PreTTY is a modern terminal emulator that blends simplicity with aesthetic design.
It’s built to be portable, reliable, and ergonomic, while staying true to the Unix spirit of tty.
Think of it as a terminal that’s not just functional — but pretty. 🌸
The PreTTY project was initiated by Gurjaka and Sigmanificient,
driven by a shared interest in understanding how terminal emulators — tools we both use daily — work at a low level.
Beyond being a practical utility, the project is also a learning endeavor:
a way to apply and deepen our knowledge of C programming through building something real and complex.
From the beginning, the vision has been clear:
to create a lightweight, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator that incorporates modern features such as:
- 🖼️ Image rendering
- 🔤 Ligatures
- ⚡ Efficient performance and portability
PreTTY represents both an exploration into systems programming and a contribution to the open-source ecosystem.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| ✔ C-based terminal core | Fast, minimal engine handling PTY, ANSI parsing, scrollback |
| ✔ GPU acceleration | OpenGL-based rendering for smooth text & images |
| ✔ Font & ligature support | FreeType + HarfBuzz integration |
| ✔ Image output | Supports Sixel graphics protocol |
| ✔ Minimal UI | Frameless, titlebar-free, pure text grid |
🛠️ PreTTY is still in early development.
Instructions will be added once the first release is ready. Stay tuned!
Contributions are welcome!
Whether it’s bug reports, feature requests, or pull requests — we’d love your input.
Please follow our contribution guide.
PreTTY is licensed under the MIT License.
See LICENSE for details.