Terax

Terax is an open-source desktop app that provides a terminal-first development workspace. It integrates a terminal, code editor, and AI agent into a single desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The software is designed for developers who prefer a lightweight environment and avoid telemetry or account requirements.

Installation is available via standard installers, AppImage, or package managers like the AUR and Nix. On Windows, the application supports local shells and WSL as first-class workspace environments. The app uses a Tauri 2 and Rust backend with a React 19 frontend, resulting in a small disk footprint of approximately 7 to 8 MB.

Key features

• WebGL-accelerated terminal with multi-tab support and native PTY backend
• Code editor based on CodeMirror 6 with Vim mode and AI autocomplete
• Agentic AI side-panel supporting local models via Ollama, LM Studio, and MLX
• BYOK integration for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, and other OpenAI-compatible endpoints
• Git source control panel with a visual commit graph and hunk staging
• Integrated web preview pane for local development servers and external URLs
• File explorer with fuzzy search and the ability to attach files to AI agents
• Custom theme engine with support for background images and community presets
• AI plan mode for multi-step tasks with file read, write, and bash execution

The architecture relies on xterm.js for terminal rendering and the Vercel AI SDK for agentic workflows. It includes a project memory system via a TERAX.md file and allows the creation of custom agents with specific system prompts. The AI workflow supports edit diffs, allowing users to accept or reject changes hunk by hunk. API keys are stored in the OS keychain via keyring rather than on disk or in local storage. The terminal supports split panels, inline search, and true-color rendering across various shells including zsh, bash, pwsh, and fish.

Terax is a minimal, AI-native workspace for developers who want a unified terminal and editor without the overhead of larger IDEs.