Kettle is a GPU-accelerated terminal for macOS and Linux. It has tabs, splits, search, session restore and themes, and it shows the pictures, diagrams and videos your coding agents make right in the chat.
| Platform | Download from the latest release | Setup |
|---|---|---|
| macOS 11+ | kettle-macos-universal.zip |
Move kettle.app to ~/Applications |
| Linux, glibc 2.35+ | kettle-linux-*.tar.gz |
Run the installer below |
The Linux installer puts Kettle under ~/.local for your user and checks the
release signature first. Neither package needs administrator access.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Reddimus/kettle/main/scripts/install-online.sh | shInstallation covers Nix, older Linux systems, source builds and uninstalling. Windows packages ended with 3.3.0 (older releases).
Kettle updates itself: by default it checks the signed release feed once a
day and installs a newer release for your next launch. Run
kettle --check-update to check now, or set update-policy = notify (a chip
in the tab bar only) or update-policy = off (no automatic network request).
- Open Kettle from your app launcher, or run
kettle. - Split the window with
Ctrl+Shift+E(side by side) orCtrl+Shift+O(top and bottom). - Open Settings with
Ctrl+,. - Optional: add shell integration for prompt jumps and completion cards.
Kettle reloads its key = value config when you save it.
kettle --write-default-config creates one, kettle --config-path finds it
and kettle --check-config validates it. Configuration
lists every setting.
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| New tab | Ctrl+Shift+T |
| Split left or right | Ctrl+Shift+E |
| Split top or bottom | Ctrl+Shift+O |
| Focus next or previous pane | Ctrl+Shift+N or Ctrl+Shift+P |
| Focus the pane in a direction, Linux | Alt+Arrow |
| Focus the pane in a direction, macOS | Cmd+Opt+Arrow or Ctrl+Cmd+Arrow |
| Search | Ctrl+Shift+F |
| Command palette | Ctrl+Shift+K |
| Copy or paste | Ctrl+Shift+C or Ctrl+Shift+V |
| Settings | Ctrl+, |
macOS also has Cmd+T, Cmd+C/V, Cmd+F and Cmd+,. Run
kettle --list-keybinds for the full map, and see
Getting started for more.
Claude Code and Codex running in a Kettle pane can show you images, SVG and Mermaid diagrams, charts and video posters as cards under their messages. Turn on Settings → Agents → Agent previews, then the previews for your agent:
- Claude Code: new panes load Kettle's plugin. No setup, no prompts.
- Codex: Kettle defines a
codexshell function in new zsh and fish panes. Codex asks once, in its own dialog, before trusting Kettle's hook. - Any program:
kettle show plot.png(or.svg,.md,.mp4) puts a file on the pane's media shelf.
Click a card to open it in a viewer centered over its split; press Esc to close it or Pin to keep it beside the terminal. Video plays only when you press Play. On Linux, sound needs FFmpeg and PulseAudio or PipeWire.
Automation and MCP explains supported versions, what each setting allows, and the local control API.
- Tabs, splits, multiple windows, and tabs you can drag between windows
- Search, bounded scrollback, broadcast input and session restore
- Inline images (kitty, iTerm2 and Sixel), file drop and pasted screenshots
- Shell-driven completion cards, recording and SSH profiles
- A bundled font and more than 500 themes, in English or Spanish
- Signed self-updates
- An optional local control API and MCP server, both off by default
Pasting media sends a quoted local path to the pane, never the file. The
control API and MCP server are off by default; once on, any process running
as your user can use them, and full mode can type and run commands. Read
Automation and MCP before turning them on.
Building Kettle requires Rust 1.95 or newer and just. Linux also needs the packages listed under source builds.
git clone https://github.com/Reddimus/kettle
cd kettle
just run # build and open Kettle
just test # run the test suite
just gauntlet # the checks to pass before a pull requestContributing describes the workflow, and Testing the larger gates.
- Getting started, Installation and Updates
- Configuration and Settings
- Shell integration and Automation and MCP
- Architecture, Testing and Releasing
- Security and Changelog
Kettle is available under the MIT license. Third-party code, assets and design references are listed in NOTICE.