Why I built xtty: the terminal I couldn’t find
As a developer, I use a terminal throughout the day. I kept finding parts of the experience I wanted in different terminals, but not the combination I needed for my everyday work. I wanted those pieces in one place, ready when the task called for them.
That idea became xtty — a native macOS terminal built around the work I actually do.
The workflow I wanted
Open the saved SSH hosts I need together.
Start a second, independent session on the same remote host and return to the same directory, without retracing my steps.
Arrange sessions in tabs or split panes.
Send input only to the panes I explicitly choose.
Transfer files with sz and rz.
Find the right Claude Code or Codex session when it needs attention.
These aren’t separate workflows I want a terminal to prescribe for me. They’re building blocks I reach for as my work changes.
I built xtty so those pieces could work together while my shell and existing SSH configuration still feel familiar.
Try xtty
Free edition for local terminal work and existing SSH sessions
Seven-day Pro trial, with no payment method required
Native builds for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs
Product and download: https://xtty.sh/
What do you reach for in a terminal every day that you still have to piece together?
I’d also like to hear where xtty fits your workflow — and where it doesn’t.
Replies
What's the Windows story?
Most "the terminal I couldn't find" posts turn out to be
macOS-only. On Windows I'm still switching between PowerShell
and Git Bash depending on which one won't choke on the command
I'm running. If you've solved that, say it loudly — it's a
bigger gap than people building on a Mac realise.
@ankushchauhandev Fair point. xtty is a native macOS app today, so I haven’t solved the PowerShell–Git Bash problem on Windows. “The terminal I couldn’t find” refers to the everyday terminal experience I wanted on my Mac, and I should be clear about that scope.
I built xtty around a simple idea: the parts of terminal work you rely on every day should fit together naturally, instead of making you piece together different tools. You can see the approach at https://xtty.sh/.
As someone working on Windows, does that philosophy resonate with you? Would you want a Windows version of xtty?
@JasonXu It does, and thanks for being straight about the scope —
saying "macOS today" up front is better than letting people
find out later.
Yes, I'd want a Windows version, but I'd want it to solve the
Windows problem rather than port the Mac one. On a Mac you're
improving one good terminal. On Windows the pain is that I'm
running two shells that disagree — PowerShell for anything
Windows-native, Git Bash for anything written by someone on
Linux. Paths, quoting and pipes all behave differently, so I
end up choosing a shell per command.
If xtty kept both in one window and remembered which shell a
given project wants, that alone would be worth installing it.
@ankushchauhandev Thanks, Ankush. Remembering the right shell for each project is a concrete problem I can understand. Your examples also make clear why simply putting PowerShell and Git Bash in tabs wouldn’t solve all the friction.
For a typical project, would opening it with its saved default shell cover most of what you need, or do you regularly switch between both shells within the same project? A recent example would help me understand the gap.
xtty is macOS-only today, and I can’t promise a Windows version, but this is useful feedback.
Love the idea of bringing all these workflows together instead of switching between different terminals. Keeping the existing SSH setup familiar is a nice touch too. Great work!
@ankit_pandit_dev Thanks, Ankit — keeping existing SSH setups familiar while bringing the surrounding workflows together is exactly what I’m aiming for. Appreciate the support.