A workspace for every project.
A native Linux terminal with split panes, project profiles, startup tasks, and live customization.
Installation · Projects · Tasks & logs · Customization · Contributing
TermLook is written in Rust, with GTK 3 for its interface and VTE for terminal emulation. Run your own shell, keep projects in separate workspaces, and watch commands and logs side by side. No Python runtime is required.
- Workspaces and tabs — organize terminals by project and switch without stopping running commands.
- Up to four panes per tab — split horizontally or vertically, resize dividers, swap panes by dragging their headers, or focus a single pane.
- Saved projects — choose a folder and shell, then open, edit, or delete the profile from a visible list.
- Startup tasks — launch a project's commands in separate tabs with live output, exit status, and optional desktop notifications.
- Personal appearance — change fonts, colors, cursor style, shortcuts, and background images without restarting shells.
- Confirmed closing — closing a pane, tab, workspace, or quitting asks before ending sessions.
- Layout restoration — restore workspace names, tabs, directories, and split geometry on the next launch.
Screenshots show the Rust application with a temporary demo project, not personal files.
On Ubuntu 24.04, install a current stable Rust toolchain and the native development libraries:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config libgtk-3-dev libvte-2.91-dev librsvg2-common
git clone https://github.com/SyntaxForge-T/Termlook.git
cd Termlook
cargo run --release --lockedTo run an existing build, use ./target/release/termlook.
From the repository directory:
./scripts/install_desktop.shThis installs the binary to ~/.local/bin/termlook and adds an application-menu
entry. Add ~/.local/bin to your PATH if you want to launch it as termlook
from another terminal.
./scripts/build_deb.sh
sudo apt install ./dist/termlook_0.4.2_amd64.debThe package architecture follows the build machine; adjust the filename on other architectures. See packaging details.
Updating: quit the old instance completely before opening the new one. TermLook is a single-instance application, so launching it while an older copy is running brings that existing window to the front.
- Open Projects… → Manage profiles, or Settings → Profiles.
- Choose a folder. Enter a project name, or leave it blank to use the folder name.
- Optionally choose a shell executable such as
/bin/bashor/bin/zsh. - Click Save project. Apply, Save and close, and the settings window's close button also save the form.
- Open Projects…, select the project, and click Open project.
Each profile opens its own workspace. Opening the same project again selects that workspace without creating a duplicate.
Saved profiles appear in a visible list above the settings form. Select a row to edit it; use New project to create another. Invalid entries keep the settings window open and show an error. Discard changes cancels unsaved edits.
In Projects…, every profile has Edit and Delete buttons. Confirmed deletion is saved immediately. It removes the profile, while its folder, files, and running terminals remain. Save or discard an open settings draft before deleting from the project manager.
In Settings → Profiles, enter one task per line using Name | command:
Server | npm run dev
Tests | npm test
Logs | tail -f app.log
These are examples; use commands that exist in your project. Leave the task field empty to open a normal terminal. Enable Run tasks automatically when I open this project, then save the profile.
- Each task runs in its own terminal tab, concurrently, from the project folder.
- Standard output and error output appear directly in the terminal.
- Tabs show ▶ while running, ✓ on success, or ✗ with an exit code or termination signal.
- Choose notifications for errors only, every completion, or off.
- Open project launches the template once per workspace during the current app session.
- Open + run tasks reruns a finished template in fresh tabs. It refuses while any template task is still running.
Use Ctrl+C to stop a foreground command, or close its tab with confirmation.
Keep servers in the foreground rather than adding &, so their completion
status follows the running process. Up to 12 tasks can be saved per profile.
Tasks use the selected shell with -c; interactive shell startup files may not
load. Put required environment setup in the command or a project script.
Failure status comes from the process exit status, not from matching words in logs.
Desktop notifications require a notification service on your desktop.
Open Settings with Ctrl+,. Appearance changes apply to existing terminals without interrupting their shells.
| Settings page | What you can change |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Font, text/background colors, ANSI palette, cursor, spacing, sidebar width, and background image |
| Terminal | Shell, scrollback, bell, and scrolling behavior |
| Behavior | Close-to-tray/minimize behavior and tab close buttons |
| Shortcuts | Application shortcuts; an empty binding disables the action |
| Profiles | Project names, folders, shells, startup tasks, and notifications |
For a custom background, select Appearance → Choose image…, choose a local image, and adjust dimming and cover, contain, or stretch fitting. Keep the image at its selected path. Supported formats depend on your system's image loader; common formats include PNG and JPEG.
Configuration lives in ~/.config/termlook/, or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/termlook/:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
settings.json |
Appearance, shortcuts, profiles, and tasks |
layout.json |
Workspace, tab, directory, and pane layout |
theme.css |
Optional custom GTK interface styling |
Print default settings with termlook --print-default-settings. After editing
configuration files, press Ctrl+Shift+R to reload. Invalid settings reloads
leave the active settings unchanged.
| Action | Default shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open projects | Ctrl+Shift+P |
| New tab / workspace | Ctrl+Shift+T / Ctrl+Shift+N |
| Close tab / pane | Ctrl+Shift+W / Ctrl+Shift+X |
| Split left/right / top/bottom | Ctrl+Shift+E / Ctrl+Shift+D |
| Focus pane / show all | Ctrl+Shift+Enter |
| Next / previous tab | Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
| Copy / paste | Ctrl+Shift+C / Ctrl+Shift+V |
| Rename tab | F2 |
| Settings / reload | Ctrl+, / Ctrl+Shift+R |
| Help | F1 |
| Quit | Ctrl+Shift+Q |
F1 opens quick-start guidance, searchable shortcuts, customization help, and Projects, a guide to project creation, tasks, logs, and deletion. Tooltips reflect your configured shortcuts. Right-click a terminal for Copy/Paste; Ctrl+C retains its normal role of interrupting the foreground command.
Switching tabs or workspaces keeps opened sessions running. Restored tabs start their shells lazily when selected, while project tasks start when explicitly launched through the project workflow.
Restarting restores the layout, not running processes or scrollback. Logs remain in their tabs until the tab or application closes and are not automatically archived to disk. Open a profile from Projects… after restarting to launch its tasks again. Directory tracking uses the shell's OSC 7 support; otherwise the initially configured directory is retained.
With background mode enabled, closing the main window hides it if an AppIndicator host is available, or minimizes it otherwise. Use Quit to end the application. Optional Ubuntu tray integration:
sudo apt install libayatana-appindicator3-1 gnome-shell-extension-appindicatorEnable the desktop's AppIndicator extension. Disabling background mode makes window close ask before quitting. Native Windows is not supported.
cargo fmt --check
cargo clippy --locked --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo test --lockedGUI lifecycle checks require a display or Xvfb. Build instructions, GUI tests, and contribution guidelines are in CONTRIBUTING.md.
TermLook uses lazy terminal creation, cached interface widgets, and coalesced layout writes. Release builds enable thin LTO and strip symbols. These are implementation choices, not a claim of benchmarked speed improvements.