One terminal.
Two worlds.
Hermes Terminal is a native Mac and iOS app that speaks both languages: pixel-perfect classic ANSI and CP437 for authentic BBS experiences, and a full modern SSH client that runs vim, tmux, htop — or Claude Code on your iPad — over any SSH host.
The same app. The same terminal engine. Two profiles — one for the past, one for the present — automatically selected by connection type.
Px437 VGA font · Hermes palette · CP437 block glyphs · byte-identical rendering
Alt-screen buffer · 256/truecolor SGR · bracketed paste · cursor styles · VT220 DA
The most faithful BBS terminal ever built for Apple.
When you connect to a classic BBS over Telnet, Hermes Terminal activates its .bbsClassic profile — a mode purpose-built for CP437 content that has been painstakingly tuned against real BBS art, door games, and menu screens.
Px437 VGA Font
The original IBM PC VGA character bitmap, rendered pixel-exact. Block glyphs, shade characters, and box-drawing render as authored — not as Unicode approximations.
Hermes Palette
The exact 16-color palette Hermes has used since 1988, preserved byte-identical. BBS ANSI art written for Hermes looks exactly as the artist intended.
CP437 Decoding
Every byte from the BBS is decoded as CP437, not UTF-8. Characters 0x00–0xFF map to their original IBM glyph — no mojibake, no substitution boxes, no guesswork.
ANSI & VT100 Support
Full ANSI X3.64 color and attribute codes, cursor movement, erase-in-display, erase-in-line, and the BBS-specific behaviors that classic doors depend on — including the Hermes-native OSC protocol for file transfers and in-band downloads.
Zero Legacy Regressions
The classic and modern rendering paths are structurally separated — not just switches in shared code. Adding full TUI support could not break classic BBS rendering by design, and the original BBS art corpus is part of the engine's regression test suite.
A serious SSH client for Mac and iPad.
When you connect via SSH, Hermes Terminal automatically switches to its .modern profile — a fully capable terminal emulator supporting the complete set of features that modern TUI applications require. The same SwiftNIO SSH stack used by the Hermes server underpins the client.
Alternate Screen Buffer
Full alt-screen support with independent cursor state, scroll region, and saved cursor. TUIs like vim, htop, and Claude Code enter and exit cleanly — history is preserved, the alternate buffer never bleeds into scrollback.
256-Color & Truecolor
Full 256-color palette (xterm standard) and 24-bit truecolor SGR. Syntax-highlighted code, colorized terminal output, and modern TUI color themes all render correctly.
Bracketed Paste
When a program opts into bracketed paste mode, pasted content is wrapped in the standard sentinels. vim, Claude Code, fish, and other modern tools receive clean multi-line pastes without accidental command execution.
Cursor Styles
DECSCUSR cursor style control — block, underline, and bar variants, with optional blink. Claude Code sets a bar cursor on entry; the terminal honors it.
VT220 Device Attributes
The engine responds to primary and secondary DA queries, DSR cursor-position requests, and status reports — the handshake that curses applications use to determine terminal capability before drawing.
App Cursor Keys
Application cursor key mode (DECCKM) and application keypad mode (DECKPAM) are tracked and respected. Arrow navigation in vim, tmux pane-switching, and readline history all work as expected.
Run Claude Code on your iPad over SSH
SSH from your iPad into a Mac or Linux server, launch Claude Code, and use it from the couch. The Hermes Terminal engine handles the full protocol negotiation — alt-screen, truecolor, bracketed paste, cursor styles — so Claude Code's TUI renders correctly. This is a real SSH client built on SwiftNIO, not a web bridge or a remote display. Your terminal session is a first-class native experience on iPad, running on the same engine that powers the classic BBS side of the app.
Note: Hermes 4 is in early beta. Feature availability may vary by build.
Connect to anything.
Hermes Terminal supports three connection protocols, selectable per favorite. Each has sensible defaults and activates the correct terminal profile automatically.
Plain Telnet for classic BBSes. Activates CP437/ANSI classic profile. The protocol that built the BBS era.
Encrypted Telnet for modern Hermes 4 servers. Hermes auto-detection via DO NEW_ENVIRON negotiation. Default for Hermes favorites.
SwiftNIO SSH client. Activates modern terminal profile automatically. Password auth via Keychain. PTY request with window-size tracking.
Favorites & Quick Connect
Save any host as a named favorite with protocol, port, and credentials stored securely in Keychain. One tap to reconnect. The protocol picker in the favorite editor sets the connection type and updates default port automatically.
In-Band File Transfers
Hermes 4's OSC-based download protocol triggers a native transfer progress view directly in the app — no external ZMODEM session needed. Transfer progress, speed, and completion are shown inline while you stay in the terminal.
Native on Mac. Native on iPad and iPhone.
Hermes Terminal is a Mac Catalyst application — one codebase that runs natively on macOS, iPad, and iPhone without compromise. The terminal engine, the SSH stack, the font rendering, and the BBS protocol support are identical across platforms.
Mac Catalyst
Full macOS window management, keyboard shortcuts, and menu bar integration. No iOS-style compromises on the desktop.
iPad & iPhone
Full terminal experience on iOS — hardware keyboard support, the virtual keyboard for touch input, and the same SSH and BBS capabilities as the Mac version.
SwiftNIO SSH
SSH built on the same async SwiftNIO stack used by the Hermes server — not a third-party wrapper. Credentials stored in the system Keychain.
Font Size Controls in development
Pinch-to-zoom gesture for interactive font scaling and a preset size picker are planned for iOS. Not yet in the current beta.
Prevent Sleep in development
Keep-alive to prevent BBS session timeouts, and idle timer suppression to prevent the screen from dimming during an active session — planned for a forthcoming beta.
External Keyboard
Full hardware keyboard mapping on iPad — escape, arrow keys, function keys, and modifier combinations all work. The terminal doesn't lose keys that TUIs rely on.
Try Hermes Terminal in beta.
Available free on TestFlight for macOS, iPad, and iPhone. One app for every terminal experience — from 1988 to today.
Hermes 4 is early software. Expect rough edges. Feedback is what makes it better.
Free forever. No subscription, no fee. A passion project and technical revival. Learn more about Hermes 4 →