VVTerm

July 21, 2026 · View on GitHub

Your servers. Everywhere.

VVTerm macOS

Overview

VVTerm is a cross-platform SSH terminal app for Apple platforms. The current codebase targets iOS and macOS, uses Ghostty for terminal rendering, libssh2/OpenSSL for SSH transport, CloudKit for sync, and Keychain for local credential storage.

Current State

Main app target: VVTerm
Companion target: VVTermLiveActivity
Runtime targets: macOS 13.3+ and iOS 16.1+
Hardware targets: Apple Silicon / arm64 only
App-owned code is organized under VVTerm/App, VVTerm/Core, and VVTerm/Features
The repo also contains tests, native vendor builds, and the marketing site under web/

Implemented Feature Areas

Terminal and connections

GPU-accelerated terminal rendering via GhosttyKit
SSH authentication with password, SSH key, and SSH key + passphrase
Connection modes for standard SSH, Tailscale, Mosh, Eternal Terminal, and Cloudflare Access
Multi-session connection management with tabs, split panes, reconnect handling, and persisted session state
tmux-aware startup, attach, install, and recovery flows
Rich paste and clipboard helpers for terminal input
iOS keyboard accessory support, including special keys and custom actions
iOS Live Activity status for active terminal connections

Eternal Terminal connections use the configured SSH authentication and SSH port to run etterminal, then connect to etserver on TCP port 2022 by default. Install Eternal Terminal on the host and allow inbound traffic to the configured ET port. VVTerm's working-directory and optional tmux startup, attach, installation, and cleanup behavior also applies to ET sessions.

Servers and organization

Workspaces with ordering, colors, and environment grouping
Server metadata including favorites, tags, notes, last-connected timestamps, and biometric-unlock requirements
Pro limit enforcement for workspaces, servers, tabs, and split panes
Local-network SSH discovery via Bonjour and subnet probing

Remote files

SFTP-backed remote file browser for iOS and macOS
Directory browsing with breadcrumbs, sorting, hidden-file toggles, and persisted browser state
File preview, upload, download, export/share, new folder, rename, move, and delete flows
Permission editing and remote-file conflict resolution

Security and sync

Keychain-backed storage for SSH credentials and Cloudflare service tokens
CloudKit sync for servers, workspaces, terminal theme preferences, and terminal accessory profile data
Full-app lock and per-server biometric unlock
Privacy-mode support

Customization and productivity

Built-in and custom terminal themes with validation, storage-path management, and sync-aware preference handling
Customizable terminal accessory bar with reorderable actions and user-defined shortcuts
Terminal presets for saved commands/snippets
Settings surfaces for general, terminal, sync, keychain, pro, and about flows
Welcome/onboarding and in-app support surfaces

Stats and voice input

Remote server stats collection with live CPU and memory history
On-device voice-to-command pipeline with MLX model management and Apple Speech fallback

Architecture

VVTerm uses a feature-first structure for app-owned code.

VVTerm/
├── App/                         # App entry, composition roots, shared root containers
├── Core/                        # Shared infrastructure and cross-feature primitives
│   ├── Logging/
│   ├── Network/
│   ├── Security/
│   ├── SSH/
│   ├── Sync/
│   ├── Terminal/
│   └── UI/
├── Features/                    # Product features
│   ├── ConnectionViews/
│   ├── LocalDiscovery/
│   ├── RemoteFiles/
│   ├── Security/
│   ├── Servers/
│   ├── Settings/
│   ├── Stats/
│   ├── Store/
│   ├── Support/
│   ├── TerminalAccessories/
│   ├── TerminalPresets/
│   ├── TerminalSessions/
│   ├── TerminalThemes/
│   ├── VoiceInput/
│   └── Welcome/
├── GhosttyTerminal/             # Ghostty bridge and terminal host views
├── Compatibility/               # Version/platform helpers
├── Generated/                   # Build-time generated sources
└── Resources/                   # Bundled assets, themes, terminfo, localizations

Feature modules follow these boundaries:

Domain: pure types and rules
Application: state, orchestration, coordinators, managers
Infrastructure: persistence, transport, adapters, external integrations
UI: SwiftUI/AppKit/UIKit presentation

Other top-level folders in the repo:

VVTerm-iOS/                     # iOS Info.plist and entitlements
VVTerm-macOS/                   # macOS Info.plist and entitlements
VVTermLiveActivity/             # ActivityKit target
VVTermShared/                   # Shared Activity attributes and small shared types
VVTermTests/                    # Unit and integration tests
VVTermUITests/                  # UI tests
Vendor/                         # Vendored native dependencies
scripts/                        # Vendor build scripts
web/                            # Astro site for vvterm.com

Requirements

Apple Silicon Mac for development
Xcode 16.0+
macOS 13.3+
iOS 16.1+
zig and cmake

Install the non-Xcode build tools with Homebrew:

brew install zig cmake

Building From Source

git clone https://github.com/vivy-company/vvterm.git
cd vvterm

# Build native vendor libraries (GhosttyKit + libssh2/OpenSSL)
./scripts/build.sh all

# Open the project in Xcode
open VVTerm.xcodeproj

./scripts/build.sh supports all, ghostty, ssh, clean, and help.

Dependencies

Native/vendor dependencies:

libghostty for terminal emulation and rendering
libssh2 for SSH transport
OpenSSL for cryptography

Swift package dependencies currently resolved by the Xcode project:

Installation

Pro Tier

Feature	Free	Pro
Workspaces	1	Unlimited
Servers	1	Unlimited
Tabs	1	Unlimited
Split panes	No	Yes

Pricing: Monthly ($6.49), Yearly ($24.99), Lifetime ($49.99)

Documentation

CONTRIBUTING.md for contribution workflow
SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting
THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md for third-party notices
CLA.md for the contributor license agreement

License

VVTerm uses a dual-license model:

Source code in this repository is licensed under GNU GPL v3.0 (LICENSE)
Official App Store binaries are distributed under VVTerm's custom App Store EULA (LICENSE-APPSTORE.md, https://vvterm.com/terms)

If you obtain VVTerm from source and build it yourself, GPL-3.0 applies. If you obtain VVTerm via the App Store, App Store distribution terms apply to that binary.