Stream Ghostty to any browser. A headless terminal multiplexer that runs Ghostty on your server and streams pixel-perfect H.264 video to web clients over WebSocket.
2026-01-25.at.21.52.52.-.Blue.Salamander.mp4
Ghostty is a fantastic terminal emulator, but it's a native desktop app. termweb turns it into a streaming service — run Ghostty headlessly on a server, and connect from any device with a browser: laptop, iPad, phone. No native app install required.
- One server, many clients — multiple users can connect to the same session simultaneously
- Access from anywhere — any device with a browser becomes a Ghostty terminal
- Native rendering quality — libghostty renders to GPU, hardware-encodes to H.264, streams pixels (not text)
- Real terminal — full mouse tracking, shell integration, split panes, tabs — not a web terminal approximation
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Browser / Any Client │
│ │
│ WebSocket ──→ Zstd decompress ──→ WebCodecs H.264 decode │
│ ──→ WebGPU / Canvas 2D render │
│ │
│ Keyboard/Mouse ──→ WebSocket ──→ Server │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│ WebSocket (single port)
↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Server (Zig + libghostty) │
│ │
│ libghostty ──→ GPU surface ──→ Hardware H.264 encode │
│ ──→ Zstd compress ──→ WebSocket broadcast │
│ │
│ macOS: IOSurface → VideoToolbox │
│ Linux: EGL → VA-API │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- Hardware H.264 encoding — VideoToolbox (macOS) / VA-API (Linux), not software encode
- Low latency — WebCodecs decodes directly to canvas, no MSE buffering
- Adaptive quality — AIMD algorithm adjusts quality per-panel based on available bandwidth
- WebGPU rendering — GPU-accelerated frame display with Canvas 2D fallback for iOS Safari
- Zstd compression — all WebSocket frames compressed for lower bandwidth
- Tabs — multiple tabs with LRU switching on close
- Split panes — horizontal/vertical splits with draggable dividers, zoom to maximize
- Quick terminal — dropdown terminal overlay
- Shell integration — pwd tracking, running command indicators
- Scale to zero — Ghostty initializes on first panel, frees resources when last one closes
- Full mouse support — hover, click, scroll, drag with modifier keys
- Mobile touch — tap, drag, two-finger scroll, pinch-to-zoom on iOS/Android
- Virtual keyboard — on-screen accessory bar with Esc, Tab, Ctrl, Alt, Cmd, arrow keys
- Keyboard shortcuts — native-feeling key bindings (see below)
- Multi-client sessions — multiple browsers connect to the same session
- Access control — session management with share links and viewer/editor roles
- File transfer — upload/download with rsync-like options (exclude patterns, delete, preview)
# Build (requires Zig 0.14.0+)
make
# Run
./zig-out/bin/termweb muxOpen http://localhost:8080 in any modern browser.
Browser support: Chrome, Edge, Safari (including iOS), Firefox — requires WebCodecs.
git clone https://github.com/nichochar/termweb
cd termweb
make
./zig-out/bin/termweb mux# VA-API for hardware H.264 encoding
sudo apt-get install libva-dev
# Intel GPU driver (if using Intel graphics)
sudo apt-get install intel-media-va-driver| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+/ |
New Tab |
Cmd+. |
Close Tab |
Cmd+D |
Split Right |
Cmd+Shift+D |
Split Down |
Cmd+[ / Cmd+] |
Select Previous/Next Split |
Cmd+Shift+Enter |
Zoom Split (maximize) |
Cmd+1-9 |
Switch to Tab 1-9 |
Cmd+Shift+F |
Toggle Full Screen |
Cmd+U |
Upload Files |
Cmd+Shift+S |
Download Files |
termweb also includes a web browser for terminals:
# Browse the web in your terminal (Kitty graphics protocol)
termweb open https://example.comSee packages/mux/README.md for detailed protocol and architecture documentation.
MIT