Configuration Management

Termy provides CLI commands to manage your configuration file efficiently.

Show Config

Display your current configuration settings.

Usage

termy-cli -show-config

What It Does

This command:

Locates your configuration file
Reads its contents (or shows defaults if it doesn’t exist)
Displays the configuration

Example Output

Config file: /Users/username/.config/termy/config

theme = "nord"
font = "JetBrains Mono"
font_size = 14
cursor_blink = true
background_blur = 10
tmux_enabled = false

keybind = secondary-t=new_tab
keybind = secondary-w=close_tab
keybind = control-shift-c=copy
keybind = control-shift-v=paste

Use Cases

Quick Reference

Check your current settings without opening an editor:

termy-cli -show-config

Find Specific Setting

termy-cli -show-config | grep "theme"

Export Configuration

Save your config for backup or sharing:

termy-cli -show-config > my-termy-config.txt

Edit Config

Open your configuration file in your preferred editor.

Usage

termy-cli -edit-config

What It Does

This command:

Locates (or creates) your configuration file
Opens it in your editor
Creates the config directory if needed

Editor Selection

The command uses the following priority:

$EDITOR environment variable

If set, uses your preferred editor:

export EDITOR=vim
termy-cli -edit-config

Platform-specific fallback

If $EDITOR is not set or fails:

macOS: open -t (TextEdit)
Linux: xdg-open, then tries nano, vim, vi
Windows: notepad

Example Session

termy-cli -edit-config

Your editor opens with the configuration file:

# Termy Configuration

theme = "nord"
font = "JetBrains Mono"
font_size = 14
cursor_blink = true
background_blur = 10
tmux_enabled = false

keybind = secondary-t=new_tab
keybind = secondary-w=close_tab

Use Cases

Quick Edit

termy-cli -edit-config

Set Preferred Editor

export EDITOR="code --wait"
termy-cli -edit-config

Add export EDITOR=your-editor to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc) to make it permanent.

Edit-Validate Workflow

# Edit configuration
termy-cli -edit-config

# Validate changes
termy-cli -validate-config

# If valid, restart Termy to apply

Validate Config

Check your configuration file for errors and warnings.

Usage

termy-cli -validate-config

What It Does

This command:

Reads your configuration file
Parses and validates syntax
Checks for invalid values
Detects tmux-related issues
Reports errors and warnings

Exit Codes

0: Configuration is valid
1: Configuration has errors

Example Output

Valid Config
Config with Warnings
Invalid Config
No Config File

Config file: /Users/username/.config/termy/config
Status: Valid

Config file: /Users/username/.config/termy/config

Warnings:
  Line 12: keybind action 'resize_pane_left' requires tmux_enabled=true (restart required)
  Line 13: keybind action 'resize_pane_right' requires tmux_enabled=true (restart required)

Result: Valid (with warnings)

Config file: /Users/username/.config/termy/config

Errors:
  Line 3: font_size must be a positive number
  Line 7: Invalid boolean value for cursor_blink

Warnings:
  Line 2: Unknown root key: font_famly (typo?)

Result: Invalid

Config file: /Users/username/.config/termy/config
Status: File does not exist (using defaults)
Result: Valid

Validation Checks

Errors (Must Fix)

Invalid Syntax

Malformed TOML syntax
Missing equals signs
Unclosed quotes

# ❌ Error
font = JetBrains Mono  # Missing quotes

# ✅ Correct
font = "JetBrains Mono"

Invalid Values

Font size not a positive number
Invalid color hex codes
Unrecognized boolean values

# ❌ Error
font_size = 0
font_size = -5
cursor_blink = maybe

# ✅ Correct
font_size = 14
cursor_blink = true

Warnings (Should Review)

Unknown Keys

Typos in configuration keys
Deprecated options

# ⚠️ Warning
font_famly = "Monaco"  # Typo: should be font_family

# ✅ Correct
font = "Monaco"

Tmux Keybind Issues

Tmux-only actions when tmux_enabled = false

# ⚠️ Warning when tmux_enabled = false
keybind = secondary-alt-left=resize_pane_left

# ✅ Enable tmux to use pane commands
tmux_enabled = true
keybind = secondary-alt-left=resize_pane_left

Unknown Sections

Unrecognized [section] headers

# ⚠️ Warning
[unknown_section]
key = value

# ✅ Use recognized sections
[colors]
foreground = "#ffffff"

Use Cases

Pre-Restart Validation

Always validate before restarting Termy:

termy-cli -edit-config
# ... make changes ...
termy-cli -validate-config

CI/CD Integration

Use in scripts with exit code checking:

