rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH

rootshell is a desktop-class terminal emulator built on libghostty — the GPU-accelerated engine behind the Ghostty desktop terminal. A local shell on every platform, native SSH, mosh-compatible roaming, tssh, system-wide VPN, native git, and Metal rendering in a single app.

METAL-ACCELERATED TERMINAL Built on libghostty's Zig core with direct Metal rendering via CAMetalLayer. Smooth scrolling, zero-flicker synchronized output, and full mouse capture for tmux, vim, and zellij. Tabs, split panes, and persistent scrollback across app restarts.

THREE REMOTE PROTOCOLS, ONE APP • SSH — Native Swift SSH client with Ed25519, ECDSA, RSA, and post-quantum ML-KEM + ML-DSA for harvest-now-decrypt-later protection. Jump hosts, port forwarding, agent forwarding with per-request approval, and Keychain password storage. • Rootshell Roam — Mosh-compatible sessions survive network changes and app restarts. Multipath TCP bonds WiFi and cellular so you never drop a link. Predictive local echo keeps typing responsive on high latency. STUN-based NAT traversal punches through firewalls. • tssh integration with QUIC (TLS 1.3) and KCP transport for lower latency, full native scrollback, and server-side session resumption.

SSH VPN Turn any SSH or tssh session into a system-wide VPN. Route all device traffic through your remote server over standard SSH, QUIC, or KCP transport. No extra software on the server — if you can SSH to it, you can VPN through it.

NATIVE GIT Clone, commit, diff, log, blame, branch, fetch, pull, push, cherry-pick, rebase, and worktree — all implemented in native Swift with SSH transport. Syntax-highlighted pager output, Helix integration for commit messages, and optional AI-generated commit messages from staged diffs.

VOICE AI AGENT Talk to an always-on assistant over Gemini Live with sub-second latency. The agent reads scrollback, runs commands over SSH hands-free, searches the web, and asks permission before anything risky — debug a server by voice.

OPTIONAL TEXT AI Chat with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or 400+ models via OpenRouter. Execute commands and analyze output. Optional — bring your own API key.

HARDWARE SECURITY KEYS Private keys never leave hardware. FIDO2/WebAuthn authentication with touch-to-sign.

SANDBOXED LOCAL SHELL A full local shell with vim 9.1, Helix, SFTP, SCP, curl, jq, mtr, and standard Unix utilities. The rf browser offers yazi-style miller columns with SFTP, image previews, and git indicators. croc for peer-to-peer file transfer. Flag-aware tab completion, prompt themes, and line editing with arrow keys.

CLOUD & KUBERNETES Connect to AWS, Azure, DigitalOcean, Akamai (Linode), and Tailscale. Browse instances, access serial consoles, and generate EKS kubeconfigs. Debug Kubernetes nodes with ephemeral pods, including immutable distributions like Talos and Flatcar.

450+ THEMES & VISUAL EFFECTS Over 450 color themes with automatic day/night switching based on your location. Animated backgrounds including solar effects with astronomically accurate moon phases, ocean waves, starfields, and fireflies. Shadertoy-compatible custom shaders. Import your own TTF/OTF fonts.

CUSTOMIZABLE TOOLBAR Drag, reorder, and hide 45+ built-in keys across the main row and expandable drawer. Create custom keys that send text, key combos, or multi-step sequences — perfect for shell snippets, tmux, and vim macros. Sticky modifiers with one-shot tap and double-tap lock. Separate layouts for iPhone and iPad.

CONNECTION MANAGEMENT Save connection profiles with folders, tags, and iCloud sync. Quick Connect autocompletes from history, cloud instances, and host shorthand. Background SSH tunnels with auto-start and bandwidth monitoring. Siri Shortcuts integration.

KEYBOARD POWER FEATURES QMK-style mod-tap keys — one action on tap, another on hold. Dictation and CJK input methods. Customizable keyboard shortcuts. Option key as Alt for international layouts.