TermEdit

A terminal text editor (Ratatui + crossterm) aimed at a familiar VS Code / Cursor-style workflow: tabs, mouse, find/replace, Find in Open Tabs, Go to Symbol (tree-sitter outline), session restore, and optional AI ghost completions. It is not a multi-cursor or split-view editor.

Quick start

Fastest setup: download a release binary for your platform from GitHub Releases, unpack, and run ./termedit (or add it to your PATH).

Install from crates.io (compiles on your machine):

cargo install termedit
termedit
termedit README.md src/main.rs

Faster compile, smaller dependency graph (no AI HTTP, tree-sitter grammars, or system clipboard):

cargo install termedit --no-default-features

Enable subsets, e.g. editor + outline but no AI: cargo install termedit --no-default-features --features "outline,clipboard". Features: ai, outline, clipboard; full matches the default set.

Build from this repo:

cargo build --release
# target/release/termedit

Release builds use LTO, strip, and opt-level 3 for editor performance (see Cargo.toml).

CLI behavior

Long flags use hyphens: --no-ai, --no-restore, --theme, --config (-c is a short alias for --config). Run termedit --help for examples, including files whose names start with - (after --).

Config directory (default): ~/.config/termedit/ — config.toml for settings, session.json written on exit when session restore is on.

Automation and git (SSH / servers)

These flags are for non-interactive or scripted use alongside the TUI—handy on remote machines without a GUI.

# List paths from the last saved session (requires prior editor run with saved session)
termedit --print-session | jq -r '.paths[]'

# Location of session.json for backup or custom tooling
termedit --session-path

# From inside a git repo: open every dirty file in one editor instance
cd ~/myrepo && termedit --open-git-changed

• --open-git-changed uses your git binary on PATH; there is no embedded git library. Run it from the repository root (or a subdirectory: git still runs against the same repo).
• Session export contains only metadata (paths, tab index, line/col, scroll)—not file contents.

Editing model (IDE-style, single cursor)

• One active buffer per tab. The tab bar shows every open file; the status bar shows Tab i/n when more than one tab is open.
• Mouse (when the terminal supports it): click to move the cursor; drag to extend a character-wise selection; wheel to scroll.
• Paths: Open (Ctrl+O / Cmd+O) and Save As (Ctrl+Shift+S / Cmd+Shift+S) open a path prompt at the top. You can use ~/project/file.rs; ~ expands to your home directory.
• Save (Ctrl+S / Cmd+S): writes to the file on disk. Untitled buffers open Save As instead.
• Quit (Ctrl+Q) prompts if any tab is dirty. Force quit (Ctrl+Shift+Q) exits immediately without saving (destructive).
• Command palette (Ctrl+P / Cmd+P): filterable list of common actions (open, save, find, tabs, AI, etc.).

AI assistant (Gemini) and brainstorm

TermEdit can chat with Google Gemini inside the editor and insert replies into the buffer. Separate from that, inline ghost completions still use the existing Worker-backed API when AI is enabled.

Setup

1. API key (required for the assistant): set environment variable GEMINI_API_KEY, or add gemini_api_key = "..." to ~/.config/termedit/config.toml. The environment variable is safer for shared machines and scripts.
2. Model: optional ai_chat_model = "gemini-2.5-pro" in config.toml, or CLI --ai-chat-model for one session. Run termedit --list-gemini-models to see built-in ids. You may use any valid models/{id} name Google documents, even if it is not in that list.
3. Disable all AI for a run: termedit --no-ai or ai_enabled = false in config.

Opening the assistant

In the panel

• Type a prompt; Enter sends (Shift+Enter inserts a newline).
• Tab (or Ctrl/Cmd+M) cycles through the built-in model list. If you started with a custom model from config/CLI, Tab moves you through the preset list from the nearest matching slot.
• PgUp / PgDn and ↑ / ↓ scroll the transcript.
• Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I inserts the last assistant message at the cursor (replaces selection if any).
• Esc or Ctrl/Cmd+K again closes the panel; the chosen model id is kept in the session’s settings. Add ai_chat_model to config.toml if you want the same default on the next launch.

Brainstorm ideas (guided prompt)

• Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+U / Cmd+Shift+U
• Command palette: AI: Brainstorm ideas…

This opens the assistant with a prefilled message that asks for five numbered feature/improvement ideas using the current file name and detected language. Edit the last line to add a focus (e.g. “performance”) before pressing Enter.

Configuration (~/.config/termedit/config.toml)

# Master switch for AI (ghost completions + Gemini panel + brainstorm)
ai_enabled = true

# Default Gemini model for the assistant panel (optional)
ai_chat_model = "gemini-2.5-flash"

# Optional API key if not using GEMINI_API_KEY (prefer env in production)
# gemini_api_key = "YOUR_KEY"

CLI examples

# Discover model names
termedit --list-gemini-models

# One session with a specific model
termedit --ai-chat-model gemini-2.5-pro README.md

# Prefer env for secrets
export GEMINI_API_KEY=your_key
termedit

Search and replace

• Find (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F): modal with live search; Enter applies and closes; Esc clears search highlights when no modal is open.
• Find / replace (Ctrl+H / Cmd+H): two fields. Tab / Shift+Tab switches between Find and Replace.
  • Focus Find, Enter: run search (same as plain Find).
  • Focus Replace, Enter: replace the current match, refresh search, keep the modal open; jumps to the next match when possible.
  • Focus Replace, Ctrl+Enter: Replace all matches, then close the modal.
• Next / previous match after a search: F3 / Shift+F3 (also when not in a modal, if matches exist).
• Go to line (Ctrl+G / Cmd+G): line number (1-based).

