v0.4.0 · open source · MIT · new: agent mission control
Native and fast like Ghostty. Blocks and AI like Warp. But local-first, bring-your-own-key, no account — and with a cyberpunk soul. Rift is a terminal emulator written in Rust.
macOS first · Linux builds · Support on Ko‑fi
❯ # find the 10 largest files
✦ generated from # — review, then Enter to run
❯ du -ah . | sort -rh | head -n 10
812M ./target
604M ./target/release
9.4M ./recordings
…
✓ 00.42s
❯ cargo build
error[E0432]: unresolved import serde
--> src/config/mod.rs:3:5
✗ 1013.1s
cargo add serde --features derive
Tab accept · Esc dismiss
❯
Pure Rust, GPU-optional rendering with damage tracking — a keystroke frame dropped from ~42 ms to ~6 ms. IME, CJK and Nerd Font fallback built in.
Shell integration turns output into command blocks. AI gets the selection, the block or the screen as context — and never runs anything without you.
No account, no telemetry. Bring your own key (DeepSeek, OpenAI-compatible) or run fully offline with Ollama.
// features
Every command and its output become a block, powered by OSC 133 hooks that Rift injects into zsh, bash and fish automatically — your rc files are never touched.
A streaming chat sidebar that lives beside your panes, not in a browser tab. Works with any OpenAI-compatible API (DeepSeek, OpenAI…) or a local Ollama model.
A popover anchored to whatever “this” is: your selection, the hovered block, the last block or the whole screen.
When a command fails, Rift proposes a corrected one right at the prompt. Tab accepts, Esc dismisses.
# natural language previewType # what you want and press Enter. The line becomes a real command, typed back into your prompt for review.
rm -rf on important paths, curl | sh, git reset --hard, force pushes and friends are intercepted before they run, with a real impact analysis. Critical ones need a typed “yes”.
Recursive splits with geometric focus, zoom, equalize, swap and drag-resize. Tabs rename and reorder. Open as many windows as you like — each has its own tabs, panes and docks. Quit and come back to every window, with the same tabs, split layouts, working directories and positions.
Fuzzy search with frecency ranking, plus parameterized commands: theme, font, open, ssh, cd, > shell, ? ask.
A resizable docked web panel with a real toolbar and smart URL-or-search address bar. ⌘-click a link to open it inside Rift.
Six effects — CRT, Neon Glow, Matrix Rain, Hologram, Glitch, Amber — plus the flagship rift-neon theme and nine more.
A heads-up status strip and a toolbox you would otherwise install separately.
// agents · new in 0.4.0
Run Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, opencode, Aider or Cursor CLI in any pane. Rift notices them, tracks what each one is doing across every tab, and tells you when one needs you.
Stop babysitting routine prompts. With autopilot on, Rift answers an agent's prompt when your policy says it's routine — after a short, visible countdown you can cancel with Esc. It's off by default, per agent or for all of them.
~/.config/rift/policy.toml, plus a repo's .rift/policy.toml once you trust it
Give one task to 2–4 agents, each in its own git worktree. Compare diffs, test results, time and cost side by side, then merge the winner and discard the rest.
Line up the next tasks for an agent. Each one is sent when the agent goes idle, after a 3-second countdown you can cancel. Queues survive a restart.
{task}, {branch}, {cwd}claude mcp add rift -- rift mcp; agents read your panes and run commands only with your approval// compare
Honest comparison. Rift is young; the others are excellent and far more mature. Pick Rift if the combination below is what you want.
