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The Textsmith 1.0.0, released on 1 November 2026. Free software for Linux, under the GNU General Public License, version 3.

The Textsmith runs on Linux, under X11 and Wayland, on 64-bit PCs. It needs GTK 3 and VTE, which most desktops already have.

Install with one command

Open a terminal and run:

curl -fsSL https://thetextsmith.com/install.sh | sh

On Debian, Ubuntu and Linux Mint, this adds The Textsmith’s apt repository and installs the textsmith package. On Arch, it adds the pacman repository. On other distributions, it installs The Textsmith in your home folder, in ~/.local/bin. Both repositories are signed with The Textsmith release key, and the installer checks the key before using it. From then on, new versions arrive with your usual system updates.

You can read the installer before running it. If you would rather type each step yourself, here they are.

Debian, Ubuntu and Linux Mint

For Ubuntu 24.04, Linux Mint 22, Debian 13 and later. Add the release key and the repository, then install:

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://thetextsmith.com/terminal.asc | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/thetextsmith.asc > /dev/null
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/thetextsmith.asc] https://thetextsmith.com/apt stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/thetextsmith.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y textsmith

Updates come with sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade, like the rest of your system.

The package also offers The Textsmith as your system’s terminal. To choose it: sudo update-alternatives --config x-terminal-emulator.

Arch Linux

Add the release key and the repository, then install:

curl -fsSL -o /tmp/terminal.asc https://thetextsmith.com/terminal.asc
sudo pacman-key --add /tmp/terminal.asc
sudo pacman-key --lsign-key EACA85A885367887682015F893649288FCB48B9E
printf '\n[thetextsmith]\nServer = https://thetextsmith.com/arch/$arch\n' | sudo tee -a /etc/pacman.conf
sudo pacman -Syu textsmith

Updates come with sudo pacman -Syu. To build the package yourself instead, use the PKGBUILD with makepkg -si.

Other distributions

The one-line installer puts The Textsmith in ~/.local/bin without a repository and without sudo. It checks the download against its checksum, and against its signature if gpg is installed. The same works on any distribution:

curl -fsSL https://thetextsmith.com/install.sh | TEXTSMITH_METHOD=local sh

You need VTE for GTK 3 first: sudo dnf install vte291 on Fedora, sudo zypper install libvte-2_91-0 on openSUSE. The prebuilt program needs glibc 2.39 or later. On older systems, or on other processors, build it from the source. Run the installer again to update.

The Electron edition

A different experience of The Textsmith: the session as a web page, each command a heading. It needs Node.js and npm, and shares the bookmarks file with the main edition.

curl -fsSLO https://thetextsmith.com/download/electron-1.0.0.tar.gz
tar xzf textsmith-electron-1.0.0.tar.gz
cd textsmith-electron-1.0.0
npm install
npm run install-desktop

It is then textsmith-electron on the command line and “The Textsmith (Electron edition)” in your application menu.

The files

Every file of this release, for downloading by hand:

To check the files you downloaded:

gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.asc SHA256SUMS
sha256sum --check --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS

The release key

The repositories and the checksums are signed with The Textsmith release key, which also signs hande:

  • textsmith.asc, Ishe Chinyoka (The Textsmith release key) <releases@thetextsmith.com>
  • fingerprint EACA 85A8 8536 7887 6820 15F8 9364 9288 FCB4 8B9E

To check the key you downloaded: gpg --show-keys /etc/apt/keyrings/thetextsmith.asc should show the same fingerprint.

Removing The Textsmith

  • Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint: sudo apt remove textsmith, and to remove the repository too: sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/thetextsmith.list /etc/apt/keyrings/thetextsmith.asc
  • Arch: sudo pacman -R textsmith, and delete the [thetextsmith] lines from /etc/pacman.conf.
  • Installed in your home folder: rm ~/.local/bin/terminal ~/.local/share/applications/terminal.desktop

Your bookmarks and preferences stay in your Textsmith folder.

The source code

The source is on GitHub, at github.com/thetextsmith/terminal, and the Electron edition at github.com/thetextsmith/electron. Bug reports and ideas are welcome on their issue trackers.

The Textsmith is free software: you can use it, share it and change it under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 3 or any later version.