside the terminal, and the terminal exposes itself so your agent can operate it.
| Capability | Unterm | Warp |
|---|---|---|
| Driveable from outside via MCP | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scriptable CLI for every action | ✓ | ✗ |
| Built-in AI coding-agent launcher | ✓ ×7 | ✗ |
| Agents auto-wire to the terminal's MCP | ✓ | ✗ |
| Agent Cockpit (Inbox · fleets · review) | ✓ | ~ cloud |
| Identity profiles (creds per window) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi-instance orchestration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Session recording → markdown | ✓ md | ~ |
| Screenshot + file upload from MCP | ✓ | ✗ |
| Select copies, right-click pastes — no menu | ✓ gesture | menu |
| Built-in proxy management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Local-first, no cloud / no login | ✓ | ✗ (login) |
| AI baked inside the terminal | ✓ agent-driven | ✓ cloud |
| GPU rendering | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS + Linux + Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open-source client | ✓ MIT | ✗ |
| Native UI languages | ✓ ×9 | en |
| Price | $0 | freemium |
✓ 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
- ✓ Open source & local. MIT-licensed, runs entirely on your machine, no account and no login — nothing about your session leaves the box unless you send it.
- ✓ Bring your own agent. Instead of one built-in cloud assistant, Unterm installs and drives Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, or Aider — and exposes itself over MCP so any of them can run commands and read the screen.
- ✓ Free, forever, cross-platform. No freemium tiers or seat pricing; macOS, Linux, and Windows; a scripting CLI and identity profiles for real automation.
Where Warp is stronger
Warp's built-in AI UX is more turnkey — command blocks, inline autocomplete, and a cloud assistant that works the moment you sign in, plus polished team/collaboration features. If you want an AI terminal that just works out of the box and don't mind the account, cloud, and closed source, Warp is the smoother ready-made experience.
Bottom line
If you want a hosted AI assistant baked into the terminal and are fine with login + closed source, Warp is excellent. If you want an open-source, local, no-login terminal that your coding agent drives — and to keep the AI outside — Unterm is the alternative built for exactly that.
MIT-licensed · macOS / Linux / Windows · no account, no login.