# Kaku

> A fast, out-of-the-box macOS terminal built for AI coding, open source and no account required.

Kaku (書く, かく — Japanese for "to write") is a macOS terminal emulator built by Tw93 as a deeply customized fork of WezTerm, tuned for AI-assisted coding workflows. It is MIT-licensed, requires no account, and ships with practical defaults on day one while retaining full Lua configuration compatibility. The project is actively developed, with version V0.12.1 ("Smoother") released in June 2026.

## What It Is

Kaku is a native macOS terminal emulator in the category of GPU-accelerated terminal apps, sitting alongside tools like Alacritty, Ghostty, Kitty, Warp, and iTerm2. Its core job is to provide a fast, polished daily-driver terminal that integrates an AI assistant without requiring a cloud account or subscription. It is built on WezTerm's Rust engine, strips the binary down to roughly 40 MB (compared to ~67 MB upstream), and adds curated defaults, shell tooling, and an inline AI assistant.

## Architecture and Performance

Kaku inherits WezTerm's GPU-accelerated rendering core but applies aggressive symbol stripping and feature pruning to reduce binary size and startup latency. According to the project's own benchmarks:

- Executable size: ~40 MB vs ~67 MB upstream
- Shell bootstrap latency: ~100 ms vs ~200 ms upstream
- Launch: described as "instant" via just-in-time initialization
- Full WezTerm Lua API compatibility — existing configs migrate without changes

The primary language is Rust, and the app is notarized by Apple, so it opens without security warnings on macOS.

## AI Assistant and Workflow

Kaku's AI assistant operates in two modes and is entirely opt-in — no requests leave the machine until a provider is configured via `kaku ai`:

- **Error recovery**: When a command fails, Kaku drafts a suggested fix. The user presses `Cmd + Shift + E` to paste it to the prompt; nothing runs automatically.
- **Natural language to command**: Typing `#` followed by a plain-language description at the prompt sends the query to the configured LLM and injects the resulting command back into the prompt for review.
- **AI Tools Config**: The settings page manages Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot CLI, Kimi Code, and other coding tools.

Provider presets include OpenAI and a custom/manual option. The AI panel opens with `Cmd + L` once configured.

## Defaults and Shell Suite

Kaku ships with a curated set of defaults that remove the usual day-one configuration burden:

- **Font**: JetBrains Mono with macOS font rendering and low-res font sizing
- **Themes**: Auto-switches between dark and light modes with macOS system preference
- **Tabs and panes**: Native macOS shortcuts — `Cmd + T` for new tab, `Cmd + D` / `Cmd + Shift + D` for vertical/horizontal splits, pane broadcast for driving multiple panes at once
- **Shell suite**: zsh/fish integration, Starship prompt, Delta diff, Lazygit (`Cmd + Shift + G`), Yazi file manager (`Cmd + Shift + Y`), z navigation, completion, and syntax highlighting
- **Polished touches**: Copy on select, clickable file paths, history peek from full-screen apps, visual bell on background tab completion

## Update: V0.12.1 Smoother

The latest release, V0.12.1 "Smoother," was published on June 8, 2026. The repository shows active monthly commit activity and 5,300+ GitHub stars with 263 forks as of mid-2026. The project is macOS-only by design; the author states the current focus is getting the native macOS experience solid before considering other platforms. Kaku is part of a self-described trilogy alongside Waza (habit drilling) and Kami (document shipping), all built by Tw93.

## Tradeoffs to Know

Kaku is macOS-only and has no Windows or Linux support currently. It is a fork of WezTerm, so users who already have a WezTerm Lua config can bring it over without migration. Compared to Warp, Kaku is open source and requires no cloud account; compared to iTerm2, it is lighter and faster with AI built in. The AI features require the user to supply their own API key and provider — there is no bundled model or hosted inference.

## Features
- AI error recovery with suggested command fixes
- Natural language to command via # prefix
- AI Tools Config for Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot CLI, Kimi Code
- Tabs and split panes with native macOS shortcuts
- Pane input broadcast
- JetBrains Mono with macOS font rendering
- Auto dark/light theme switching
- Lazygit integration (Cmd+Shift+G)
- Yazi file manager integration (Cmd+Shift+Y)
- zsh/fish shell integration
- Starship prompt, Delta diff, z navigation
- Copy on select
- Clickable file paths
- History peek from full-screen apps
- Visual bell on background tab completion
- Full WezTerm Lua API compatibility
- 40% smaller binary vs upstream WezTerm
- Instant startup with just-in-time initialization
- kaku doctor health check command
- Homebrew tap installation support
- Apple notarized app bundle

## Integrations
OpenAI, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, Kimi Code, Lazygit, Yazi, Starship, Delta, Homebrew, zsh, fish, WezTerm Lua API

## Platforms
WINDOWS, MACOS, LINUX, API, JETBRAINS_PLUGIN, CLI

## Pricing
Open Source

## Links
- Website: https://kaku.fun
- Documentation: https://kaku.fun/docs/
- Repository: https://github.com/tw93/Kaku
- EveryDev.ai: https://www.everydev.ai/tools/kaku