Show HN: Why I forked Gemini CLI - a FOSS Cowork alt that *is* the OS

1 point

5 months ago

Hi HN, I'm the maintainer of TerminAI — a local-first AI that operates your computer, not just chats about it.

I forked Gemini CLI because it has the best PTY implementation I've ever seen.

Let's be real. Gemini CLI especially with 2.5 sucked for coding. But the execution harness itself - the way it handles interactive terminals, sudo prompts, ssh sessions, TUI apps - that was gold. With Gemini 3 rolling in, I saw what was possible.

So I rewired it to build TerminAI. Multi-LLM support (Gemini, ChatGPT OAuth, LM Studio). Ripped out all Google telemetry. Built a new brain to do anything a human wants to with a computer.

What I ended up with:

    - Local-first. Zero telemetry by default. Your prompts stay on your machine

    - True PTY. No hanging on interactive commands. Enhanced capability to execute across OS platforms

    - A/B/C Approval Ladder. Destructive actions require your explicit approval. You define what's safe

    - Multi-platform. Windows parity. PowerShell operates as well as bash

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some honest notes:

    - Some models (like GPT-5.2) hold back. It's their training - they dont know that terminAI is there to protect. Gemini, grok-code-fast-1, and even GLM just let go.

    - What IS solid: The core runtime. Brain, safety, multi-LLM, cross-platform, recipes, Linux and Windows.

    - What IS not solid yet: desktop app, voice mode, self-hosted cloud relay, MCPs/ extensions (code exists; need to test and finalize)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Install & Run:

    npm install -g @terminai/cli

    terminai

    In the app:
        /llm --to set the llm provider
        /llm reset -- to change llm provider. currently requires app restart to take effect

    "Audit my docker containers, find the one with high memory, check its logs, summarize errors."

    "Fix my drivers...."

    "Plan me a detailed itinerary and output as a PDF with a map for..."

    or you can always do the good old
    "Cleanup my downloads folder"

Happy to go deep on internals.

1 comment

- Local-first. Zero telemetry by default. Your prompts stay on your machine - True PTY. No hanging on interactive commands. Enhanced capability to execute across OS platforms - A/B/C Approval Ladder. Destructive actions require your explicit approval. You define what's safe - Multi-platform. Windows parity. PowerShell operates as well as bash

- Some models (like GPT-5.2) hold back. It's their training - they dont know that terminAI is there to protect. Gemini, grok-code-fast-1, and even GLM just let go. - What IS solid: The core runtime. Brain, safety, multi-LLM, cross-platform, recipes, Linux and Windows. - What IS not solid yet: desktop app, voice mode, self-hosted cloud relay, MCPs/ extensions (code exists; need to test and finalize)

npm install -g @terminai/cli terminai In the app: /llm --to set the llm provider /llm reset -- to change llm provider. currently requires app restart to take effect "Audit my docker containers, find the one with high memory, check its logs, summarize errors." "Fix my drivers...." "Plan me a detailed itinerary and output as a PDF with a map for..." or you can always do the good old "Cleanup my downloads folder"