kovidgoyal/kitty
Kitty
Kitty is a high-performance, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator designed to provide a consistent and extensible workspace across different operating systems. It leverages graphics hardware to render text, images, and complex layouts with low latency, while providing a robust environment for demanding command-line workflows.
The project distinguishes itself through its integrated workspace management and programmable interface. It functions as a tiling window manager that organizes terminal windows, tabs, and layouts into persistent, keyboard-driven sessions. Users can automate complex workflows by interacting with the terminal through a socket-based remote control protocol, which allows external scripts to manage window states, layouts, and session data programmatically.
Beyond core emulation, the project offers an extensive suite of capabilities for advanced terminal graphics, including the ability to render high-fidelity images and system data visualizations directly within the interface. It supports deep shell integration, advanced keyboard and mouse reporting, and a declarative configuration system that allows for live-reloading of visual settings and keybindings.
The software is built using a unified cross-platform system that manages dependencies and native binaries. It includes comprehensive documentation and utilities for performance tuning, session persistence, and remote environment synchronization.
Features
- Terminal Emulators - Provides a high-performance terminal emulator utilizing GPU acceleration for low-latency rendering.
- Terminal Multiplexers - Organizes multiple terminal windows, tabs, and tiling layouts into persistent, keyboard-driven sessions.
- Tiling Window Managers - Organizes multiple terminal windows automatically using predefined tiling patterns like grids and stacks.
- Terminal Graphics Rendering - Displays images and documents directly inside the terminal using specialized graphics protocols.
- Automatic Shell Integrations - Activates shell capabilities to navigate prompts and use mouse-based cursor positioning.
- WebGL & GPU Rendering - Uses the graphics card to draw text and images, ensuring high-performance updates and smooth animations within the terminal window.
- Build Systems - Provides a unified script to manage dependencies and compile native binaries across different operating systems and hardware architectures.
- Remote Terminal Controllers - Manages windows, tabs, and layouts programmatically from remote connections to automate workflows.
- Terminal Action Bindings - Assigns terminal actions to specific key presses or mouse events in the configuration file.
- Terminal Automation - Organizes terminal windows and tiling layouts into persistent, keyboard-driven environments.
- Terminal Navigation Tools - Enables efficient navigation between terminal layouts and scrollback buffers using keyboard shortcuts.
- Keyboard Reporting Protocols - Reports precise key codes, modifier states, and event types to applications.
- Remote Control Protocols - Executes terminal commands and remote control operations using device control string escape codes.
- Color Theme Managers - Provides a collection of color themes with live preview capabilities and support for custom theme files.
- Development Environments - GPU-accelerated terminal emulator with native support.
- Terminal Applications - Listed in the “Terminal Applications” section of the Awesome Mac awesome list.
- Terminal Emulators - GPU-accelerated terminal emulator with extensive feature support.
- Terminal Themes - Default color configuration from the Kitty terminal emulator.
- Terminals - Cross-platform, fast, GPU-based terminal emulator.
- Terminal Emulators - Fast, featureful, GPU-based terminal emulator.
- Clipboard Synchronization - Transfers data between the system clipboard and the shell across remote connections.
- Extension Frameworks - Provides an extensible framework to execute custom scripts and built-in tools.
- Terminal Session Persisters - Saves tab, window, and layout configurations to recreate consistent workspaces.
- Workspace Managers - Manages terminal workspaces through tab creation, reordering, and navigation.
- Keyboard Input Protocols - Tracks key interaction lifecycles by reporting press, repeat, and release events.
- SSH Connection Managers - Shares SSH connections across windows to reduce latency and minimize password prompts.
- Window Managers - Organizes terminal windows into grids, stacks, or splits automatically to maximize screen space usage through keyboard-driven layouts.
- Command Palettes - Provides an overlay interface for executing commands and shortcuts with real-time filtering.
- Cross-Compilation Tools - Supports building software for different hardware architectures by configuring environment variables and target settings to ensure compatibility across various operating systems.
