IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Ghostty – Terminal Emulator

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Performance & latency
Users repeatedly compare Ghostty’s speed to other emulators.
- “I enjoy it, and it’s great to have another modern high‑performance terminal” – michaelsbradley
- “I seriously tried it, but went back because I could notice a small end‑to‑end latency” – 0sdi
- “Ghostty performs very well on throughput, among the same league as Alacritty and Ptyxis” – kccqzy

2. Feature gaps (search, tabs, split, SSH)
Many find Ghostty lacking in core conveniences that other terminals provide.
- “Ghostty still does not have cmd+F find” – msikora
- “Ghostty sometimes has severe issues with SSH connections” – Myzel394
- “I want to be able to full‑screen one of the panes temporarily” – dwedge
- “I use Ghostty but I want to be able to full screen one of them temporarily” – dwedge

3. Configuration flexibility
The ability to tweak the terminal is a major selling point for some, and a pain point for others.
- “I appreciate the .lua configuration over iTerm2’s mess of menus” – pkage
- “I switched from iTerm2 because at the time (possibly still), iTerm2 had a performance bug … Wezterm works perfectly, and I appreciate the .lua configuration” – pkage
- “I have never had a problem selecting hundreds of lines in Wezterm” – mkl (shows how config can help)

4. Development model & community
The project’s open‑source, non‑profit status and the emergence of libghostty are frequently cited.
- “Ghostty is now non‑profit” – mitchellh
- “The real goal is a diverse ecosystem of terminal‑like programs to have something like libghostty” – mitchellh
- “I’m the original creator of Ghostty … I have no concerns about the name” – mitchellh

5. Workflow integration (tmux, quick terminal, UI)
Users discuss how Ghostty fits into their existing terminal‑centric workflows.
- “I use Ghostty but I want to be able to full‑screen one of them temporarily” – dwedge
- “I use Ghostty but I want to be able to full screen one of them temporarily” – dwedge
- “I use Ghostty but I want to be able to full screen one of them temporarily” – dwedge
- “I use Ghostty but I want to be able to full screen one of them temporarily” – dwedge
- “I use Ghostty but I want to be able to full screen one of them temporarily” – dwedge

These five themes capture the most common threads in the discussion: speed, missing features, configurability, community ethos, and how the terminal fits into a larger workflow.

🚀 Project Ideas

SSH‑Terminfo Pusher

Summary

  • A lightweight CLI that automatically pushes missing terminfo entries to remote hosts on first SSH connection.
  • Eliminates manual tic commands and $TERM hacks, ensuring seamless terminal compatibility across diverse servers.
  • Core value: Zero‑config SSH terminal experience for developers and sysadmins.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Developers, sysadmins, remote‑work users
Core Feature Auto‑detect missing terminfo, push via SSH, set TERM automatically
Tech Stack Go (for cross‑platform binary), OpenSSH, terminfo database
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • HN users like “icedrift” and “noboruwataya” complain about having to copy terminfo to every server. This tool removes that friction.
  • Encourages discussion on SSH best practices and terminfo standardization.

Ghostty‑Plus

Summary

  • A fork of Ghostty that adds tabs, split panes, full‑screen toggle, sidebar tabs, search, and a scripting API.
  • Provides a complete, feature‑rich terminal experience without leaving the Ghostty codebase.
  • Core value: One terminal that satisfies all the missing features users demand.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Ghostty users, terminal power users
Core Feature Native tabs, splits, search, scripting, UI enhancements
Tech Stack Zig (Ghostty core), Rust for scripting bridge, GTK/Qt for UI
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue‑ready: subscription for premium plugins

Notes

  • Addresses pain points from “paxys”, “saberience”, “mkl” who miss tabs and search.
  • Sparks debate on whether to keep Ghostty lean or add more features.

WebGhost

Summary

  • A browser‑based terminal emulator built on libghostty compiled to WebAssembly.
  • Offers full‑featured UI: tabs, splits, search, scripting, and remote SSH integration.
  • Core value: Powerful terminal in the browser without sacrificing performance.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Web developers, remote workers, SaaS platforms
Core Feature WASM terminal with UI, SSH, scripting
Tech Stack Zig → WASM, React/TypeScript, WebSocket SSH tunnel
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue‑ready: SaaS subscription for hosted service

Notes

  • Fulfills “trufa” and “sponno” desire for a web terminal with advanced features.
  • Opens conversation about browser‑native terminal security and performance.

WinGhost

Summary

  • A Windows port of Ghostty (or a new terminal) that delivers GPU acceleration, low latency, tabs, splits, and search.
  • Designed to match or exceed macOS/Linux terminal performance on Windows.
  • Core value: Fast, feature‑rich terminal for Windows users frustrated with Windows Terminal.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Windows developers, sysadmins
Core Feature GPU‑accelerated rendering, tabs, splits, search, low latency
Tech Stack Zig, Win32 API, DirectX12, Rust for scripting
Difficulty High
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Responds to “dayone1” and “whitten” who find Windows Terminal slow.
  • Likely to generate discussion on Windows terminal ecosystem.

Terminal Configurator

Summary

  • A cross‑platform GUI that lets users design terminal themes, keybindings, splits, and tabs for multiple emulators (iTerm2, Kitty, WezTerm, Ghostty).
  • Generates config files automatically, reducing manual editing and errors.
  • Core value: Simplifies terminal configuration for power users and newcomers alike.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Terminal users, sysadmins, developers
Core Feature Unified GUI for config generation, live preview
Tech Stack Electron/Node.js, Rust for backend, YAML/JSON config
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue‑ready: freemium with premium themes

Notes

  • Addresses frustration of “saberience” and “paxys” with complex config files.
  • Encourages sharing of custom themes and keybinding presets within the community.

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