montanaflynn

montanaflynn / headless-terminal

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Headless terminal — puppeteer for TUIs (vim/emacs/htop/nethack) with a Go CLI backed by libghostty-vt

18
0
100% credibility
Found Apr 21, 2026 at 18 stars -- GitGems finds repos before they trend. Get early access to the next one.
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AI Analysis
Go
AI Summary

A command-line tool for running interactive terminal user interfaces in the background, sending keystrokes, capturing screen snapshots, and live-streaming output.

How It Works

1
🔍 Discover ht

You hear about a handy tool called ht that lets you run and control terminal programs like vim or games without needing a full screen, perfect for scripts or smart assistants.

2
📥 Get the program

Download the ready-to-use file for your computer and move it to a folder where you can easily run it from anywhere.

3
🚀 Launch a background session

Start your favorite terminal app, like a text editor, in a hidden window and give it a simple name to track it.

4
⌨️ Type commands remotely

Send keystrokes just like typing on a keyboard, such as inserting text or saving a file, and wait a moment for it to respond.

5
📸 Capture the screen

Take a picture of what's currently showing on the hidden screen to check progress or save as text or image.

6
👀 Watch it live

Open a live view in another window to see the app updating in real time as you send more inputs.

✅ Task complete

Your file is edited and saved automatically, the session cleans up, and you can repeat for any terminal app effortlessly.

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Star Growth

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AI-Generated Review

What is headless-terminal?

This Go CLI acts like Puppeteer for terminal UIs: spawn vim, emacs, htop, or nethack in a background daemon, send vim-style keystrokes ("ihello:wq"), snapshot screens as plain text/ANSI/HTML/PNG/JSON, or stream live output. It solves automating interactive TUIs without a real tty—perfect for scripts, tests, or AI agents driving headless terminal emulators. Backed by a robust VT parser, it tracks cursor position, styles, and redraws precisely.

Why is it gaining traction?

Stands out from shell hacks or basic PTY wrappers with sync tools like wait-for-text/idle/cursor/exit, paced key sends to mimic typing, and live watch that primes current state. Devs dig the agent-friendly skill for Claude Code, JSON APIs for easy piping, and cross-platform support (macOS/Linux). It's the missing headless mode terminal for Go CLI workflows, echoing github headless browser vibes but for TUIs like kitty terminal headless or linux headless terminal setups.

Who should use this?

AI agent builders scripting vim macros or nethack bots headlessly. Ops engineers automating htop monitoring via CLI sends/views. Test authors needing reproducible TUI snapshots for emacs or gnome terminal headless flows. Skip if you're on Windows (no PTY) or need a full headless github copilot alternative.

Verdict

Grab it for prototyping TUI automation—solid docs, tests, and pre-built binaries make the 18 stars and 1.0% credibility score feel like early upside despite pre-release flux. Production? Wait for pkg manager polish; it's raw but delivers where github headless ui or steam headless github fall short on terminals.

(187 words)

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