cxshell

A complete desktop, right in your terminal. Built on SharpConsoleUI.

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cxshell turns any terminal into a full windowed desktop — a Start menu, taskbar, system tray, movable windows, mouse support and rich color — with built-in apps for files, settings, a terminal, and an app store. It's perfect over SSH: log into a remote machine and get a real desktop experience without a single pixel of X11 or a web browser.

Log in. Launch. Get things done.

Install

Linux / macOS — one line, no .NET needed:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nickprotop/cxshell/main/install.sh | bash

Then just run:

cxshell

To remove it later: cxshell-uninstall.sh

What's inside

• Files — browse, copy and manage your files in a windowed file manager.
• Terminal — a real shell in a window, inside the desktop.
• Settings — colors, desktop background, tray, keyboard and mouse options.
• App Manager — discover and install more apps with a click.

Open the Start menu to launch any of them, switch between windows from the taskbar, and keep an eye on the clock, network and battery in the system tray.

Great over SSH

Because cxshell lives entirely in the terminal, it works anywhere a terminal does. SSH into a server and run cxshell for a full desktop session — windows, menus, mouse and all.

Build from source

Requires .NET 10:

git clone https://github.com/nickprotop/cxshell.git
cd cxshell
dotnet run --project src/cxshell

License

MIT © Nikolaos Protopapas