Basics

Getting Started

In this handbookContents

AITerm is a native macOS terminal app. It opens a real shell first, then adds an AI command loop when you want help writing, fixing, or explaining commands.

Install AITerm

Option A — direct download (recommended):

Download the current DMG from ai-term.com.
Open the DMG.
Drag AITerm into Applications.
Launch AITerm from Applications.

Option B — Homebrew: if you use Homebrew, run:

brew trust vega-llc/aiterm && brew install --cask vega-llc/aiterm/ai-term

Homebrew 6 asks you to trust any tap outside its own core before it will install from one, which is why the first half of that line is there. If you skip it, Homebrew stops with "Refusing to load cask ai-term from untrusted tap" and tells you the same thing.

The build is Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple, so it launches normally — you should not need any right-click or "Open Anyway" workaround. If macOS shows a first-launch confirmation, use the standard Open button. AITerm is intentionally a terminal app, so it is not sandboxed like a document editor; that is by design and is what lets it act as a real shell.

To update later, use AITerm's built-in updater (it checks automatically), or run brew upgrade --cask ai-term if you installed via Homebrew. See Updating and Uninstalling.

First launch

On first launch AITerm looks at what is already on your Mac and shows at most three ways to run AI. Pick one; the line at the bottom of the sheet says when the connection has answered.

Use my subscription — shown only when AITerm finds the official Claude Code or Codex CLI on your Mac; with just one installed, the door is Use my Claude Code subscription or Use my Codex subscription. Click Use Claude Code or Use Codex: AITerm switches to it and checks that it is signed in (the first time, it asks once whether it may use a cloud model). If it isn’t signed in, a Sign in… button closes setup, opens a tab and runs the CLI’s own login; when it finishes, click Check connection on the status bar’s chip. Claude Code and Codex are AITerm Pro connections, so this door needs AITerm Pro. The first-launch Pro trial includes it, and the door says how many days the trial has left.
Paste an OpenAI or Claude key — choose the provider, paste the key, click Save key & check. The first time, AITerm asks once whether it may use a cloud model. The key is saved in the macOS Keychain, sent only to that provider, used to pick a model, and checked. A wrong key says so right there.
Run AI on this Mac — if Ollama is already running, Use Ollama reuses it with the models you have; if it has no chat model yet, Pick a model opens the Model Manager. If AITerm’s own engine is installed but stopped, Start local AI starts it. Otherwise Download & set up offers to download Ollama and a model sized for your Mac, after you confirm the size. Nothing is downloaded at launch.

With AITerm Free there is no subscription door: the sheet shows the key and local doors, and if it finds Claude Code or Codex, one line under them says that using it in AITerm needs AITerm Pro. An Upgrade… link beside it opens the pricing page.

More… opens Settings ▸ AI, where every other connection lives: your own server, Groq, OpenRouter and the other OpenAI-compatible services, and — with AITerm Pro — Azure OpenAI and Amazon Bedrock. Managed MLX (AITerm Pro) is set up there too.

Skip for now keeps the terminal as a normal shell. AI actions show an unavailable-provider message until a connection is set up, and a Check AI setup reminder stays in the status bar, even across relaunches, until an AI request gets a real answer or a connection check works (Check in Settings ▸ AI, or Check again in the setup sheet). Click the reminder to reopen setup. The status bar names your connection and shows the check’s mark beside it: a green check when it has answered, an orange mark when something needs you.

If local setup fails — offline, out of disk, a download that fails its integrity check — the sheet names the cause and offers Retry or Use a key instead.

Pick your first provider

Not sure which door?

Already pay for Claude Code or Codex? Its door appears when the CLI is installed and you have AITerm Pro (the first-launch trial includes it); it uses your existing subscription, with the CLI’s own tools switched off.
Have an OpenAI or Anthropic key? The key door saves it to the Keychain and checks it. It’s Free: you use your own account.
Want maximum privacy, or work offline? Run AI on this Mac with Ollama. It’s Free, and nothing leaves the machine.

Cloud requests go directly from your Mac to the provider you selected; AITerm does not proxy them through an AITerm server, and secrets are redacted before anything is sent. For every other provider, see AI Providers and Models.

Your first AI command

Type a plain-English request in the input bar, such as:

show the largest files in this folder

AITerm proposes an editable shell command with a risk badge. Review it, edit it if needed, then press Return to approve and run it. Press Escape to discard it — or click Run, Edit or Discard beside the field.