SKEYES Terminal

SKEYES Terminal is a standalone Windows application (.exe) that is itself a command terminal: a black, neon-green themed window (matching the SKEYES logo) where you type system commands just like in cmd.exe or Git Bash — with the addition of multiple tabs, autocompletion, session saving, and a fully customizable configuration.

No installation needed on the target machine: once built, SKEYES_Terminal.exe runs entirely on its own.

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Table of contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Commands and shortcuts
• Customization (config.json)
• Project structure
• Troubleshooting

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Features

Full terminal

• Runs any system command, just like a real terminal.
• Two shells to choose from, switchable on the fly: cmd.exe (Windows) or Git Bash.
• The working directory is preserved between commands (cd behaves as expected).

Multiple tabs

• Open several independent terminal sessions in the same window (+ Tab button), each with its own directory, shell, and history.
• Close a tab with the ✕ button or Ctrl+W.

Real-time output

• Command output is displayed as it's produced (streaming), not only once the command finishes — useful for long-running commands.
• stdout (normal output) and stderr (errors) are shown in different colors.
• ■ Stop button to interrupt a running command.

Proper handling of interactive commands

• Full-screen programs like nano, vim, less, top, ssh, git log, python, etc. need a real terminal (TTY) to work. SKEYES Terminal automatically detects them and opens them in a real, separate console window, where they run normally.
• If a regular command stays silent for more than a few seconds, an info message warns you it might be waiting for input.

Quality of life

• Tab-completion for known commands and file paths.
• Command history navigable with the Up/Down arrow keys.
• Ctrl+L clears the screen (like clear), while keeping the banner and info messages visible.
• 💾 Save button: exports the active tab's content to a timestamped .txt file (logs/ folder).

Customizable without recompiling

• Colors, font, ASCII banner, environment variables, and command lists are all driven by an external config.json file, freely editable.

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Installation

Requirements (on the machine you build from)

• Windows
• Python 3.9 or later, with pip available in PATH
• (Recommended) Git Bash installed, to use the built-in bash shell: https://git-scm.com/downloads

Steps

1. Copy the whole project folder onto your Windows machine.

2. Run the automatic build: double-click build\build.bat. This script will:

   • install PyInstaller if needed,
   • compile the app into a single .exe file,
   • apply the SKEYES icon,
   • copy config.json and icon.ico next to the exe,
   • create the logs/ folder.

   Result: dist\SKEYES_Terminal.exe (+ config.json, icon.ico, logs\).

3. (Optional) Create a desktop shortcut: double-click build\create_shortcut.bat. It adds a shortcut with the SKEYES icon to your desktop.

4. (Optional) Sign the executable if you own a code-signing certificate: build\sign.bat "certificate.pfx" "password". This avoids the Windows SmartScreen warning on first launch. Without a certificate, you can skip this — just click "More info" → "Run anyway" the first time.

Once these steps are done, you can copy the dist\ folder (exe + config.json + icon.ico + logs) to any other Windows machine: no Python or recompiling needed.

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Usage

Double-click SKEYES_Terminal.exe (or your desktop shortcut).

The window opens with the SKEYES banner and a first tab "Terminal 1". Type a command in the field at the bottom and press Enter:

[cmd] C:\Users\you> dir
[cmd] C:\Users\you> cd Documents
[cmd] C:\Users\you\Documents> git status

• Use the CMD / Git Bash buttons at the top to choose which shell runs your commands (or type !cmd / !bash).
• Open a new tab with + Tab for a parallel session.
• Close a tab with ✕ or Ctrl+W.
• A command like nano file.txt will automatically open a dedicated console window, since nano needs a real terminal.

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Commands and shortcuts

Command / Shortcut	Effect
help	Shows help inside the terminal
clear / cls	Clears the screen (banner reappears)
cd <path>	Changes the current directory
!cmd	Switches execution to cmd.exe
!bash	Switches execution to Git Bash
exit / quit	Closes the active tab (or the app if last)
Tab	Command / path autocompletion
Ctrl+L	Clears the screen
Ctrl+W	Closes the active tab
Up / Down arrows	Navigates command history
+ Tab button	Opens a new terminal session
■ Stop button	Interrupts the running command
💾 Save button	Exports the session to logs/

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Customization (config.json)

The config.json file (next to the exe) controls the app's appearance and behavior, without recompiling:

{
  "colors": {
    "bg": "#000000",
    "fg": "#39FF88",
    "error": "#ff5555",
    "stdout": "#39FF88",
    "stderr": "#ffb347"
  },
  "font_family": ["Cascadia Mono", "Consolas", "Courier New"],
  "font_size": 11,
  "banner": "Your own ASCII text/logo here",
  "env": {
    "MY_VARIABLE": "value"
  },
  "interactive_commands": ["nano", "vim", "ssh", "..."],
  "known_commands": ["dir", "cd", "git", "..."],
  "stuck_warning_seconds": 4
}

• colors: every color used in the interface.
• font_family / font_size: the font used (first one found on the system from the list).
• banner: the text shown on startup and after clear.
• env: environment variables injected into every command that runs.
• interactive_commands: commands opened in a separate console window.
• known_commands: commands suggested by Tab autocompletion.
• stuck_warning_seconds: delay before the "stuck command" warning.

Only the keys you want to change need to be present in the file; defaults cover the rest.

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Project structure

SKEYES_Terminal/
├── app/
│   ├── terminal_app.py      <- Application source code
│   ├── config.json           <- Configuration (colors, env, ...)
│   ├── icon.ico               <- SKEYES icon
│   └── logo_source.png        <- Original logo
├── build/
│   ├── build.bat              <- Automatically builds the exe
│   ├── create_shortcut.bat    <- Creates a desktop shortcut
│   └── sign.bat                <- Optional exe signing
├── logs/                       <- Saved sessions (Save button)
├── .gitignore
├── requirements.txt
└── README.md

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Troubleshooting

"Standard input is not a terminal" or garbled output → You ran an interactive command that wasn't recognized as such. Add it to interactive_commands in config.json.

Windows SmartScreen blocks the exe → Normal for an unsigned executable. Click "More info" → "Run anyway", or sign the exe with build\sign.bat if you have a certificate.

Git Bash not detected → Install Git for Windows (https://git-scm.com/downloads), make sure bash.exe is in PATH, or add its exact path to GIT_BASH_CANDIDATES (app/terminal_app.py).

Can't type in the terminal → Click once inside the input field at the bottom of the window to give it focus.

A command seems stuck → Check for a "command isn't responding" message; click ■ Stop then relaunch it (known interactive commands automatically open in a dedicated window).