A precise, native terminal for Windows

Every cell, exactly right.

Box lines, blocks and Powerline shapes meet without seams in any font. Every setting says what it does and applies the moment you change it.

Request accessPrivate alpha · 0.1.0-dev · free
Access is through Zinc's Discord server

>winget # coming soon

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zinc

api

docs

pwsh~\src\zincnotes

~\src\zincmain eza --tree -L 2 rendererrenderer atlas glyph_cache.cpp glyph_cache.h box_drawing.cpp legacy_blocks.cpp powerline.cpp ~\src\zincmain ctest -R glyphs glyphs/box_drawing 128 passed glyphs/powerline 24 passed glyphs/legacy_blocks 64 passed 216 tests 1.24 s ~\src\zincmain

git~\src\zinc

❯ git log --oneline -44e1c9a2 Draw ▚ cellsb07d311 Heavy arms9a2f5c8 Odd widths71e04bd Reset arrows❯

npm run dev~\src\zinc-site

VITE v6.2.0 ready ➜ Local: localhost:5173 ➜ press h for help

Precision, in what it draws

Box drawing meets without seams in any font

Zinc draws box lines, blocks and Powerline shapes itself, cell by cell, instead of trusting the font to line up. Raise the line height and they still join.

Drawn from the font. With 20% more line height, each glyph stops short of its cell and the rows come apart.

Drawn by Zinc. Every line reaches the edge of its cell, so it meets its neighbour exactly, and quadrants like ▚ share exactly one corner. font.builtin-glyphs

~\src\zincmain+2

Powerline, no patched font needed. Separators are drawn as cell geometry, so segments sit flush at any size.

Precision, in how you tune it

Every setting says what it does

Plain words for each one, a live preview as you go, applied the moment you change it, one click from undo.

Explained in plain wordsThe config key sits underneath, for when you'd rather edit the file.
Saved to config.toml and appliedNo Save button. Undo puts the file back as it was when Settings opened.
Inheritance you can seeA profile shows where a value comes from until it has its own.
A way back on every changeThe reset arrow appears only when a setting differs, and says where it goes back to.

Hundreds of settings, each one explained like these.

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Zinc Settings

Find a setting

Hide preview

~/src/zinc git diff --stat app.cs | 4 ++--diff --git a/app.cs b/app.cs@@ -1 +1 @@- Console.WriteLine("hello");+ Console.WriteLine("hello, Zinc"); build ~/src/zinc

The settings below come from the defaults until you change them here; the reset arrow gives one back.

Font

Changed here: Size, Weight

Font

Inherited from Appearance: JetBrainsMono Nerd Font.

profile.git-bash.font.family

JetBrainsMono Nerd Font

Size

Its own. Everywhere else: 11 pt, set in Appearance.

profile.git-bash.font.size

11.5

Weight

Its own. Everywhere else: Normal, set in Appearance.

profile.git-bash.font.weight

Medium

Saved to config.toml and applied

Workflow

A terminal that knows what your commands are doing

Workspaces reopen where you left them. Shell integration sets itself up. When a command finishes, fails or needs you out of view, Zinc says which, and where.

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Zinc

build · ~\src\zincCtrl+Shift+P

buildservernotes

zincmain cmake --build build[212/212] Linking zinc.exezincmain ctest -j 8glyphs/powerline_joins ... Failed1 tests failed out of 216zincexit 8

pwsh~\src\zinc

$ git log --oneline4e1c9a2 Draw ▚ cellsb07d311 Heavy arms9a2f5c8 Odd widths71e04bd Reset arrows2c88e17 Reopen tabs$

Workspaces, tabs and splitsGroup a project's tabs into a workspace, split them as you like, and find them where you left them next time.
Shell integration, set up for youZinc marks each command in the gutter, so a failure stands out before you read a line. Works with PowerShell, bash, zsh, fish, nushell, elvish and osh, and with cmd (fullest through Clink).
Attention, in wordsA dot on the tab or workspace, and a notification that says what happened.

Build finished in workspace 3
ssh needs you in "prod"
Tests failed (exit 8) in workspace 2

The same words appear in Windows notifications.

Native Windows

Made for Windows, not ported to it

A WinUI 3 app that looks and behaves like the rest of your desktop.

Mica

On Windows 11, the window takes on your wallpaper's tint, as Windows' own apps do.

Tray

Zinc keeps running in the notification area, so the quick terminal is always ready. Click to bring your windows back; right-click for settings, a new window or quit.

Quick terminal

A terminal on a global hotkey. It scales and fades in at the middle of the screen, or comes in from any edge you choose.

Shell discovery

PowerShell, Command Prompt, WSL, Git Bash, MSYS2, Visual Studio developer shells and SSH show up as profiles on their own.

Make it yours

Tuned setups

Zinc ships with two schemes of its own, Lit Cell and Lit Cell Light, and reads the rest from Ghostty's theme format.

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pwsh

~\src\zincmain git diff --stat renderer/box_drawing.cpp | 14 ++++++++---- renderer/powerline.cpp | 6 +++++- 2 files changed, 13 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)# the selected word: glyph_cache~\src\zincmain

Lit Cell · Cascadia Mono NF 11 pt · the default dark scheme

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pwsh

Lit Cell Light · Cascadia Mono NF 11 pt · the default light scheme

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Zinc

PS C:\src\api> git log --oneline -3a41c0de Retry on 5037be92f1 Add a health check03d5e8a Move to .NET 9PS C:\src\api>

Nightfall · Consolas 12 pt · workspaces in the sidebar, extra padding, block cursor

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pwsh

nvim

~\dotfilesmain lsghostty nvim zinc.toml~\dotfilesmain git diff --stat zinc.toml | 4 ++--~\dotfilesmain

Overnight Slumber · JetBrains Mono NF 11 pt · tabs, bar cursor

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Zinc

cmd

build

C:\work>dir /bbuildsrcREADME.mdC:\work>

Peppermint · Lucida Console 13 pt · workspaces in the sidebar with tabs inside, outlined block cursor

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ubuntu ~/notes $ wc -l *.md 48 todo.md 112 zinc.md 160 totalubuntu ~/notes $ head -2 zinc.md# ZincNotes for the landing page.ubuntu ~/notes $

Pyrokai Light · Departure Mono 12 pt · no tabs, underline cursor

Built on libghostty

Zinc: what makes ghosts glow in the dark. Its terminal core is libghostty, the same core that powers Ghostty. The window around it, and everything you click, is Zinc's own, written for Windows. Thanks to the Ghostty project and its contributors.

About libghostty

Private alpha

Try the alpha

Request access View source on GitHub

Zinc is in private alpha and free. Request access through Zinc's Discord server; once you have it, the installer sets Zinc up for your account only and keeps it up to date. Current build: 0.1.0-dev · Windows 10 version 2004 or later, or Windows 11

>winget # coming soon

zn --help

# zn controls the running Zinc from a script or a shellzn <thing> <verb> [options] [-- command] zn window      list | new | focus | closezn workspace   list | new | focus | close | rename | color | icon | movezn pane        list | split | focus | closezn terminal    list | new | send | read | title | focus | move | close zn list         # everything openzn action       # runs any action by its name, as a key wouldzn version      # zn's version and the running Zinc's

Inside a Zinc terminal, zn acts on that terminal and its pane, workspace and window. Outside, it acts on the window you used last.

Not there yet

What Zinc doesn't do today, so you know before you install.

Sixel imagesNot supported; kitty graphics show their current frame
Importing settings from other terminalsNo migration yet
Very large colorful output from Git Bash and MSYS2Slow in any Windows terminal; native programs and WSL are fine

See the roadmap on GitHub