Kaku

An AI-friendly Mac terminal with sensible defaults, ready out of the box.

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Why

Kaku (書く, かく) means “to write” in Japanese. It is a macOS terminal based on WezTerm, with fonts, themes, shell integration, and Mac shortcuts already configured. Lua settings remain available when you want to customize it. The product site is kaku.fun.

Part of a trilogy: Kaku (書く) writes code, Waza (技) drills habits, Kami (紙) ships documents. Think of them as a family: Kaku is the dad, Waza the big sister, Kami the little sister.

Quick Start

Download the Kaku DMG, open it, and drag Kaku into Applications. Or install with Homebrew:

brew install --cask kaku

Open Kaku to set up shell integration. Missing optional tools can be installed through kaku init. Check your installed version with kaku --version.

Features

• Ready to use: JetBrains Mono, automatic dark and light themes, copy on select, and familiar Mac shortcuts.
• Tabs and panes: Split your workspace, find a pane with Tab Navigator, and restore windows, panes, and working directories when you reopen Kaku.
• Right-click menu: Paste, search, open AI chat, and split or close the clicked pane without remembering shortcuts.
• Clickable links: Cmd + Click opens URLs and file paths; URLs automatically wrapped by the terminal keep their full address.
• AI-friendly: Use your coding tools alongside an optional assistant for command suggestions and chat. Configure your own AI service with kaku ai.
• Shell tools: Built-in zsh completion, syntax highlighting, and directory jumping, with shortcuts for optional Lazygit and Yazi installations.
• Lua configuration: Customize fonts, themes, shortcuts, and terminal behavior using WezTerm's Lua configuration system.

Usage Guide

Action	Shortcut
New Tab	Cmd + T
New Window	Cmd + N
Close Tab/Pane	Cmd + W
Navigate Tabs	Cmd + Shift + [ / ] or Cmd + 1-9
Navigate Panes	Cmd + Opt + Arrows
Split Pane Vertical	Cmd + D
Split Pane Horizontal	Cmd + Shift + D
Open Settings Panel	Cmd + ,
AI Panel	Cmd + Shift + A
AI Chat	Cmd + L
Apply AI Suggestion	Cmd + Shift + E
Open Lazygit	Cmd + Shift + G
Yazi File Manager	Cmd + Shift + Y or y
Clear Screen	Cmd + K
Open Context Menu	Right-click in a pane
Open URL or File Path	Cmd + Click

Full keybinding reference: docs/keybindings.md

Kaku AI

Configure your own AI service with kaku ai to use the built-in assistant. Kaku does not provide or relay the AI service.

• Command suggestions: When a command fails, the configured assistant can suggest a fix. Press Cmd + Shift + E to paste it at the prompt for review.
• Natural language to command: Type # <description> at the prompt and press Enter. The assistant places the generated command at the prompt for you to review and run.
• Chat: Press Cmd + L to discuss terminal output or work with project files and tools. Use kaku chat from another shell to access the same conversation store.
• AI Tools Config: Manage settings for Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot CLI, Kimi Code, and more.

For authentication, models, API Mode, and tool settings, see the AI assistant docs.

FAQ

Is there a Windows or Linux version? Not currently. Kaku is macOS-only for now.

How is Kaku different from iTerm2, Warp, Ghostty, or WezTerm? See kaku.fun/compare.

Can I use transparent windows? Yes, set config.window_background_opacity in ~/.config/kaku/kaku.lua.

The kaku command is missing. Run /Applications/Kaku.app/Contents/MacOS/kaku init --update-only && exec zsh -l, then kaku doctor.

Full FAQ: docs/faq.md

Docs

• Website - product site, install, and English / Chinese docs
• Compare - Kaku vs iTerm2, Warp, Ghostty, WezTerm, and Terminal.app
• Keybindings - full shortcut reference
• Features - AI assistant, lazygit, yazi, remote files, shell suite
• Configuration - themes, fonts, custom keybindings, Lua API
• CLI Reference - kaku ai, kaku config, kaku doctor, and more
• FAQ - common questions and troubleshooting

Background

I heavily rely on the CLI for both work and personal projects. Tools I've built, like Mole and Pake, reflect this.

I used Alacritty for years and learned to value speed and simplicity. As my workflow shifted toward AI-assisted coding, I wanted stronger tab and pane ergonomics. I also explored Kitty, Ghostty, Warp, and iTerm2. Each is strong in different areas, but I still wanted a setup that matched my own balance of performance, defaults, and control.

WezTerm is robust and highly hackable, and I am grateful for its engine and ecosystem. So I built Kaku to be that environment: fast, polished, and ready to work.

Contributors

Big thanks to all contributors who helped build Kaku. Go follow them! ❤️

Support

• The most direct way to support me is getting Mole for Mac, my paid Mac cleanup app.
• If Kaku helped you, give it a star, share it, or open an issue or PR.
• I have two cats, TangYuan and Coke. If you think Kaku delights your life, you can feed them canned food 🥩.

These lovely people already did 🐱

License

MIT License, feel free to enjoy and participate in open source. Attribution for WezTerm and the bundled fonts is in NOTICE.md.