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Repeated production builds recompiled build-info, GTK and their dependents because build scripts watched missing optional files and generated outputs. Watch packed-refs only when present and the prebuilt GTK bundle only when consumed. Loose refs remain watched so packing them refreshes Git inputs. Invoke glib-compile-resources directly instead of using a helper that also watches generated XML and UI files. The existing resources directory watch covers their source inputs. Remove the unused helper dependency and document the build input rules. Test Plan: - Run cargo build --profile production three times; repeats compile nothing. - Run cargo clippy, cargo clippy --benches and cargo clippy --tests. - Run cargo +nightly fmt and repeat all three Clippy checks. Documentation: docs/rewrite/ARCHITECTURE.md
ghostty-rs
A Rust rewrite of the Ghostty 1.3.1 terminal emulator for Linux (GTK4 + libadwaita, OpenGL).
It aims for behavioural parity with Ghostty: the same configuration file
format, options, defaults and documentation; the same keybindings and
actions; the same ghostty +action CLI; the same terminal emulation
(including kitty keyboard/graphics protocols, OSC 8 hyperlinks, semantic
prompts, synchronized output, tmux control mode); the same shell
integration, themes and terminfo.
All of Ghostty's Zig code is ported: the Linux GTK app (verified at runtime
and pixel-identical to Ghostty 1.3.1), the libghostty and libghostty-vt
C APIs (same headers/ABI), WASM, crash reporting, and the macOS
(Metal/CoreText) and Windows (ConPTY) code paths. macOS and Windows are
compile-checked on Linux (just check-macos, just check-windows); the
Windows test suites also run under Wine (just test-windows-wine), macOS has
not been run natively. The Swift macOS app is not part of the port; it is a
client of the libghostty C API.
The macOS app (original Swift app on the Rust core)
Ghostty's macOS app stays the original Swift app, unchanged. It is wired to
the Rust core instead of the Zig core: the Rust libghostty exports the
identical include/ghostty.h ABI. On a Mac with Xcode:
just macos-swift-app ../ghostty # Release; or: just macos-swift-app ../ghostty Debug
This builds the Rust core as GhosttyKit.xcframework into
<ghostty>/macos/, installs the resources into <ghostty>/zig-out/share
(what the Xcode project bundles) and runs xcodebuild, mirroring
zig build -Demit-macos-app. Not runnable on this Linux machine
(DRY_RUN=1 previews the steps).
Building and running
Requirements: Rust (edition 2024), GTK ≥ 4.14, libadwaita ≥ 1.5,
fontconfig, freetype, harfbuzz, Oniguruma, libepoxy, blueprint-compiler
and glib-compile-resources at build time.
cargo run # open a terminal window running your shell
cargo run -- -e htop # run a command
cargo run -- +list-themes # CLI actions work like Ghostty's
cargo run --profile production # optimized build (LTO, no debug assertions)
Binaries run from this checkout's target/ (any profile) find resources/
(shell integration, themes, terminfo) automatically; installed binaries use
the installed resources or GHOSTTY_RESOURCES_DIR. Your existing Ghostty config
(~/.config/ghostty/config[.ghostty]) is used as-is.
Installing
just install /usr/local # binary, share/ghostty, terminfo, desktop files,
# completions, man pages, translations, icons
just install /usr false true # system-package layout (lib/systemd/user)
Testing
just test # cargo test --workspace (~3000 tests)
just clippy # clippy with -D warnings
Every Zig test block of the ported files was ported to a Rust test.
crates/ghostty-core/tests holds end-to-end tests that drive the real core,
terminal and a real pty through a fake app runtime. ghostty-bench mirrors
Ghostty's benchmark tool; terminal stream throughput is on par with the Zig
build (see docs/rewrite/notes/perf-P1.md).
Verification
just difftest— differential fuzzing of the terminal core against Ghostty's own Zig code (sets up Zig 0.15.2 undertarget/).just visual-parity— pixel comparison against the installed Ghostty in a headless nested weston.just test-windows-wine— runs the Windows test suites (incl. ConPTY /cmd.exeend-to-end tests) under Wine with mingw-w64.just check-all— native gate plus macOS/Windows/WASM checks.
Documentation
docs/rewrite/ARCHITECTURE.md– top-down decomposition, crate map, key design decisions, intentional omissionsdocs/rewrite/STATUS.md– work package historydocs/rewrite/DEVIANT_FIXES.md– every intentional deviation from Ghostty (upstream bugs fixed instead of replicated; commits titledfix-deviant(...))docs/rewrite/KNOWN_DIFFERENCES.md– remaining minor differencesdocs/rewrite/notes/– per-crate porting notes, deviations from Zig, audits and verification reports
License
MIT, like Ghostty. Bundled fonts and themes carry their own licenses (see
crates/ghostty-font/res/ and resources/LICENSE-iTerm2-Color-Schemes).