| Feature | Rift | Ghostty | Warp | iTerm2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source | ✓ MIT | ✓ MIT | ✗ | ✓ GPL |
| Native app | ✓ Rust | ✓ Zig | ✓ Rust | ✓ Obj‑C |
| GPU rendering | ◐ optional (wgpu) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ Metal |
| No account required | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ for AI features | ✓ |
| Command blocks | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ◐ marks |
| Built-in AI chat / NL → command | ◐ preview | ✗ | ✓ | ◐ plugin |
| Bring your own key / local models | ✓ incl. Ollama | — | ◐ | ◐ plugin |
| Dangerous-command preview | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI agent mission control | ✓ dock + autopilot | ✗ | ◐ own agents | ✗ |
| Built-in browser panel | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ◐ |
| Screen effects / shaders | ✓ 6 built in | ✓ custom shaders | ✗ | ✗ |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux | macOS, Linux | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS |
| Maturity | Early (v0.4) | Stable | Stable | Very mature |
✓ yes · ◐ partial / in progress · ✗ no. Based on our reading of each project's public docs as of 2026; things move fast — corrections welcome.
// shortcuts
macOS bindings shown. On Linux, ⌘⇧ shortcuts use Ctrl+Shift.
Full list: README → Keyboard shortcuts, or search anything in ⌘P.
// install
Download Rift-0.4.0-macos.dmg (or the Linux .tar.gz) from GitHub Releases, or build from source with a stable Rust toolchain.
Rift.app.Feature flags: gpu (wgpu renderer + GPU effects), webview (built-in browser; uses the system WebView — WebKitGTK on Linux), plugins (experimental WASM plugins).
# build from source
git clone https://github.com/overkazaf/rift.git
cd rift
cargo build --release --features gpu,webview
./target/release/rift# macOS: create target/Rift.app
./scripts/bundle_macos.sh
open target/Rift.app// ai setup
Edit ~/.config/rift/config.toml. Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint works; Ollama runs entirely on your machine.
If api_key is omitted, Rift reads $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY or $OPENAI_API_KEY from the environment — so the key never has to live in a file.
Turn individual features off under [ai], or from the AI menu / palette at any time.
[llm]
provider = "openai" # any OpenAI-compatible API
model = "deepseek-chat"
api_url = "https://api.deepseek.com"
# api_key from $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
[ai]
auto_fix = true # inline fix on failed commands
nl_hash = true # "# ..." at the prompt → command[llm]
provider = "openai"
model = "gpt-4o-mini"
api_url = "https://api.openai.com"
# api_key from $OPENAI_API_KEY[llm]
provider = "ollama" # fully local, no key
model = "llama3.2"
api_url = "http://localhost:11434"// privacy
~/.config/rift/observer/, skips sensitive commands and never records arguments.~/.ssh/known_hosts; unknown hosts ask first and changed keys are flagged.// faq
The terminal core — rendering, splits, tabs, blocks, shell integration, session restore — is the most solid part of Rift. The AI features are in active development and marked preview. Expect rough edges and please file issues.
No. Without a model configured, Rift is simply a fast terminal with blocks and tools. Add Ollama for fully offline AI, or a DeepSeek/OpenAI key when you want it.
Rift's own AI never does: generated and suggested commands are typed into your prompt for review, and you press Enter. Dangerous commands additionally go through Preview-Then-Accept. For coding agents, autopilot can answer routine prompts for you — but only if you turn it on, only when your policy approves the request, and never for critical commands.
Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, opencode, Aider and Cursor CLI are detected automatically. For exact state tracking, point Claude Code hooks or Codex notify at rift agent-event — see the README.
.zshrc / .bashrc?No. Hooks are injected at launch (ZDOTDIR for zsh, --rcfile for bash, --init-command for fish) and your own config is sourced first.
macOS is the primary target. Linux builds; it gets less testing today. Windows is not supported yet.
Rift falls back through Nerd Font, Powerline and CJK fonts it finds on your system. If icons are still missing, set font_family = "MesloLGS NF" (or another Nerd Font) under [general].
macOS reserves ⌘⇧3–⌘⇧5 for screenshots, so effects live on ⌃⇧1–⌃⇧6 and in View → Effects.
If Rift saves you time, a star helps people find it and a coffee keeps the AI bills paid.