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  "name": "Hyper",
  "description": "Electron-based terminal emulator configured in JavaScript, extended with npm packages and themed with CSS, from the team behind Vercel.",
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  "operatingSystem": "macOS",
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    "slug": "hyper",
    "name": "Hyper",
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    "description": "Electron-based terminal emulator configured in JavaScript, extended with npm packages and themed with CSS, from the team behind Vercel.",
    "shortDescription": "JavaScript-configurable terminal emulator built on Electron.",
    "answer": "Hyper is a terminal emulator built on Electron, which makes it the unusual one in its category: the interface is HTML and CSS, the configuration file is JavaScript, and extensions are ordinary npm packages installed by name. If you already work in the JavaScript ecosystem, that means a terminal you can theme and extend with the tools you already use. If you do not, it means an Electron app where a native terminal would be smaller and faster. It is free and MIT licensed, and it was originally released by ZEIT — now Vercel — which is why the repository still carries the old company name in its bundle identifier. Development has effectively stalled: the last stable release is 3.4.1 from January 2023, and the 4.0 line has been in canary prerelease since then.",
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    "architecture": [
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    "pricingDescription": "Free and open source under the MIT licence. There is no paid tier, no account and no telemetry.",
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    "website": "https://hyper.is",
    "documentation": "https://hyper.is/#installation",
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    "download": "https://github.com/vercel/hyper/releases/download/v3.4.1/Hyper-3.4.1-mac-arm64.dmg",
    "developer": {
      "name": "Vercel",
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    "features": [
      "Built on Electron, so the terminal window is rendered with web technology rather than native drawing code",
      "Configuration lives in a JavaScript file at ~/.hyper.js, which is reloaded when it changes",
      "Plugins are npm packages, installed by adding a name to the plugins array in the config",
      "Themes are published as npm packages too, and the interface can be restyled with CSS",
      "Split panes and tabs, with keyboard shortcuts for navigating between them",
      "A hyper command-line helper that opens a directory in Hyper or sends commands to a running session",
      "Cross-platform: the same configuration and plugins work on macOS, Windows and Linux",
      "Extensions API documented on the project site for writing plugins"
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      "Keeping terminal configuration in a dotfiles repository as a JavaScript file"
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        "text": "Free and open source under the MIT licence, with no paid tier, account or telemetry.",
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        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
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        "text": "Configured in JavaScript and extended with npm packages, which suits anyone already working in that ecosystem.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
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        "text": "The same configuration file and plugins work across macOS, Windows and Linux.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
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        "text": "Publishes separate Apple Silicon and Intel macOS builds, so neither kind of Mac runs it under translation.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
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        "text": "Themes are CSS, so the interface can be restyled without learning a bespoke theme format.",
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        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
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        "text": "No stable release since version 3.4.1 in January 2023; only canary prereleases have shipped since.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
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        "text": "Electron-based, so it uses considerably more memory and disk than a native terminal emulator.",
        "status": "editorially-reviewed",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
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        "text": "No GPU rendering path, so it is slower than Alacritty, Kitty or Ghostty under heavy output.",
        "status": "editorially-reviewed",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
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        "text": "Still carries ZEIT branding in the app bundle, three years after the company renamed itself Vercel.",
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      "Developers already working in the JavaScript and Node ecosystem",
      "People who want a terminal they can restyle with CSS and extend with npm packages",
      "Users who move between macOS, Windows and Linux and want the same setup on each"
    ],
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      "Anyone who needs a maintained terminal — the last stable release was in January 2023",
      "Users who want the fastest possible terminal, where Alacritty, Kitty or Ghostty are the GPU-accelerated options",
      "People on macOS 10.12 or earlier, since the app declares macOS 10.13"
    ],
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      "The last stable release is 3.4.1, published on 8 January 2023. The 4.0 line has only ever shipped as canary prereleases, so the project has had no stable update in over three years",
      "Being an Electron app, it is substantially heavier in memory and disk than a native or GPU-accelerated terminal",
      "The bundle identifier is still co.zeit.hyper and the app's copyright still reads ZEIT, Inc., the company's name before it became Vercel",
      "The entry's original github URL, github.com/zeit/hyper, now redirects to github.com/vercel/hyper",
      "Hyper is a general-purpose terminal with no GPU rendering path, so it does not match dedicated GPU terminals on throughput"
    ],
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      "installation": {
        "value": "Download the disk image for your Mac from hyper.is or the GitHub releases page and drag Hyper into Applications. Apple Silicon and Intel builds are published separately.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      "firstLaunch": {
        "value": "Hyper writes a default configuration to ~/.hyper.js on first run. Editing that file — the plugins and theme arrays, the font settings, the shell — is how everything is configured, and the app reloads it when it changes.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      "systemIntegration": {
        "value": "Installs a `hyper` command-line helper that opens a directory in Hyper or sends a command to a running session, so it can be wired into other tools. It does not replace the system Terminal.app.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      "appleSilicon": {
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        "status": "verified",
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        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      }
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    "updates": [
      {
        "version": "3.4.1",
        "date": "2023-01-08",
        "summary": "Latest stable release, and the last one published. Separate Apple Silicon and Intel macOS builds were added on this line.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "question": "Is Hyper free?",
        "answer": "Yes. It is free and open source under the MIT licence, with no paid tier, account or telemetry.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "question": "Is Hyper still maintained?",
        "answer": "Not in any practical sense. The last stable release is 3.4.1 from 8 January 2023. The 4.0 line has only ever been published as canary prereleases, and no stable version has followed in over three years, although the repository still receives commits.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "question": "How do I configure Hyper?",
