Termi is a friendly robot that helps you build browser games on a real computer.
You pick a game idea (or invent your own). You write a prompt, or ask Termi to help write one. Termi builds the game with you. Your game opens in the browser and updates after every prompt.
There are 30 ready game ideas plus "Build my own idea". When you finish, Termi can run a short test pass and suggest one last improvement. Games save in your local library on this computer.
Want to get better at prompting? Open Learn AI. Six short lessons teach you how to boss your AI helper. Each one earns a badge, and you can replay them any time.
Termi is a computer program, an AI tool. It is not a person. A grown-up sets it up first.
Ready? Ask a grown-up to read the next part.
Termi is a kids-friendly coding assistant that runs entirely in the terminal on your own computer. A kid describes what they want in plain words, an AI model you configure writes small web projects (plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), and a local preview shows the result instantly. Every message in and out passes a layered safety pipeline, and everything is stored locally. There are no Termi servers and no telemetry.
Please read SAFETY.md before handing the keyboard to your kid. It explains, honestly, how the safety system works, what it can and cannot stop, and how to remove everything.
- Node.js 20.19 or newer: https://nodejs.org
- macOS, Windows, or Linux
- An AI account you own (one of: a ChatGPT account, a Claude API key, an OpenAI API key, or a Grok API key)
- About 700 MB of free disk space for the on-device safety checker (installed during setup)
If Node is too old, Termi prints a plain message with the download link instead of starting.
One command:
npm install -g termi-kids
Then run termi. If npm reports a permission error, prefix the install with sudo on macOS and Linux, or run the terminal as administrator on Windows. To remove it later, run npm rm -g termi-kids (full cleanup steps are in SAFETY.md).
To update later, run termi update (or npm install -g termi-kids@latest). On each new session, Termi checks for a newer version and asks whether to update (y/n). Set TERMI_SKIP_UPDATE=1 to silence the check.
Run termi. The first run starts a setup wizard for a parent or guardian. It takes about five minutes:
- Create a grown-up PIN (at least 4 characters). It guards the grown-up zone. Your kid should not know it.
- Consent. You confirm that Termi uses an AI account you own and that you agree to watch how your kid uses it. One safety bar applies for every age (no under-13 / over-13 split). Consent is recorded in the local safety log.
- Pick an AI provider. The default is "ChatGPT sign-in": your browser opens, you sign in to your own ChatGPT account, and no API key is needed. The other options are a Claude API key, an OpenAI API key, or a Grok API key. Grok requires an extra confirmation because the xAI API terms are adults-only (details in SAFETY.md). You can add several providers and choose which one is active.
- Safety checker install. Setup always starts the on-device safety model download (about 623 MB). It screens every message on this computer, even offline. You can wait for the progress bar or keep setting up while it finishes in the background. Basic safety is already on during the download. The download is anonymous and resumes if interrupted. Details are in SAFETY.md.
- Hand the keyboard to your kid. The kid picks a made-up nickname (Termi asks them not to use their real name) and sees a clear disclosure: "Termi is a computer program, an AI. It is a tool a grown-up set up for you. It is not a person."
- Desktop shortcut. Termi offers to write a double-clickable launcher on the Desktop (
Termi.commandon macOS,Termi.baton Windows,Termi.desktopon Linux) so your kid can come back tomorrow without typing commands. - Optional first game. The kid can jump straight into Build a game (pick an idea or invent one).
If you skip the provider step, Termi runs in offline mode: your kid can still open the library and Learn AI. Building with the AI helper needs a provider.
Five layers sit between your kid and the AI, bound by one rule: when a check cannot finish, Termi blocks rather than guesses. There is no setting that weakens this.
- A local filter on this computer. Screens every message before it leaves the machine: profanity (including d.i.s.g.u.i.s.e.d spellings and leetspeak) and known "ignore your rules" tricks are blocked; personal details like names, addresses, phones, and school names are masked to
[secret]before anything is sent. - Safety rules inside the AI's instructions. The AI is a tool, never a friend: no romance, no secrets, no asking for real names, addresses, schools, ages, or photos. Big feelings get one kind line and a pointer to a trusted adult.
- An on-device safety checker. A small AI model (on by default, 623 MB) grades every message in and out right on your computer, even with no internet.
- Checks on everything the AI produces. The reply, every file it writes, and the human-visible text inside those files are all screened before your kid sees a single character, plus a code scan for network calls and hidden tricks.
- A session-wide grooming watch. Secrecy asks, affection aimed at the kid, probing for personal details, and attempts to move the chat to another app are counted across the whole conversation, and a hard block trips when the signals stack, no matter how innocent each message looked alone.
What gets filtered: sexual content, self-harm (answered with a calm, supportive screen and the 988 line in the US), violence past a mild cartoon ceiling, hate and bullying, dangerous how-tos, profanity, personal information, grooming patterns, heavy adult and political topics, wholesale copying of others' work, and attempts to break the AI's rules. Normal game talk ("make the zombie disappear when you hit it") is deliberately allowed.
