[opensourcedex]

WaveTerm is a free, open source terminals project written in Go and released under Apache-2.0. It has 22,302 GitHub stars, 1,131 forks and 574 open issues, and was last pushed 8 days ago. On this registry it ranks #7 of 8 tracked projects in Terminals, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 43 stars over the last 6 tracked days.

WaveTerm — Cross-platform terminal with AI built in

What is WaveTerm?

What it is

Wave Terminal is an open-source, AI-integrated terminal for macOS, Linux, and Windows. It lives in the developer tools and terminal-emulator ecosystem, and it is written in Go under the Apache-2.0 license.

The project addresses a workflow problem: terminal users often move between command blocks, remote SSH sessions, editors, previews, and AI assistants. Wave combines those pieces in one workspace, and durable SSH sessions are intended to survive interruptions, network changes, and restarts with automatic reconnection.

Key capabilities

  • Durable SSH sessions survive connection interruptions, network changes, and Wave restarts with automatic reconnection.
  • Wave AI reads terminal output and scrollback, analyzes widgets, and performs file operations with automatic backups and user approval.
  • The built-in editor supports editing remote files with syntax highlighting.
  • The file preview system displays remote markdown, images, video, PDFs, CSVs, and directories inside the terminal.
  • Users organize terminal blocks, editors, web browsers, and AI assistants with drag-and-drop, isolate commands in command blocks, and toggle blocks to full screen.
  • The wsh command system manages the workspace from the command line, shares session data, and copies or syncs files between local and remote SSH hosts.
  • Secure secret storage uses native system backends for API keys and credentials across SSH sessions.

Who uses it and how

  • Developers on macOS, Linux, and Windows use Wave as a desktop terminal for local command-line work and remote SSH connections.
  • Users who connect to remote hosts use one-click remote connections with terminal and file system access, then edit or preview remote files without leaving the terminal.
  • Users with unstable networks use durable SSH sessions that reconnect after interruptions or after restarting Wave.
  • Users who want AI assistance connect OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Azure, Perplexity, or Ollama API keys, or run local models through Ollama and LM Studio.

Getting started

Users install Wave Terminal from the project download page or follow platform-specific documentation; it requires macOS 11 or later, Windows 10 1809 or later, or Linux with glibc 2.28 or later, and the WSH helper has its own platform requirements.

When to use it — and when not to

Use Wave Terminal when you want one desktop application for local terminals, durable SSH, remote file editing, previews, and AI assistance. Avoid it when you need a server-hosted terminal, a minimal terminal without workspace features, or an environment where supported desktop platforms and external or local model providers are unacceptable. The provided metadata lists zero contributors and 574 open issues, which is a maintenance signal to review.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline


Wave Terminal

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FOSSA Status

Wave is an open-source, AI-integrated terminal for macOS, Linux, and Windows. It works with any AI model. Bring your own API keys for OpenAI, Claude, or Gemini, or run local models via Ollama and LM Studio. No accounts required.

Wave also supports durable SSH sessions that survive network interruptions and restarts, with automatic reconnection. Edit remote files with a built-in graphical editor and preview files inline without leaving the terminal.

WaveTerm Screenshot

Key Features

  • Wave AI - Context-aware terminal assistant that reads your terminal output, analyzes widgets, and performs file operations
  • Durable SSH Sessions - Remote terminal sessions survive connection interruptions, network changes, and Wave restarts with automatic reconnection
  • Flexible drag & drop interface to organize terminal blocks, editors, web browsers, and AI assistants
  • Built-in editor for editing remote files with syntax highlighting and modern editor features
  • Rich file preview system for remote files (markdown, images, video, PDFs, CSVs, directories)
  • Quick full-screen toggle for any block - expand terminals, editors, and previews for better visibility, then instantly return to multi-block view
  • AI chat widget with support for multiple models (OpenAI, Claude, Azure, Perplexity, Ollama)
  • Command Blocks for isolating and monitoring individual commands
  • One-click remote connections with full terminal and file system access
  • Secure secret storage using native system backends - store API keys and credentials locally, access them across SSH sessions
  • Rich customization including tab themes, terminal styles, and background images
  • Powerful wsh command system for managing your workspace from the CLI and sharing data between terminal sessions
  • Connected file management with wsh file - seamlessly copy and sync files between local and remote SSH hosts

Wave AI

Wave AI is your context-aware terminal assistant with access to your workspace:

  • Terminal Context: Reads terminal output and scrollback for debugging and analysis
  • File Operations: Read, write, and edit files with automatic backups and user approval
  • CLI Integration: Use wsh ai to pipe output or attach files directly from the command line
  • BYOK Support: Bring your own API keys for OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Azure, and other providers
  • Local Models: Run local models with Ollama, LM Studio, and other OpenAI-compatible providers
  • Free Beta: Included AI credits while we refine the experience
  • Coming Soon: Command execution (with approval)

Learn more in our Wave AI documentation and Wave AI Modes documentation.

Installation

Wave Terminal works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Platform-specific installation instructions can be found here.

You can also install Wave Terminal directly from: www.waveterm.dev/download.

Minimum requirements

Wave Terminal runs on the following platforms:

  • macOS 11 or later (arm64, x64)
  • Windows 10 1809 or later (x64)
  • Linux based on glibc-2.28 or later (Debian 10, RHEL 8, Ubuntu 20.04, etc.) (arm64, x64)

The WSH helper runs on the following platforms:

  • macOS 11 or later (arm64, x64)
  • Windows 10 or later (x64)
  • Linux Kernel 2.6.32 or later (x64), Linux Kernel 3.1 or later (arm64)

Roadmap

Wave is constantly improving! Our roadmap will be continuously updated with our goals for each release. You can find it here.

Want to provide input to our future releases? Connect with us on Discord or open a Feature Request!

Links

Building from Source

See Building Wave Terminal.

Contributing

Wave uses GitHub Issues for issue tracking.

Find more information in our Contributions Guide, which includes:

Sponsoring Wave ❤️

If Wave Terminal is useful to you or your company, consider sponsoring development.

Sponsorship helps support the time spent building and maintaining the project.

License

Wave Terminal is licensed under the Apache-2.0 License. For more information on our dependencies, see here.

Frequently asked questions

Is WaveTerm free to use?

WaveTerm is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does WaveTerm do?

Cross-platform terminal with AI built in

What is WaveTerm written in?

WaveTerm is primarily written in Go. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/wavetermdev/waveterm, and it has 22,302 GitHub stars.