        "answer": "By editing ~/.hyper.js, which Hyper creates on first run. Plugins and themes are added to arrays in that file as npm package names, and the app reloads the configuration when it changes.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "question": "Which macOS version does Hyper need?",
        "answer": "The 3.4.1 build declares macOS 10.13 High Sierra as its minimum. The product site does not state a requirement.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "question": "Does Hyper run natively on Apple Silicon?",
        "answer": "Yes. The 3.4.1 release publishes a separate arm64 macOS build alongside an x64 one, so there is a native build for each architecture.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "question": "Why does the app say ZEIT, Inc.?",
        "answer": "Because the app has not been rebuilt with new branding. Hyper was released by ZEIT, which renamed itself Vercel in 2020, and the 3.4.1 bundle still carries the old copyright line and the co.zeit.hyper identifier.",
        "status": "editorially-reviewed",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ],
    "relationships": [
      {
        "target": "iterm2",
        "type": "similar",
        "reason": "Both are extensible terminal emulators for macOS, but Hyper is built on web technology and configured in JavaScript.",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "target": "alacritty",
        "type": "competitor",
        "reason": "Both are free terminal emulators, but Alacritty is a GPU-accelerated Rust binary while Hyper is Electron-based and configured in JavaScript.",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "target": "warp",
        "type": "competitor",
        "reason": "Both are modern terminals that break from the traditional emulator model, but Warp is a closed-source, account-based AI terminal while Hyper is free and open source.",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "target": "neovim",
        "type": "complements",
        "reason": "Neovim runs inside a terminal emulator, so Hyper supplies the window, tabs, panes and scrollback that the editor itself does not provide.",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ],
    "sources": [
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        "id": "hyper:official",
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        "title": "Hyper — official website",
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        "id": "hyper:documentation",
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        "trustLevel": "C",
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        "id": "hyper:repository",
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        "trustLevel": "D",
        "accessedAt": null
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        "id": "software:hyper.ownership",
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        "id": "software:hyper.licensedUnder",
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        "id": "software:hyper.hasFeature",
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        "value": [
          "Built on Electron, so the terminal window is rendered with web technology rather than native drawing code",
          "Configuration lives in a JavaScript file at ~/.hyper.js, which is reloaded when it changes",
          "Plugins are npm packages, installed by adding a name to the plugins array in the config",
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          "Split panes and tabs, with keyboard shortcuts for navigating between them",
          "A hyper command-line helper that opens a directory in Hyper or sends commands to a running session",
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        "status": "editorially-reviewed",
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        "id": "software:hyper.audienceNotFor",
        "subject": "software:hyper",
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        "value": [
          "Anyone who needs a maintained terminal — the last stable release was in January 2023",
          "Users who want the fastest possible terminal, where Alacritty, Kitty or Ghostty are the GPU-accelerated options",
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        "status": "editorially-reviewed",
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        "lastVerified": null
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        "id": "software:hyper.limitation",
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        "value": [
          "The last stable release is 3.4.1, published on 8 January 2023. The 4.0 line has only ever shipped as canary prereleases, so the project has had no stable update in over three years",
          "Being an Electron app, it is substantially heavier in memory and disk than a native or GPU-accelerated terminal",
          "The bundle identifier is still co.zeit.hyper and the app's copyright still reads ZEIT, Inc., the company's name before it became Vercel",
          "The entry's original github URL, github.com/zeit/hyper, now redirects to github.com/vercel/hyper",
          "Hyper is a general-purpose terminal with no GPU rendering path, so it does not match dedicated GPU terminals on throughput"
        ],
        "status": "editorially-reviewed",
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      },
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        "value": "Free and open source under the MIT licence, with no paid tier, account or telemetry.",
        "status": "verified",
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        "lastVerified": "2026-10-05"
      },
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        "id": "software:hyper.advantage.1",
        "subject": "software:hyper",
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        "value": "Configured in JavaScript and extended with npm packages, which suits anyone already working in that ecosystem.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "sourceIds": [
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        ],
        "lastVerified": "2026-10-05"
      },
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        "id": "software:hyper.advantage.2",
        "subject": "software:hyper",
        "predicate": "advantage",
        "value": "The same configuration file and plugins work across macOS, Windows and Linux.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "sourceIds": [
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        ],
        "lastVerified": "2026-10-05"
      },
      {
        "id": "software:hyper.advantage.3",
        "subject": "software:hyper",
        "predicate": "advantage",
        "value": "Publishes separate Apple Silicon and Intel macOS builds, so neither kind of Mac runs it under translation.",
        "status": "verified",
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        ],
        "lastVerified": "2026-10-05"
      },
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        "id": "software:hyper.advantage.4",
        "subject": "software:hyper",
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        "value": "Themes are CSS, so the interface can be restyled without learning a bespoke theme format.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "sourceIds": [
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        ],
        "lastVerified": "2026-10-05"
      },
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        "id": "software:hyper.drawback.0",
        "subject": "software:hyper",
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        "status": "verified",
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      },
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        "id": "software:hyper.drawback.1",
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        "status": "editorially-reviewed",
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        "status": "editorially-reviewed",
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        "id": "software:hyper.drawback.3",
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        "value": "Still carries ZEIT branding in the app bundle, three years after the company renamed itself Vercel.",
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        "lastVerified": "2026-10-05"
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    ],
    "lastUpdated": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z",
    "lastReviewedAt": null
  }
}