Unterm — Claude Code MCP server: what it does, how to install
A terminal that exposes a local MCP server, so an agent can open panes, run commands and screenshot the screen. Useful when several agents share one window.
Open on GitHubWhat Unterm does
Unterm is a terminal for macOS, Linux and Windows, and every window it opens carries a local MCP server. An agent connects over TCP and works the panes from the outside: starts a shell, sends a command, checks what the pane shows, grabs a screenshot, records the session. The callable surface runs to 152 calls plus auth.login.
Ports are allocated automatically. Both the JSON-RPC endpoint and the HTTP settings page bind to 127.0.0.1 and check an auth token. A running window writes its port and token into ~/.unterm/instances/<name>.json, so an agent without that file has nothing to dial. Theme, language and unterm.conf sit outside MCP and are changed in the browser settings or by unterm-cli.
Since v0.55 the app also acts as a cockpit for the agents inside it. Each pane reports whether its agent is working, waiting, idle or done, Ctrl+Shift+A queues the ones that need you, and one task can go to several agents in separate git worktrees. A Review page diffs what came back, verifies it, then merges, discards or rolls back. The cockpit itself answers to MCP, which means an orchestrator can launch fleets and settle diffs with nobody at the keyboard.
What it helps with
- Open a pane from the agent and run a command inside it
- Read a live session's screen without switching windows
- Capture a screenshot or record a session for a report
- Run one task in several isolated worktrees and compare the diffs
- Find the agent waiting on an answer and jump to its pane
Example prompts for the agent
- Attach to the bravo window using the files in
~/.unterm/instancesand show me what each pane holds - Run
pytestin a fresh pane and screenshot the screen when it fails - Start a fleet on the flaky auth test with
unterm-cli fleet launchand open the diffs for review
How to install Unterm
Install
The MCP registry has no launch command for it: see the repository README
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about Unterm
How do I install Unterm for Claude Code?
Grab the build for your system from GitHub Releases: Unterm-macos-<version>.dmg on macOS, unterm-<version>.deb or the AppImage on Linux, MSI or zip on Windows. Once it runs, each window starts its own MCP server and an agent connects using the token in ~/.unterm/instances/<name>.json.
What does Unterm do?
It lets an AI agent drive a terminal from outside: opening panes, running commands, reading screen state, taking screenshots and recording sessions. Agent Cockpit adds per-pane agent status, a waiting queue and review of diffs from isolated worktrees.
Does it need a cloud account or an API key?
No. The MCP server and the settings server stay on 127.0.0.1 over auto-assigned ports and check an auth token; requests do not leave the machine.
