Upterm
An Electron-based terminal emulator with autocompletion; now deprecated and unmaintained.
- Stars
- 19k
- Forks
- 605
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- TypeScript
- Last update
- 7.5 years ago
- Type
- App
This repository is archived and no longer maintained.
What it is
Upterm is a desktop terminal app built with Electron, TypeScript and React. It combines a terminal emulator with an interactive shell and shows autocompletion suggestions as you type, including extra details like alias values and command descriptions. The README says all common command-line programs such as vim, emacs and ssh should work. The project is now marked deprecated and archived, so it no longer receives updates.
- Run everyday shell commands in a window with autocompletion suggestions
- Use full-screen command-line programs such as vim, emacs, htop or ssh, per the README's compatibility note
- Browse a JSON output or directory history with the built-in suggestion panel shown in the README screenshots
Great for
- Developers who want to try an Electron-based terminal with autocompletion
- People curious about how a terminal emulator is built with TypeScript and React
- Users on macOS or Linux who can accept an old, unsupported build
Not ideal for
- Anyone wanting a maintained terminal, because the README says the project is deprecated and no longer accepts issues or pull requests
- Windows users, because the README says Windows is not officially supported
- People who need the latest fixes, since the last push was in May 2019
How to get it
- 1
Clone and build from source
You'll need: Node.js and npm (version not stated in the README) · Git
Clone the repository and enter it
git clone https://github.com/railsware/upterm.git && cd uptermStart the app in development mode
npm startCreate a standalone application
npm run pack - 2
Run it
- Clone the repository and change into its folder
- Run npm start to launch the app in development mode
- Optionally run npm run pack to build a standalone application
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Check the README's VS Code debugging guide (docs/vscodedebugging.md) if you want to modify the app
- Use the autocompletion panel's side information, such as alias expansions and previous directory (cd -)
- Consult the Gitter chat link in the README for community questions, keeping in mind the project is deprecated
Downloads
Strengths
- Open source under the MIT license
- Autocompletion shows helpful extra context beside suggestions
- Built on widely used web technologies (Electron, TypeScript, React)
Trade-offs
- Deprecated and archived; the maintainer has stepped away and no fixes are expected
- Windows support is experimental at best according to the README
- Install instructions in the README rely on older tooling such as brew cask and yaourt, which may be outdated
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| upterm (this) | 19k | App | intermediate | 7.5 years ago | Developers who want to try an Electron-based terminal with autocompletion |
| hyper | 44.8k | App | beginner | 3 months ago | Developers who want a terminal they can customize with extensions or themes |
| tabby | 75.3k | App | beginner | 4 days ago | Developers who keep many SSH sessions open and want them saved and organized |
| xterm.js | 21.3k | Library | intermediate | 7 days ago | Developers building a browser-based IDE or cloud workspace that needs an integrated terminal |
| chalk | 23.3k | Library | beginner | 14 days ago | Node.js developers building command-line tools that print colored output |
| ttyd | 12.6k | Dev tool | intermediate | 3 months ago | Developers who want to open a shell on a home server or device from a browser |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.