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superterm

superterm is a GNU/Linux and macOS terminal multiplexer written in Free Pascal. It provides a Turbo Vision-style window and pane interface while every visible pane remains a real PTY-backed terminal.

Since 3.0, every session is a client/server pair from the moment it starts: the terminal you see is just the first attached client. The entire workspace -- typing into panes, capturing any amount of scrollback, opening, closing, focusing, renaming, resizing and re-tiling windows -- can be driven from any other shell, script or automation tool, with every command and flag accepted in English and in Spanish. Several clients can stay attached to one session at the same time, each seeing everything live. See CLI.

superterm send prod:2 tail -f /var/log/syslog    # type into any pane
superterm capture prod:2 --history | grep ERROR  # dump the whole scrollback
superterm nueva prod --comando htop -t Monitor   # the same CLI, en espanol
superterm organize prod grid                     # re-tile every window

Two clients attached to the same session; the Python output was injected from a third shell with superterm send. One capture per 3.0 feature on the Screenshots page.

The screenshot shows one workspace divided into four terminal panes. Each pane has its own process, terminal state, focus, and resize behavior.

What It Provides

• Vertical and horizontal pane splits with focus navigation and mouse support.
• Resize, maximize, minimize, restore, and close operations; up to 16 panes in one visible layout.
• Window classes ([class.*]): reusable named pane definitions for local commands and structured SSH connections (host, user, port, key, optional sshpass password), or a free connect command, with optional cmd, postconnect, shell, cwd, scrollback, and a default window title.
• Profiles ([profile.*]): named workspaces of windows and pane layouts whose panes reference window classes.
• Always-server sessions (3.0): every launch starts a session server and the visible terminal attaches as its first client, so the control CLI works from the very first second. [session] server=detach restores the classic detach-only flow.
• A bilingual control CLI (3.0): list/listar, send/enviar, capture/capturar, kill/matar plus full window management (new/nueva, close/cerrar, focus/foco, rename/renombrar, resize/tamano, minimize/minimizar, restore/restaurar, zoom/ampliar, organize/organizar). See CLI.
• True multi-user sessions (3.0): up to 8 clients attached at once with output broadcast, live window events, smallest-size negotiation and flow control so a slow client never stalls the session.
• Named detachable sessions: each detach creates a background session under ~/.superterm/sessions/, kept alive by a per-user session server. Reattach with superterm --attach, the Ctrl-Q s picker, or the startup picker; superterm --list-sessions prints them.
• A configurable tmux-style prefix key ([keymap] prefix, default Ctrl-Q) so a remote tmux keeps Ctrl-B untouched.
• A custom keyboard driver: a lone Esc reaches the pane (timeout-based, not held as an Alt prefix), with CSI/SS3 decoding and X10/SGR mouse support.
• Editable, persistent window titles, saved in sessions and profiles.
• A color palette selector (color, black-and-white, monochrome) plus 256-color and truecolor sequences approximated to the 16-color palette; modern-CLI glyphs render as CP437 so remote TUIs stay clean.
• English and Spanish application interfaces, switchable at runtime.
• A quick session wizard for one to four ad-hoc panes.

Start Here

• Installation: prebuilt packages, dependencies, configure, build, and tests.
• Usage: learn the controls, wizard, profiles, and session lifecycle.
• Screenshots: view the English workspace, menu, and wizard captures.
• Configuration: define window classes, profiles, and detachable sessions.
• Architecture: understand the PTY, screen, layout, and FreeVision layers.
• Development: work on the source tree and run the regression suite.
• Troubleshooting: diagnose build, configuration, SSH, and terminal issues.

Current Scope

The supported native platforms are GNU/Linux and macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), both POSIX systems built from the same source tree. The program uses POSIX PTYs, fork/exec, select, and the bundled FreeVision text UI. The only platform-conditional unit is the PTY/process layer (src/st_pty.pas, selected with {$IFDEF DARWIN}): GNU/Linux reads process titles from /proc, while macOS uses libproc/sysctl. Windows would require a ConPTY backend and Windows-specific process and resize code; WSL is the practical way to run the GNU/Linux build on Windows.

Detached sessions are owned by a per-user session server, so leaving the FreeVision client does not close local shells or remote SSH connections.

Security Notes

• Prefer SSH keys or an SSH agent over passwords.
• The application creates ~/.superterm mode 700 and writes its files mode 600, because they may contain credentials.
• Do not put passwords in command lines or debug logs.
• Treat postconnect and local command fields as shell commands under the configured login shell.