#!/bin/bash
termy-cli -validate-config
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
  echo "✅ Configuration is valid"
  # Deploy or apply config
else
  echo "❌ Configuration has errors"
  exit 1
fi

Continuous Validation

Watch for changes and auto-validate:

#!/bin/bash
while true; do
  inotifywait -e modify ~/.config/termy/config
  termy-cli -validate-config
done

Prettify Config

Reformat and clean up your configuration file.

Usage

termy-cli -prettify-config

What It Does

This command:

Reads your configuration file
Removes comments
Normalizes formatting
Writes the cleaned version back
Displays the result

Destructive Operation: This command removes all comments from your config file. Make a backup if you want to preserve comments.

Example

Before
After

# My custom theme
theme = "nord"  # I love this theme

# Font settings
font = "JetBrains Mono"
font_size = 14  # Perfect size for my screen

cursor_blink = true

# Keybindings
keybind = secondary-t=new_tab  # Open new tab

theme = "nord"
font = "JetBrains Mono"
font_size = 14
cursor_blink = true
keybind = secondary-t=new_tab

When to Use

Cleaning up messy configs

After extensive editing, prettify for consistency:

termy-cli -prettify-config

Preparing for version control

Normalize formatting before committing:

termy-cli -prettify-config
git add ~/.config/termy/config
git commit -m "Update Termy config"

Removing old comments

Clean up after experimentation:

# Backup first!
cp ~/.config/termy/config ~/.config/termy/config.backup
termy-cli -prettify-config

Backup Before Prettify

# Create backup
cp ~/.config/termy/config ~/.config/termy/config.backup

# Prettify
termy-cli -prettify-config

# If you need to restore
# cp ~/.config/termy/config.backup ~/.config/termy/config

Configuration File Location

All commands operate on your Termy configuration file:

macOS
Linux
Windows

~/.config/termy/config

~/.config/termy/config

%APPDATA%\termy\config

Complete Workflow Example

View current configuration

termy-cli -show-config

Edit configuration

termy-cli -edit-config

Make your changes…

Validate changes

termy-cli -validate-config

(Optional) Prettify

# Backup first!
cp ~/.config/termy/config ~/.config/termy/config.backup
termy-cli -prettify-config

Restart Termy

Restart Termy to apply your changes.

List Fonts

Discover available fonts

List Themes

Browse color themes

List Keybinds

View keyboard shortcuts

Configuration Guide

Full configuration reference

Commands

​Show Config

​Usage

​What It Does

​Example Output

​Use Cases

​Quick Reference

​Find Specific Setting

​Export Configuration

​Edit Config

​Usage

​What It Does

​Editor Selection

​Example Session

​Use Cases

​Quick Edit

​Set Preferred Editor

​Edit-Validate Workflow

​Validate Config

​Usage

​What It Does

​Exit Codes

​Example Output

​Validation Checks

​Errors (Must Fix)

​Warnings (Should Review)

​Use Cases

​Pre-Restart Validation

​CI/CD Integration

​Continuous Validation

​Prettify Config

​Usage

​What It Does

​Example

​When to Use

​Backup Before Prettify

​Configuration File Location

​Complete Workflow Example

​Related Commands

List Fonts

List Themes

List Keybinds

Configuration Guide

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Show Config

Usage

What It Does

Example Output

Use Cases

Quick Reference

Find Specific Setting

Export Configuration

Edit Config

Usage

What It Does

Editor Selection

Example Session

Use Cases

Quick Edit

Set Preferred Editor

Edit-Validate Workflow

Validate Config

Usage

What It Does

Exit Codes

Example Output

Validation Checks

Errors (Must Fix)

Warnings (Should Review)

Use Cases

Pre-Restart Validation

CI/CD Integration

Continuous Validation

Prettify Config

Usage

What It Does

Example

When to Use

Backup Before Prettify

Configuration File Location

Complete Workflow Example

Related Commands