Parents get a PIN-gated grown-up zone, a tamper-evident log of every block and settings change, and honest documentation: SAFETY.md explains how each layer works, what one message costs, and what a determined kid can and cannot get past.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
termi |
First run: setup wizard. After that: home (Build a game, My games, Learn AI). |
termi new |
Build a game (idea list + prompt loop). |
termi go [name] |
Open a game from your library. With no name, pick from a list. |
termi preview [name] |
Open a game in the browser without the chat. |
termi learn |
Learn AI: six short offline lessons on prompting. |
termi grownups |
The grown-up zone. PIN required. |
termi update |
Update Termi to the latest npm version. |
termi help |
Show the command list. |
termi --version |
Show the version. |
Inside the build chat, these slash commands work:
| In chat | What it does |
|---|---|
/preview |
Open the project in the browser. |
/undo |
Take back the last change. |
/redo |
Bring a change back. |
/new |
Start a fresh project. |
/ideas |
Get fun ideas. |
/badges |
See earned badges. |
/learn |
Play the short AI lessons. |
/quest |
A step-by-step build guide with a ready prompt at each step. |
/help |
Show this list. |
/done |
Finish and celebrate. |
/quit |
Stop for today. Projects are saved. |
/grownups |
Grown-up zone, PIN required. |
Plain words work too: undo, help, ideas, done, preview, badges, learn, quest, and quit work on their own, no slash needed, and exit, stop, bye, and leave also quit. (redo, new, and grownups need the slash.) Misspelled commands get a "did you mean" suggestion.
In the grown-up zone you can add, switch, or remove providers, manage the on-device safety checker (turn it on or off, download or remove its model file), pick the model speed (Zippy, the fast default, or Extra smart for tricky asks), read the usage and quota note, review the safety log, and see exactly where your data lives. Removing a provider deletes its saved key or sign-in from this computer.
| Project type | What your kid builds | Styles |
|---|---|---|
| 🎮 Games | A quick dodge game. A great first project. | Space Rocks, Neon Star Run, Spooky Bats, Soccer Headers |
| 🕹️ Big Games | A bigger platform game with two levels. The game engine ships as a local file, no internet needed. | Castle Quest, Blocky Mine World, Haunted House, Midnight Wolf Pack |
| 🎨 Pixel Studio | A pixel paint studio. Calm and creative. | Free Draw, Pet Portraits |
| 🎵 Dance Party | A music maker with sounds made right in the browser. | Robot Dance, Glow Disco |
| 🐾 My Pet | A virtual pet that remembers its care between visits. | Dragon, Wild Horses |
| 📖 Story Quest | A choose-your-own-adventure story engine. | Dragon Treasure, Mystery at School |
| ❓ Quiz Show | A quiz maker for friends and family. | Animal Trivia, Which Character Are You? |
| 🌐 My Page | A personal web page, saved only on this computer. | About Me, My Team |
| 🤖 Talking Character | A scripted talking character. The kid writes every line it can say. No AI runs inside the project. | Quiz Host, Sidekick Robot |
Projects live in ~/Termi/<project-name>/ as plain files (typically index.html, style.css, and one JavaScript file, plus a TERMI.md notes file). They are capped at 8 files of 256 KB each, use no build step, and work with zero network access. Once a kid has a project, termi new also offers "Remix one of your projects."
On the My Page projects, personal details like a name are typed directly on the page in the browser preview and saved to the browser's local storage on this computer. They never pass through the chat, so they never reach the AI provider.
Each open project gets its own tiny web server bound to 127.0.0.1 only. It is not reachable from other devices on your network. It starts at port 4311 and scans upward if that port is busy. Every page is served with a strict Content-Security-Policy that blocks all outside network access from the project, and the page reloads automatically when Termi changes a file. Dotfiles and the TERMI.md notes are never served.
Termi's v1 stance is simple: one operating system user account per kid. Settings, the PIN, projects, badges, and the safety log all live in the OS user profile, so separate OS accounts keep kids' worlds (and the audit trail) separate. There are no in-app profiles.
- "Termi needs a newer version of Node.js." Install the current version from https://nodejs.org, then run
termiagain. - "The AI helper is not set up yet." No provider is configured. Run
termi grownups, open Providers, and add one. Projects, previews, undo, ideas, and badges all work without a provider. - "Termi used up its energy. It comes back at 4:30 PM." Your AI plan or API key hit its rate limit. The time comes from the provider when it says how long to wait. Your kid can keep playing the preview, use
/undo, and browse/ideasmeanwhile. - "Termi needs a quick break. Try again in a minute." A safety check could not finish (a timeout, a provider error, or a rate limit). Termi blocks rather than guesses, so it pauses the turn. Trying again usually works.
- "The sign-in stopped working." The saved ChatGPT sign-in can no longer refresh. Run
termi grownups, open Providers, and sign in again. - "Termi found changed settings. Safe settings are on now." The settings file failed its integrity check, so Termi reverted to strict defaults. Review the grown-up zone.
- Crashes. The kid sees a friendly screen; the technical details go to
~/.termi/error.log.
For working on Termi itself (parents installing for a kid never need this):
git clone https://github.com/dannyliv/Termi.git
cd Termi
npm install
npm run build
npm link
npm link puts the development build on your PATH as termi; remove it with npm rm -g termi. Tests run with npm test (vitest, 1000+ tests).
See "Your data and how to remove Termi" in SAFETY.md for the exact folders, files, and keychain entries.
Termi is free and open-source software, released under the MIT License and provided as-is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied. It is a personal, educational project. All use is at the user's own risk and sole responsibility: you, the parent or guardian who installs and configures Termi, are responsible for how it is set up, which AI accounts it connects to, and how children in your care use it. AI output is unpredictable; the safety layers reduce risk but cannot eliminate it, and children should use Termi with adult supervision. The authors and contributors accept no liability for any claim, damages, or other losses arising from the use of this software, as set out in the MIT License. Termi is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, the Qwen team, or any other AI provider.