SKEYES-Terminal

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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.

Table of contents

Features

Full terminal

Multiple tabs

Real-time output

Proper handling of interactive commands

Quality of life

Customizable without recompiling

Installation

Requirements (on the machine you build from)

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.

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

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/

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
}

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

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

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).