LocalTerminal Lite

Tech stack: Bun · TypeScript · React 19 · OpenTUI · MCP · OpenAPI 3.1 · Express
Language: English · 中文

LocalTerminal Lite lets ChatGPT work inside one local project through an auditable terminal control plane. It supports either ChatGPT Apps/Plugins (MCP) or custom GPT Actions.

Start here

Follow these four steps in order. You do not need Git, Node.js, Bun, or another programming environment.

1. Install LocalTerminal Lite

Choose your platform. The installer downloads the matching standalone v1.1.2 binary, verifies SHA-256, registers the localterminal-lite command, and starts the TUI.

macOS

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wyj-IIRtyj/localterminal-lite/v1.1.2/scripts/install-macos.sh)"

Linux

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wyj-IIRtyj/localterminal-lite/v1.1.2/scripts/install-linux.sh)"

Windows PowerShell

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wyj-IIRtyj/localterminal-lite/v1.1.2/scripts/install-windows.ps1 | iex"

IMPORTANT

Known Windows limitation: the supported PowerShell TUI path is keyboard-only compatibility mode. Mouse capture is disabled by default because it can become unresponsive or freeze in Windows PowerShell and PowerShell 7. Every page remains keyboard-operable. LITE_WINDOWS_TUI_MODE=mouse is experimental and should not be used for critical work.

For offline assets, checksum inspection, or release candidates, use the manual installation guide.

2. Install Cloudflare Tunnel

ChatGPT cannot connect directly to 127.0.0.1. Install Cloudflare's cloudflared for your platform.

macOS

With Homebrew:

brew install cloudflared
cloudflared --version

Without Homebrew:

CF_ARCH="$(uname -m)"
[ "$CF_ARCH" = "arm64" ] && CF_ARCH="arm64" || CF_ARCH="amd64"
curl -fsSL "https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-darwin-${CF_ARCH}.tgz" -o /tmp/cloudflared.tgz
tar -xzf /tmp/cloudflared.tgz -C /tmp
sudo install /tmp/cloudflared /usr/local/bin/cloudflared
cloudflared --version

Debian or Ubuntu Linux

sudo mkdir -p --mode=0755 /usr/share/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://pkg.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-main.gpg | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/cloudflare-main.gpg >/dev/null
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cloudflare-main.gpg] https://pkg.cloudflare.com/cloudflared any main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cloudflared.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cloudflared
cloudflared --version

For other Linux distributions, use Cloudflare's official downloads page.

Windows PowerShell

$CloudflaredDir = Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA "cloudflared"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $CloudflaredDir | Out-Null
Invoke-WebRequest "https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-windows-amd64.exe" -OutFile (Join-Path $CloudflaredDir "cloudflared.exe")
& (Join-Path $CloudflaredDir "cloudflared.exe") --version

3. Start Lite and the HTTPS tunnel

Start Lite in one terminal:

localterminal-lite

Complete the first-run TUI setup. Keep the default local port unless you have a reason to change it.

Start a development Quick Tunnel in a second terminal:

cloudflared tunnel --url http://127.0.0.1:3210

Windows, if cloudflared is not on PATH:

& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\cloudflared\cloudflared.exe" tunnel --url http://127.0.0.1:3210

Copy the generated https://...trycloudflare.com address. In Lite, open 6 Settings, press c, and set Public HTTPS URL to that address. Quick Tunnels are intended for development/testing and receive a new random URL after restart; use a named tunnel and stable hostname for long-lived use.

4. Choose one ChatGPT connection

Choose exactly one path:

Connection	Best for	Continue with
ChatGPT Apps/Plugins (MCP)	A ChatGPT plan/workspace that can create a custom MCP app or connector. Apps gets direct tools plus the complete generic extension facade.	Apps/Plugins setup
Custom GPT Actions	A custom GPT configured with LocalTerminal's three-operation OpenAPI Action.	Actions setup

Do not attach both connection types to the same GPT.

What you get

One read/write workspace by default, plus individually configured read-only or read/write additional roots when needed.
Auditable root and child sessions, durable checkpoints, continuation history, events, and messages.
A seven-page TUI for Overview, Sessions, Messages, Diff, Extensions, Settings, and Logs.
Optional enhanced Actions long-task enforcement and optional non-blocking task scheduling; both are independent and off by default.
Apps retains arbitrary commands, overwriting writes, patches, and custom extensions through the generic facade while also exposing smaller direct MCP tools.

Documentation

User guides

Maintainers

Build from source

Requirements: Bun 1.3 or newer.

git clone https://github.com/wyj-IIRtyj/localterminal-lite.git
cd localterminal-lite
bun install --frozen-lockfile
bun run typecheck
bun run test
bun run dev

Headless mode is available after first-run TUI setup:

bun run build
bun run start -- --headless

Security and privacy

The selected workspace is read/write. Additional directories remain unavailable until each is added under Settings → authorized-roots with read or write access. Use a dedicated project, review Diff and Logs, keep credentials masked, and stop public tunnels when they are not needed. Lite has no project telemetry. Read the privacy notice and report vulnerabilities through SECURITY.md.

License

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0. LocalTerminal Lite is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenAI or Cloudflare.