🚀 What's New in v4.0.0?
Version 4.0.0 marks a revolutionary leap forward in performance, visual presentation, and accessibility. We have completely rewritten our core output engine to bridge the gap between traditional CLI tools and modern screen-reader interfaces.
🌐 1. The WebView2 & xterm.js Revolution
We have replaced the traditional text control with an embedded Chromium host (WebView2). In the background, a hidden, high-performance xterm.js instance processes the raw shell (ConPTY) stream. This resolved text is then rendered into accessible HTML command blocks (<h3> headings for commands and `` log regions).
- Benefit: Absolute flexibility and ease of navigation for NVDA and JAWS users. Screen readers treat the terminal output as a clean web page, allowing line-by-line reading and heading navigation ('H').
🤖 2. Goodbye AI Filters (Zero Duplications)
In previous versions, complex C# text-filtering logic was used to clean up AI outputs, which often resulted in duplicated lines, double-readings, and screen reader stuttering. In v4.0.0, the C# filter pipeline is completely removed. By leveraging xterm.js as a background parser, the terminal output is rendered clean, free from ANSI codes, stray backspaces, or double-reads.
🎭 3. Fully Accessible Interactive Screen (TUIs)
Command-line interactive prompts (such as selecting models inside agy /model or answering prompts) are now fully intercepted. The WebView2 displays a beautiful, keyboard-accessible HTML `` overlay.
- Navigation: Focus is automatically trapped inside the dialog. Use Arrow Keys to navigate, Space/Enter to confirm, and Escape to cancel and resume the terminal session.
✍️ 4. Intelligent Bilingual & RTL Alignment
Traditional Windows consoles struggle with Right-to-Left (RTL) languages like Arabic, visually reversing words or breaking mixed English/Arabic layouts. NexusShell v4.0.0 implements per-line directionality checking (dir="auto"). Arabic and mixed lines are visually aligned to the right and ordered correctly for sighted users, while keeping the logical sequence untouched so screen readers pronounce them perfectly.
🎵 5. Non-Intrusive Sound Effects
Dynamic sound cues play on command execution, output updates, and opening/closing windows. These clicks and chimes are subtle, fast, and volume-scaled, providing valuable spatial awareness without interfering with speech synthesizers.
📥 Installation
Option 1 — Windows Package Manager (Recommended)
winget install MF.NexusShell
Option 2 — Manual Installer
- Download
NexusShell_Setup.exe from the GitHub Releases Page.
- Run the installer to set up the program, create desktop shortcuts, and optionally add it to your system PATH.
- For silent installations, download
NexusShell_Silent_Setup.exe which installs the app completely in the background.
🚀 Feature Overview
- Multi-Shell Support: Run PowerShell, CMD, and WSL inside a unified interface.
- Multi-Tab Sessions: Open multiple independent tabs for different workflows.
- Integrated AI Assistance (NexusAI): Generate commands from natural language, explain terminal errors, and chat about your output using Groq's high-speed API.
- SSH Manager: Save and connect to remote servers with a single click.
- Alias & Snippet Managers: Eliminate repetitive typing with custom shortcuts and commands.
- Environment Variable Editor: Edit process variables in real-time.
- Theme Manager: Customize colors with instant live previews (Nexus Dark, Matrix, PowerShell Blue, Solarized).
- Customizable Shortcut Manager: Change all global hotkeys to match your personal preferences.
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts Reference
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
Enter | Run command (Terminal) / Send message (AI Chat) |
F1 | Open Help |
F2 / Alt+S | Open Settings |
F6 / Escape | Focus Command Input box / Toggle focus between terminal and input |
Ctrl + T | Open new terminal tab |
Ctrl + L | Clear terminal output |
Ctrl + Shift + S | Stop running command |
Ctrl + F | Search terminal output |
Arrow Keys | Navigate options (Interactive Dialog) |
Space / Enter | Select option (Interactive Dialog) |
Escape | Dismiss dialog (Interactive Dialog) |
🛠️ Build from Source
Requirements: Windows 10 1903+ (x64), .NET 10 SDK, WebView2 Runtime.
git clone https://github.com/Mohammedkhaled96/NexusShell.git
cd NexusShell
dotnet build NexusShell.sln -c Release
# app.manifest requests elevation; for development run through the .NET host:
dotnet NexusShell.App\bin\Release\net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0\NexusShell.App.dll
One-command environment setup
On a fresh machine, let WinGet install the SDK, WebView2 Runtime and Git for you
(run in an elevated terminal from the repository root):
winget configure .\.configurations\configuration.dsc.yaml
Everyone builds the same bits
A desktop app cannot run in a container, so reproducibility is enforced by the
build instead — the same packages and compiler settings on every machine:
| File | What it pins |
|---|
global.json | The .NET SDK version, so a different SDK fails fast instead of building differently |
NexusShell.App/packages.lock.json | The full resolved NuGet graph, including transitive packages |
Directory.Build.props | Deterministic builds, warnings as errors, NuGet vulnerability auditing |
NuGet.config | nuget.org only, so a private or local feed cannot alter a restore |
After changing a PackageReference, commit the updated packages.lock.json
alongside it. CI restores with --locked-mode and fails if the two disagree.
Project layout
| Path | Purpose |
|---|
NexusShell.App/App.xaml.cs | Composition root — Generic Host, DI registration, Serilog |
NexusShell.App/Services, Interfaces | ConPTY terminal sessions, AI (Groq), config, sounds, notifications |
NexusShell.App/ViewModels, Views | MVVM windows and view models |
NexusShell.App/WebTerminal | WebView2 renderer: hidden xterm.js parser → accessible HTML blocks |
packaging/winget | Windows Package Manager manifests |
AGENT.md | Architecture & contribution guide for humans and AI coding agents |
CI/CD
| Workflow | Runs on | What it does |
|---|
| CI | push, pull request | Restore, build and test on windows-latest |
| CodeQL | push, pull request, weekly | Security analysis of C# and JavaScript |
| Security | push, pull request | TruffleHog secret scan, vulnerable NuGet check, dependency review |
| Release | v* tag | Self-contained win-x64 build, zip + SHA256 attached to the GitHub release |
| Publish to WinGet | release published | Opens a pull request on microsoft/winget-pkgs updating MF.NexusShell with NexusShell_Silent_Setup.exe |
Dependabot keeps NuGet packages and GitHub Actions up to date.
🔒 Security
- Your AI API key is encrypted with Windows DPAPI in
%AppData%\NexusShell\settings.json — it is never stored in plain text or committed to the repository.
- No telemetry; terminal input and secrets are never logged.
- Report vulnerabilities privately — see SECURITY.md.
👥 Developers
- Farid Mohammed (Core Developer)
- Mohammed Khaled (Core Developer)
NexusShell — Making the terminal work for everyone.