Find in Open Tabs

Search all open editor tabs for the same query (like “search in open editors” in full IDEs). This does not walk the filesystem—only buffers you already have open.

• Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+F / Cmd+Shift+F.
• Command palette: Find in Open Tabs… (Ctrl/Cmd+P → type “open tabs” or “find in”).
• Behavior: Type a query after >; results refresh after a short debounce (default 250 ms). Each row shows file name, line (1-based), and a one-line preview. ↑ / ↓ move the selection; Enter switches to that tab and places the cursor on the match; Esc closes. Invalid regex patterns (when regex mode is on in config) show an error line instead of results.
• Limits: At most find_in_open_tabs_max_results hits are listed (default 500). Tabs whose buffer is longer than find_in_open_tabs_max_chars_per_tab characters are skipped; the footer reports how many were skipped.

Configuration (~/.config/termedit/config.toml)

# Enable Find in Open Tabs (default: true)
find_in_open_tabs_enabled = true

# Max hits listed across all tabs (default: 500)
find_in_open_tabs_max_results = 500

# Skip searching a tab if its buffer has more characters than this (default: 2000000)
find_in_open_tabs_max_chars_per_tab = 2000000

# Milliseconds to wait after typing before re-running the search (default: 250)
find_in_open_tabs_debounce_ms = 250

# Match options (defaults: case-insensitive literal substring)
find_in_open_tabs_case_sensitive = false
find_in_open_tabs_whole_word = false
find_in_open_tabs_regex = false

Example: case-sensitive regex across open tabs:

find_in_open_tabs_case_sensitive = true
find_in_open_tabs_regex = true

Go to Symbol (outline)

Jump to definitions in the active tab with a filterable list (same idea as “Goto Symbol in Editor” in VS Code).

• Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+O / Cmd+Shift+O.
• Command palette: Go to Symbol… (Ctrl/Cmd+P → type “symbol”).
• Behavior: Parses the buffer when you open the picker (not on every keystroke). Type to filter by name or kind prefix (fn, struct, class, …). Enter jumps to the symbol; Esc closes.
• Supported languages (matches detected language / extension): Rust, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript (TSX grammar, including most .ts / .tsx), Go. Plain text and other languages show an empty list with a short hint.
• Large files: If the buffer’s UTF-8 size exceeds outline_max_bytes (default 2 000 000), outline parsing is skipped and a message explains the limit.

Configuration (~/.config/termedit/config.toml)

# Enable or disable Go to Symbol (default: true)
outline_enabled = true

# Max UTF-8 bytes to parse for outline (default: 2000000)
outline_max_bytes = 2000000

Example: disable the feature entirely:

outline_enabled = false

Bracket matching (highlight + jump)

TermEdit highlights the matching pair for (), [], and {} when the cursor is on either bracket (or immediately after a closing bracket, same idea as VS Code). Brackets inside // line comments, /* … */ block comments, " strings (with \ escapes), and ` backtick strings are ignored so pairs line up with real code structure.

• Jump to matching bracket: Ctrl+Shift+\ or Cmd+Shift+\ (also Command palette → Go to Matching Bracket, type “bracket”).
• Highlight: Shown for both ends of the pair while the cursor sits on a resolvable bracket. Disabled when bracket_matching = false or when the buffer is larger than bracket_match_max_chars (no highlight and jump shows a short status message).

Angle brackets < > are not paired (they collide with operators and generics across languages).

Configuration (~/.config/termedit/config.toml)

# Highlight matching bracket pair (default: true)
bracket_matching = true

# Max characters in the buffer to scan for pairing (default: 2000000).
# Larger files skip bracket highlight and jump-to-bracket.
bracket_match_max_chars = 2000000

Theme (optional): override highlight color in a custom theme TOML:

[ui]
bracket_match_bg = "#374F44"

Keyboard shortcuts

macOS: most Ctrl shortcuts also work with Cmd (Super) where noted.

File / tabs / app

Editing

Movement / selection

Arrows; Shift+ arrows extend selection; Ctrl/Cmd+Left/Right by word; Ctrl+Home/End file start/end; Home/End; PgUp/PgDn; Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right select by word.

Search

Features (summary)

• Session restore — reopen tabs and view state; disable with --no-restore or session_restore = false in config.
• CLI session export — --print-session / --session-path for scripts and jq (paths only, no buffer text).
• Open git-changed files — --open-git-changed opens dirty/untracked files from git status --porcelain in cwd.
• Find in Open Tabs — search all open tabs with debounced query; find_in_open_tabs_* settings (limits, case, whole word, regex).
• Go to Symbol — tree-sitter outline for Rust, Python, JS, TS, Go; configurable via outline_enabled / outline_max_bytes.
• Bracket matching — visual pair highlight and jump between (), [], {}; respects comments/strings; bracket_matching / bracket_match_max_chars / optional ui.bracket_match_bg in themes.
• AI ghost text — contextual inline suggestions when enabled; Tab to insert.
• Gemini AI assistant — conversational panel (Ctrl/Cmd+K), model picker, insert reply (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I); CLI --list-gemini-models, --ai-chat-model, --gemini-api-key; config ai_chat_model / gemini_api_key.
• AI brainstorm — Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U or palette AI: Brainstorm ideas… opens the panel with a structured “five ideas” prompt for the current file.
• Syntax highlighting — pattern-based highlighter for common languages (see src/feature/syntax.rs).
• Undo / redo with history.
• Themes — built-in names in src/config/theme.rs; override via config or --theme.

Build

cargo build --release

Release profile is tuned for size (LTO, strip, single codegen unit).

Contributing / architecture

See docs/DEVELOPER.md for module layout, save pipeline, modals, and extending the command palette.