🧠💬 TerminalGPT — A Terminal-Themed ChatGPT Desktop App

A sleek, minimalistic desktop wrapper for ChatGPT built with Electron — styled like your favorite hacker terminal.

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🚀 Overview

TerminalGPT is a cross-platform desktop app that brings the power of ChatGPT to your fingertips — wrapped in a retro, terminal-style interface. Designed for devs, geeks, and terminal lovers, this app enhances your productivity by combining ChatGPT's intelligence with an aesthetic you feel at home in.

Behind the scenes, it's still the powerful ChatGPT — just cooler.

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🎯 Features

• 🖥️ Electron-powered desktop app — works on macOS, Windows, and Linux
• 🧠 ChatGPT integration — access ChatGPT's capabilities directly in-app
• 💻 Terminal-style UI — dark theme, monospaced font, blinking cursor, and retro vibe
• 🎨 Custom CSS overrides — enhanced UI layered on top of ChatGPT's core structure
• ⚡ Fast & lightweight — minimal distractions, maximum productivity
• 🔐 Privacy-friendly — your credentials never leave your machine

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📸 Screenshots

Feel like you're chatting with AI from a hacker's command line.

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🛠️ Prerequisites

Before building TerminalGPT, make sure you have the following installed:

Required Software

• Node.js (v18 or higher) - Download here
• npm (comes with Node.js) or yarn
• Git - Download here

Platform-Specific Requirements

Windows

• Visual Studio Build Tools or Visual Studio Community
• Python (v3.x) - Download here
• Windows 10 SDK (for native module compilation)

macOS

• Xcode Command Line Tools (for native module compilation)
• macOS 10.14 or later (for building)

Linux

• Build essentials (gcc, g++, make)
• Python (v3.x)
• libgtk-3-dev (for GTK+ support)

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🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Using Build Scripts (Recommended)

macOS/Linux

git clone https://github.com/talhanoman/TerminalGPT.git
cd TerminalGPT
./build.sh

Windows

git clone https://github.com/talhanoman/TerminalGPT.git
cd TerminalGPT
build.bat

Option 2: Manual Build

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/talhanoman/TerminalGPT.git
cd TerminalGPT

2. Install Dependencies

npm install

3. Run in Development Mode

npm run dev
# or
npm start

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📦 Building for Distribution

Build for All Platforms

npm run build

Build for Specific Platform

Windows

npm run make:win
# or
npm run dist:win

macOS

npm run make:mac
# or
npm run dist:mac

Linux

npm run make:linux
# or
npm run dist:linux

Build Output

After building, you'll find the distributable files in the out/ directory:

• Windows: .exe installer and portable .zip
• macOS: .dmg installer and .app bundle
• Linux: .deb, .rpm, and .AppImage packages

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🛠️ Available Scripts

Command	Description
npm start	Start the app in development mode
npm run dev	Alias for npm start
npm run build	Build distributable packages for all platforms
npm run make	Alias for npm run build
npm run make:win	Build for Windows only
npm run make:mac	Build for macOS only
npm run make:linux	Build for Linux only
npm run package	Package the app without creating installers
npm run clean	Clean build artifacts and node_modules
npm run rebuild	Clean and reinstall dependencies

🚀 Build Scripts

Script	Platform	Description
./build.sh	macOS/Linux	Automated build script with dependency checks
build.bat	Windows	Automated build script with dependency checks

Pro tip: Use the build scripts for the easiest build experience - they handle dependency installation and platform detection automatically!

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🔧 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Build Fails on Windows

# Install Windows Build Tools
npm install --global windows-build-tools

# Or use Visual Studio Installer to install:
# - MSVC v143 build tools
# - Windows 10 SDK
# - Python 3.x

Build Fails on macOS

# Install Xcode Command Line Tools
xcode-select --install

Build Fails on Linux

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install build-essential python3 libgtk-3-dev

# Fedora
sudo dnf install gcc-c++ make python3 gtk3-devel

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S base-devel python3 gtk3

Node Modules Issues

# Clean and reinstall
npm run clean
npm install

Electron Download Issues

# Set Electron mirror (if you're in China)
export ELECTRON_MIRROR="https://npm.taobao.org/mirrors/electron/"
npm install

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🏗️ Project Structure

TerminalGPT/
├── src/                    # Source code
│   ├── main.js            # Main process
│   ├── renderer.js        # Renderer process
│   ├── preload.js         # Preload script
│   ├── index.html         # Main window HTML
│   ├── index.css          # Main styles
│   └── styles/            # Additional styles
├── webpack.*.config.js    # Webpack configurations
├── forge.config.js        # Electron Forge configuration
├── package.json           # Project dependencies and scripts
└── README.md             # This file

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🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with Electron
• Styled with custom CSS overrides
• Powered by ChatGPT

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📞 Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

1. Check the Troubleshooting section above
2. Search existing Issues
3. Create a new issue with detailed information about your problem

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Happy coding! 🚀