Tabby
About Tabby
Tabby, formerly known as Terminus, is an open-source terminal emulator that also works as an SSH, Telnet and serial client. On macOS it is positioned as an alternative to Terminal.app and iTerm, letting you keep local shells, remote servers and serial devices in one tabbed window.
Its strength is configurability: themes, font ligatures, multi-chord shortcuts, nested split panes and a global hotkey drop-down window can all be tuned. The SSH client handles port and X11 forwarding, jump hosts and agent forwarding, stores secrets in an encrypted vault and supports Zmodem file transfer. Tabby is not lightweight, but it is free under the MIT license and ships separate builds for Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Key features
- Local shells, SSH, Telnet and serial sessions in one tabbed window
- Nested split panes and tabs on any side of the window
- SSH connection manager with port/X11 forwarding and jump hosts
- Encrypted vault for SSH secrets and configuration
- Zmodem file transfer inside SSH sessions
- Global hotkey drop-down terminal
- Themes, ligatures, custom shortcuts and in-app plugin installation
Download via Quark Drive
We’re still preparing the Quark Drive share for this app. It will appear here once it’s ready. Tap “Request” to bump it up.
How to install
“App is damaged and can’t be opened”
Move the app into Applications, open Terminal, run this line, then open the app again:
xattr -cr "/Applications/Tabby.app"“Developer cannot be verified”
In Finder → Applications, Control-click the app, choose Open, then Open again. On macOS 15 or later: System Settings → Privacy & Security, then “Open Anyway” at the bottom.
Apple silicon or Intel?
Apple menu → About This Mac. If the chip says Apple M, pick the Apple silicon build; Universal works on both.
Check the file
Run this in Terminal and compare the result with the SHA256 listed for the cloud file:
shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/file-nameAlternatives
Visual Studio Code
VSCodium
RustDesk
Changelog
FAQ
How do I download Tabby?
The Quark Drive share for Tabby is being prepared and will appear in the download section of this page.
Is Tabby free?
Tabby license: MIT. appwl only lists official builds and charges nothing for downloads.
Which systems does Tabby support?
This page offers Tabby for macOS, version 1.0.238.
Is Tabby from appwl safe?
appwl only lists official releases with their version and date. You can verify the SHA256 using the install tips on this page.