- Editor Integrations - Connects terminal-based text editors to the emulator to enable split-window layouts, interactive code execution, and inline rendering of images.
- Quick Launchers - Provides a quick-access terminal window that toggles visibility via shortcut.
- Remote Connection Synchronizers - Synchronizes shell configurations and environment variables automatically for consistent remote experiences.
- Scrollback Navigation Tools - Navigates the scrollback buffer by jumping to lines containing specific marked text or marker types.
- Session Capturers - Saves current window layouts and running programs into a session file with a single keypress.
- Image Analysis Tools - Transmits raw pixel data and encoded images directly within terminal escape sequences.
- Delta Transfer Protocols - Optimizes large file transfers by exchanging binary deltas using rsync algorithms.
- Remote Drag-and-Drop - Enables cross-machine drag-and-drop by exchanging identifiers and fetching file data securely.
- Terminal Environment Queries - Retrieves runtime configuration and environment information via escape sequences.
- Shells & Scripting - Renders multiple cursors at specific screen locations to support advanced editor features.
- Runtime Environments - Ensures consistent shell integration and graphical features across different operating systems.
- Remote Control Interfaces - Exposes a local communication channel allowing external scripts to programmatically manage terminal windows, layouts, and session state.
- Action Execution Frameworks - Triggers specific operations on target windows by defining action names and matching criteria to automate complex terminal workflows.
- Advanced Terminal Configurations - Defines default shell, text editor, and process exit behavior in configuration files.
- Command Automation - Inserts contextual data like current selections or cursor coordinates into command arguments to automate complex terminal tasks.
- Configuration Management - Manages terminal behavior and visual settings through a single human-readable file that supports live reloading without restarts.
- Dependency Managers - Includes tools to download and configure required system libraries and dependencies for compiling software on desktop and server operating systems.
- Diagnostic Tooling - Facilitates error identification by providing diagnostic information and memory safety checks during compilation.
- File Transfer Protocols - Enables secure file movement between remote clients and terminal emulators.
- Fuzzy Finders - Provides fuzzy matching and keyboard traversal for file and directory selection.
- Input Automation Tools - Broadcasts typed input to multiple terminal windows simultaneously.
- Mouse Interaction Mappings - Defines mouse interactions for clicks, URL navigation, and text selection based on cursor position.
- Remote Environment Configurations - Automates host-specific environment setup and synchronization rules upon connection.
- Session Switchers - Browses and switches between project sessions using keyboard shortcuts.
- Terminal Content Markers - Creates and removes text markers during a session using keyboard shortcuts or remote control commands.
- Terminal Font Configuration - Maps font families and styles via configuration files.
- Terminal Scrolling Controls - Navigates the scrollback buffer by jumping to prompts or moving to home and end positions.
- Text Selection Configurations - Defines text selection behavior via command-line arguments, including target programs and custom regex matching patterns.
- Window Geometry Managers - Configures window dimensions, screen placement, and opacity for quick-access terminal instances.
- Clipboard Management Protocols - Executes clipboard operations including copying, clearing, and pasting via terminal commands.
- File Transfer Protocols - Preserves symbolic and hard links during file transfers by encoding metadata.
- Mouse Input Protocols - Simulates complex mouse interactions by programmatically injecting events into the buffer.
- Screen Buffer Management - Clears the screen by moving content into the scrollback buffer using escape codes.
- Terminal Capability Queries - Verifies terminal compatibility by querying for supported pointer shapes and features.
- Terminal Color Protocols - Queries and sets ANSI or dynamic terminal colors using a key-value protocol.
- Terminal State Preservation - Preserves terminal emulator state by saving and restoring modes without tracking individual settings.
- SSH Authentication Automators - Automates password and TOTP entry for seamless SSH sessions.
- Performance Profilers - Analyzes internal execution statistics to optimize rendering and responsiveness.
- System Appearance Syncers - Synchronizes application color schemes with system-wide light or dark mode preferences via desktop portals.
- Theme Engines - Defines color schemes, background transparency, and blur effects for the interface.
