Project 15: Feature-Complete Terminal (Capstone)

A feature-complete, polished terminal emulator comparable to Alacritty or Kitty—GPU-accelerated, with tabs, configuration, and all modern features.

Quick Reference

Attribute Value
Primary Language Rust or Zig
Alternative Languages C++, C
Difficulty Level 5: Master (The First-Principles Wizard)
Time Estimate 6-12 months
Knowledge Area Complete Terminal Engineering
Tooling Production Terminal
Prerequisites All previous projects

What You Will Build

A feature-complete, polished terminal emulator comparable to Alacritty or Kitty—GPU-accelerated, with tabs, configuration, and all modern features.

Why It Matters

This project builds core skills that appear repeatedly in real-world systems and tooling.

Core Challenges

  • Polish → Handling all edge cases
  • Performance → Optimizing for 144fps at 4K
  • Compatibility → All xterm sequences
  • Features → Splits, tabs, search, notifications
  • Cross-platform → Linux, macOS, Windows

Key Concepts

  • Everything from Projects 1-14
  • Study real terminals: Ghostty, Alacritty, Kitty, WezTerm source

Real-World Outcome

Deliver a working demo with observable output that proves the feature is correct.

Implementation Guide

  1. Reproduce the simplest happy-path scenario.
  2. Build the smallest working version of the core feature.
  3. Add input validation and error handling.
  4. Add instrumentation/logging to confirm behavior.
  5. Refactor into clean modules with tests.

Milestones

  • Milestone 1: Minimal working program that runs end-to-end.
  • Milestone 2: Correct outputs for typical inputs.
  • Milestone 3: Robust handling of edge cases.
  • Milestone 4: Clean structure and documented usage.

Validation Checklist

  • Output matches the real-world outcome example
  • Handles invalid inputs safely
  • Provides clear errors and exit codes
  • Repeatable results across runs

References

  • Main guide: TERMINAL_EMULATOR_DEEP_DIVE_PROJECTS.md
  • All previous + terminal source code study