Unterm

Unterm: Cross-platform terminal controlled externally by AI agents over MCP and providing an Agent Cockpit for managing them.

Unterm is a cross-platform terminal built on a native next-core engine that lets external AI agents drive it from the outside via Model Context Protocol (MCP). It supports popular agents like Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Aider, Kimi Code CLI, and Trae Agent. The terminal runs a local JSON-RPC server over TCP and features an Agent Cockpit for monitoring live agent states, managing an inbox queue, running fleets across isolated git worktrees, and reviewing diffs. Configuration is managed through a browser-based Web Settings page rather than inside the terminal. It provides multi-instance discovery, nine built-in languages, and cross-platform parity across macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Unterm at a glance

Best for: Software engineer
Runs on: macOS, Windows, Linux, API, CLI, self-hosted, open source
Pricing: Free
Released: October 2026
Category: AI coding tool
Website: github.com/zhitongblog/unterm

Key features

External MCP server for controlling the terminal via JSON-RPC
Agent Cockpit for monitoring live per-pane agent states
Waiting-first Agent Inbox to queue and answer agent prompts
Fleet management to run tasks across multiple agents in isolated git worktrees
Review page with repository diffs, rollback, and squash-merge
Browser-based Web Settings configuration page
Multi-instance discovery for driving multiple windows at once
Prompt queue for batching prompts into agent panes

Use it for

Driving terminal sessions externally using AI agents over MCP
Running fleets of multiple agents on the same task simultaneously
Reviewing, diffing, and merging changes produced by AI agents
Managing waiting agent prompts through a centralized inbox

Alternatives to Unterm

Unspin — Shows live progress, step names, and ETAs for coding agent shell commands instead of a spinner.
Orca — Runs multiple AI coding agents simultaneously in isolated workspaces.
OpenCode — Works with 75+ model providers, local models, and existing subscriptions
agterm — It organizes sessions into named workspaces and includes a local control API.
Uncut — Lossless execution with no silent context cuts or truncation.
Termexo — Manage multiple AI coding agents side by side on Windows with local MCP control.
NodeTerm — It keeps terminal processes and agent sessions alive across machine reboots.
Agent Manager — Run multiple AI coding agents side by side with live status, quick prompts, and diff review.
AgentDock — Manages multiple coding agents from one screen-edge inbox without switching tabs.
CodePilot — Consolidates multiple AI agents and local model connections in one workspace.
TUIOS — It keeps coding agents visible and manages their tasks in one place.
Unblocked — Reasons across all organizational sources to provide verified context for AI agents.

All Unterm alternatives