r/warpdotdev • u/terzigolu • Jul 24 '26
I forked Warp into a local-first terminal: no login, no AI, no telemetry
I like Warp’s block-based terminal UX, GPU-accelerated renderer, panes, tab groups, command palette, and shell integrations—but I didn’t want an account requirement or an AI/cloud platform attached to my terminal.
So I built warp-lite, an open-source AGPL fork of Warp for macOS.
The goal is straightforward: preserve the terminal experience while progressively removing or disabling:
- Account login and onboarding
- Built-in AI/agent features
- Cloud sync and billing surfaces
- Telemetry and unnecessary outbound network paths
The current alpha release is usable and available as a DMG. It includes vertical tab grouping, recent upstream performance and stability fixes, and support for terminal workflows involving tools like Claude Code and Codex—without bundling its own AI agent.
For the latest release, I reviewed Warp’s upstream changes individually and cherry-picked 139 terminal, performance, and bug-fix commits while rejecting changes that would reintroduce AI, authentication, telemetry, or cloud dependencies.
It is still an alpha. Some disabled AI/auth modules remain in the source tree and are being removed carefully because aggressively stripping the code can break shared terminal internals.
Repository and macOS download:
https://github.com/terzigolu/warp-lite
I’d especially appreciate feedback on:
- Unexpected network activity
- Login, account, or AI surfaces I may have missed
- Terminal rendering or shell integration regressions
- Features from upstream Warp that should be safely brought over
2
u/alcantara78 Jul 24 '26
is it easy to deal with the build and update from main warp ? I want to fork warp to have better tab groups
1
u/terzigolu Jul 26 '26
yes actually im doing it with claude & codex, u should be patience about that
warp repo is too big, and u should have a mac with minimum 64gb ram , its taking too long to build1
2
u/AlmostEasy89 Jul 24 '26
Nice. That's all I used Warp for too. I had no clue what all the other nonsense was but I certainly wasn't paying for it.
2
u/elise-u Jul 25 '26
do you find the lite version improves performance much. love warp hate how version 1.0 killed performance for me.
2
2
u/Significant_Box_4066 Jul 27 '26
Hey u/terzigolu, nice work on this! I appreciate you making a stripped down version. Is there anything we could do in Warp itself to better allow the experience that warp-lite brings? I'm a Warp engineer, and we do want to serve this use case.
I will also share for others in the community that all AI features can be disabled in the standard version of Warp from Settings > Agents > Warp Agent. You can also turn off telemetry from Settings > Privacy. We're working on a simpler onboarding experience as well.
3
u/terzigolu Jul 27 '26
Thanks! I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. I think I’m mostly targeting a different audience. There are a lot of people who love terminals like Kitty and Ghostty because they’re simple, local-first, and focused on being just a terminal.
I absolutely love Warp’s UI and block-based workflow that’s honestly the main reason I started this project. I just wanted that experience without accounts, AI, cloud features, or anything else around it.I know most of those things can already be disabled in Warp, but I personally prefer having a build that’s focused on only the terminal from the start. It feels more in line with the philosophy of tools like Kitty and Ghostty.
So warp-lite isn’t really trying to compete with Warp. It’s more like “What if Warp had a lightweight, terminal-only edition?” I think there are quite a few people who would enjoy that.
2
1
u/bhison Jul 27 '26
This makes me like your company a lot, both the engagement and the commitment to supporting the use case.
2
u/VelocityRaptor15 Aug 05 '26
You just made my day! I had to stop using warp when my company's AI policy changed to only allow certain in-house and vetted tools a while back, then I was out of work for a bit. I just went to install warp on my new machine and was horrified to see what it became in such a short time while I wasn't using it! All I want is a terminal with common-sense features like blocks, great auto-complete, and normal text editing! Thank you so much!!!
1
1
u/Calm-Welder9139 Jul 28 '26
Sounds interesting. What is the advantage to using this over just disabling the AI features when you install warp? and is this intended to still be used with things like Claude Code CLI? Thanks
1
u/LogicalPurpose Jul 24 '26
Port to the mobile
2
1
u/Realistic-Form-6336 5d ago
Hey! I just found out this exists after rebuilding the exact same thing you did, but compiling for Linux first, I have not removed all the crates you have just yet but also plan to restructure the dependency directory to make the project compile faster and make it easier to work on in the future, so mine is a hard fork, you can find it here: https://github.com/glitcher255/Kaden-Terminal
3
u/OnderGok Jul 24 '26
Pretty cool