Discover Tabby (formerly Terminus), a highly customizable cross-platform terminal for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Packed with SSH, SFTP, split panes, and cloud sync.

1. Overview & Core Positioning

Tabby (formerly Terminus) is a highly customizable cross-platform terminal tool that supports Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is not a brand-new shell nor a MinGW/Cygwin replacement — it serves as a professional-grade alternative to Windows Terminal, PowerShell ISE, PuTTY, macOS Terminal, and iTerm. Its design philosophy emphasizes rich functionality over lightweight footprint. If memory usage is a concern, consider Conemu or Alacritty instead.

2. Core Features in Detail

Connection Management

  • Integrated SSH/Telnet client: supports X11 forwarding, port forwarding, and jump host management
  • Serial terminal support: save connection profiles, with auto-reconnect and hex data mode
  • Encrypted vaults: securely store SSH keys and sensitive configurations

Productivity Tools

  • Split panes: horizontal/vertical splitting to manage multiple sessions in a single window (local + remote hybrid layouts)
  • Session memory: automatically restore tabs and previous sessions
  • Zmodem transfer: transfer files directly within SSH sessions — no extra SFTP client needed
  • Global hotkeys: Quake mode (summon console with a hotkey, similar to F1 in games)

Cross-Platform Compatibility

  • Natively supports PowerShell Core, WSL, Git-Bash, Cygwin, MSYS2, Cmder, and more
  • On Windows, Clink provides Linux-like Tab completion experience

User Experience Enhancements

  • Full Unicode support: renders double-width characters perfectly
  • Anti-output blocking: smooth output even at high speeds
  • Progress detection: real-time display of task execution status

3. Installation Guide (Universal)

Windows / macOS

  • Visit the official website or GitHub Releases to download the installer for your OS (.exe for Windows, .dmg for macOS)
  • Default configuration is ready to use with your local shell

Ubuntu / Linux

wget https://github.com/Eugeny/tabby/releases/download/v1.0.181/tabby-1.0.181-linux-x64.deb
sudo dpkg -i tabby-1.0.181-linux-x64.deb
# Fix dependencies
sudo apt --fix-broken install

Portable Mode

On Windows, create a data folder next to Tabby.exe to run it as a portable, no-install application.

4. Advanced Usage Tips

1. Environment Configuration

Git Bash Integration

  • Create a new Profile → select the CMD template → enter the command line:

    'C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe' -l -i
  • Add an SVG icon for visual differentiation

Remote SSH Connection

  • Settings → Profiles → New profile → SSH Connection → fill in host/port/authentication info
  • Supports proxy forwarding

2. Multi-Session Collaboration

  • Use the right-click Split function to create parallel panes

  • Combine with Switch Profile to achieve:

    • Main pane: SSH into production server
    • Sub-pane 1: local Git operations
    • Sub-pane 2: log monitoring (tail -f)
  • Shortcut Alt+Shift+P for quick environment switching

3. File Transfer

  • After connecting via SSH, click the SFTP icon in the top-right corner to:

    • Drag and drop local files to upload
    • Click remote files to download
    • Right-click → Edit locally to edit remote files directly (auto-sync)

4. Configuration Sync

  • Register an account on the official website to get a sync key
  • Settings → Config Sync → paste the key
  • Themes, plugins, and connection profiles auto-sync across multiple devices

5. Plugin & Theme Ecosystem

🔌 Plugin Types & Feature Comparison

Plugin TypeRecommended PluginFunction Description
Productivity Boostquick-cmdsSend commands to multiple tabs in batch
Dev AssistancedockerConnect directly to container environments
Personalizationtitle-controlDynamically modify tab titles
Data Securitysync-configSync configuration to Gist/Gitee
File Managementsftp-tabSecureCRT-like SFTP panel

Recommended Themes

  • Catppuccin: eye-friendly soft color theme
  • Noctis: dark mode friendly
  • Windows10: seamlessly matches system UI

Install directly via Settings → Themes.

6. Competitive Advantages

🖥️ Terminal Tool Feature Comparison

FeatureTabbyPuTTYiTerm2Windows Terminal
Cross-platform✅ All platforms❌ Windows only❌ macOS only❌ Windows only
Graphical SFTP✅ Built-in❌ Requires WinSCP❌ Requires extension❌ Requires extension
Pane Management✅ Multi-level nesting❌ None✅ Supported✅ Supported
Config Sync✅ Cloud encrypted sync❌ None❌ Manual export❌ Manual export
Plugin Ecosystem✅ Rich❌ None✅ Rich⚠️ Limited
Memory Usage⚠️ Higher (~300MB)✅ Minimal⚠️ Medium✅ Medium

Summary of Advantages:

  • All-in-One design solves terminal + SSH + SFTP + serial communication needs
  • Open source and free, avoiding the risks of cracked XShell

7. Expert-Level Tips

Workflow Saving

  • Use the workspace-manager plugin to save pane layouts as templates
  • Restore complex work environments with a single click

AI Integration

  • Use the mcp-server plugin to connect AI assistants like Cursor/Windsurf
  • Enables smart command-line completion and error analysis

Terminal Enhancement

  • Install the highlight plugin for syntax highlighting on key terms
  • Enable clickable-links to open URLs directly from the terminal
  • Use save-output to log critical operations

8. Summary

Tabby reshapes the terminal experience through modular design and extreme customization. Its value goes beyond replacing traditional tools like PuTTY/XShell — its plugin ecosystem and cloud sync build a unified cross-platform workflow. For developers who frequently switch between local and remote environments, Tabby's split-pane management and SFTP integration can boost operational efficiency by over 50%. Despite slightly higher memory usage, its feature density and visual experience more than make up for it — a true "Swiss Army knife" among terminal tools.

Resources

  • Official Download
  • Plugin Repository
  • Theme Configuration Guide
Note: This is the English translation of the original Chinese version.