AGENTBØY

A retro handheld-console terminal designed for AI pair programming.
Real PTYs, approval dialogs, git undo checkpoints — in a Game Boy shell.

GitHub npm Linux · X11 MIT License Electron + xterm.js
agentboy terminal, Agentboy DMG dark theme
# requires Node.js 20+, python3/make/g++ for node-pty
$ npm install -g agentboy
$ agentboy

Workflow

BUILT FOR AI AGENTS

 

OSC 98 approval dialog with YES / NO / DIFF buttons

OSC 98 approval flow

Agents ask for permission with an escape sequence: OSC 98 ; prompt=… pops a retro RPG dialog with YES / NO / DIFF, git-checkpoints the pane's working directory on YES, opens the Diff Inspector on DIFF, and answers y/n back to the shell. The dialog renders on the chassis, outside PTY-paintable space — a spoofed escape sequence can't fake it. Full spec: protocol.md.

split panes

Split panes, real PTYs

Terminator-style splits — every pane runs its own PTY, with draggable dividers, search, and X11 CLIPBOARD + PRIMARY support. Undo checkpoints roll back the last AI edit with one right-click.

ACTION status LED

A traffic light on the chassis shows what's happening at a glance — and turns red when the agent prints a numbered option menu or a y/n question and waits on you.

idle typing agent output needs you

Shells

FIVE MODE LAYOUTS

The round MODE knob cycles the whole chassis: Compact → Full → Robo-Terminal → Robo-Grip → Fable Deck. FRAME re-liveries the robo shells and the Deck (14 stops, including vivid and faded red/orange); TONE flips them to worn-beige / ivory bodies.

MODE knob cycling through the five shell layouts
Robo-Terminal shell, Phosphor livery

Robo-Terminal

Brushed gunmetal with machined vent ribs on the side rails; keys carved in as backlit dark wells. Shown in the Phosphor livery.

Robo-Grip shell, Ocean livery

Robo-Grip

The Mk.III: brushed metal with rubber side grips and milled steel keys. Shown in the Sapphire Ocean livery.

Fable Deck shell

Fable Deck

Claude's own layout: midnight-indigo lacquer, brass inlay, twelve bigger keys in two rows and an engraved star chart over the controls.

Chassis & screen

FOURTEEN THEMES · THREE TONES

Eight of the fourteen presets below — every theme also has a warm sepia tone in the app, plus eight CRT tube modes with six combinable extras (Sweep, Noise, Chroma, Flicker, Vignette, Curve) and 20 intensity steps.

Agentboy DMG theme, dark

Agentboy DMG — the classic pea-soup phosphor, dark.

Extras

EXTRAS

 

cmatrix screensaver

cmatrix screensaver

F9 SAVER toggles cmatrix in an overlay on its own PTY — rendered under the active CRT tube, and the same button turns it off (any key or click exits too). Install it with sudo apt install cmatrix.

frameless mode

BARE mode

F8 BARE hides the whole chassis for a bare, distraction-free terminal; the same key or a right-click brings the shell back. Windows narrower than a third of the screen shed the toolbar automatically (slim shell).

Speaker & built-in tune

The round speaker by the A button is the master sound toggle: ON starts Phosphor Drift, a cozy lofi tune composed for agentboy (the speaker glows while it plays), and enables the effects — all derived from the tune itself: D-major pentatonic, soft triangle waves, plus a whisper-quiet typing tick.

Chassis controls

MODEcycle the five shell layouts (Alt+M)
F1 TONEdark / light / sepia
F2 FRAMEchassis frame style — 14 liveries
F3 THMcycle the 14 themes
F4–F6CRT mode (8 tube modes) & intensity
F7 WEARnew / worn / cracked / glass chassis
F8 BAREhide the chassis
F9 SAVERcmatrix screensaver (toggle)
F10 FLOATfree-floating resizable window
F11 / F12scroll to bottom / expand over the toolbar
B / Afull-height column / snap to grid
LOOK (Alt+L)theme · tone · CRT · FX · wear · frame, live-apply