Survive, build and explore a block world in your terminal. Bring friends over SSH.
Play · Controls · Co-op · Release notes
Unofficial fan project. Not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.
Termcraft
0.2.0— the beta release. Download the game from Releases.
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Play in your browser — explore a naturally generated solo survival world, with local saves. No installation. Download the native game below for multiplayer and the full terminal experience.
Gather wood, craft tools, build a shelter and survive the night. Explore caves and villages, smelt better equipment, cross the Nether, find the stronghold and face the Ender Dragon. Termcraft adapts that survival progression to a side-on terminal world, with shaped terrain, room cutaways and distinct creature silhouettes.
- Mine, craft, farm and build in a procedural Overworld, Nether and End.
- Explore villages, dungeons and fortresses, then face the Ender Dragon.
- Play solo or with up to eight players, with shared building, PvP and player chat.
- Terminal pixel art, lighting and selectable views; Detail is the default.
Without Rust: download your platform's 0.2.0 archive from
Releases. Extract the game archive,
keeping all files together. Open a terminal in the extracted folder.
| Platform | Download 0.2.0 |
Start Lantern Run |
|---|---|---|
| Linux, Intel/AMD 64-bit | Linux archive | ./play.sh |
| Windows, Intel/AMD 64-bit | Windows archive | .\PLAY.cmd in Windows Terminal |
| macOS, Apple silicon | Apple silicon archive | ./PLAY.command |
| macOS, Intel | Intel Mac archive | ./PLAY.command |
For classic survival run ./termcraft on Linux/macOS or .\termcraft.exe on
Windows. The launchers in the table start Lantern Run, a separate short
combat, traversal and building route. macOS archives are unsigned; see
installation for platform details.
Package managers: on macOS run brew install pagel-s/termcraft/termcraft.
Rust users can run cargo install termcraft --locked (Rust 1.88+).
For Debian/Ubuntu, follow the signed APT setup.
WinGet is pending Microsoft's review; use the Windows archive above meanwhile.
See package-manager channels
for details.
To build it yourself, follow building from source.
Start with a true-color terminal, a monospace font and a window around 120×40 or larger. Mouse support is recommended.
| Action | Control |
|---|---|
| Walk | Hold A / D or left/right arrow |
| Sprint | Tap, release, then quickly hold the same direction |
| Jump / swim up | W, Up or Space |
| Mine / attack | Left mouse button |
| Place / interact | Right mouse button; F uses the hovered block |
| Inventory / crafting | E |
| Hotbar | 1–9 |
| Drop one / stack | V / Shift+V |
| Zoom in / out | = or + / - |
| Close UI / save and quit | Q or Esc |
O opens settings, F3 diagnostics and F4 cycles views. Saved view choices are respected. See all controls and gameplay for sprint input support, crafting, furnaces and portals.
Use matching beta builds. Start hosting and playing in one terminal:
./termcraft hostThe host starts the server and joins automatically. Press T to see the join
address; friends on the same network run ./termcraft client ADDRESS --player bob.
Use a different --player profile for each terminal. T also opens player chat.
For package-manager installs, omit ./; on Windows use .\termcraft.exe.
Quitting the host ends the shared session.
Follow the multiplayer setup guide for one computer, one network or separate networks, with connection checks and troubleshooting. For remote access, follow safe hosting or SSH joining.
The game autosaves in your user data directory. Back up the whole save directory, including hidden files, before upgrading; older builds cannot open newer saves. See save locations and recovery.
The game is in beta. See supported content and release notes for current capabilities and limits.
Report bugs through GitHub issues
or pagel.sebastian.1@gmail.com. Include build, OS, terminal and reproduction steps.