Developers struggle to find a terminal that fits their workflow
Developers want a terminal that works where and how they need it: inside an IDE, offline, on Linux, and across remote hosts. The signals describe different shortcomings—mandatory login, unreliable standalone apps, missing IDE integration, and tedious remote terminfo issues—rather than one universally missing feature. Existing choices can leave users switching tools or working around limitations.
For developers who rely on terminal emulators across IDEs, Linux desktops, and remote hosts. Mentioned from Jan 2018 to Mar 2025 on Bluesky, GitHub and Hacker News.
8 different people described this problem in 7 separate discussions.
- Indie fit
- 2.0/10
- Pain
- 6.0/10
- Frequency
- 7.9/10
- Willingness to pay
- 3.5/10
- Momentum
- 5.0/10
- Who pays
- Professionals
- Competition
- High
- Build difficulty
- High
What people said
Quoted word for word. Follow a link to read the whole discussion.
I downloaded the app thinking I could use a full offline mode. Turns out, you cannot get past the login/signup screen even if you are opting not to signup, if you have no internet or are blocking outgoing connections (privacy reasons, company policies, etc). I now will be forced to delete the app
I use WebStorm and it would slow me down greatly to have to leave my IDE to use the terminal. I simply won't use this as a developer (which is who this targets) without IDE integration
Build brief
See what to build and who will buy it
- 2 product ideas with the smallest useful version and pricing
- 4 places to find your first customers
- 6 more quotes from people who have this problem
- Current workarounds, existing solutions and risks