Belfry is a cross-platform terminal for macOS and Windows that hosts CLI coding agents such as Codex and Claude Code. It provides project workspaces, agent detection and status tracking, a prompt composer with queuing, provider switching, SSH sessions, and token usage statistics. Without an agent installed it still works as a full terminal.
Features
Project Workspace
- Open local directories as projects, with recent ones remembered
- Sidebar grouped by project, collapsible, resizable width (⌘B to collapse all)
- Sessions have built-in project affiliation; different sessions can point to different directories
- Quick Open (⌘K) to search and switch sessions, open recent projects, or execute common workspace actions
- File preview pane to browse current project directories and view read-only code previews; jump directly to file paths in terminal output with alerts on disk changes
Agent Hosting
- Auto-detect Codex and Claude Code: executable paths, version numbers, and reasons if unavailable
- Session status distinguishes process lifecycle (creating/running/exited/error) from current behavior (idle/streaming output/waiting for input)
- Tab titles extracted from your first prompt, with the full original text kept in tooltips
- Collaborative tasks queued separately per target Agent; deliveries paused while the Agent is busy or awaiting confirmation, sent sequentially once idle
Activity Notifications
- Only two things are worth interrupting you for: the Agent finished the job, or it's stuck on a question that strictly requires your approval
- Completion notifications are delayed by 1500 ms before sending. Activity is inferred by scanning screen text, and the sequence "Streaming Output → Idle → Waiting for Input" is very common (spinner vanishes first, permission prompt renders a beat later); sending a "Completed" notification prematurely in-between is a pure false positive
- No notifications when you are actively looking at that session—you can already see it
- Status in the title, identity in the body: first decide whether to deal with it now, and only then which session it is
- Unread count badges on the Dock / taskbar, automatically cleared when returning to the app
Provider Switching
- Switch Codex / Claude Code routing between official endpoints and third-party relays by modifying the CLIs' own configuration files, so running claude or codex directly outside Belfry works seamlessly
- Precise field modification: touches only routing keys like ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and the [model_providers.belfry] table, leaving your hooks, MCP definitions, and project trust records verbatim
- On first launch, existing configuration settings are ingested into a switchable profile instead of being silently overwritten
- Backs up Codex's ChatGPT login state before switching to a third-party provider, and restores it intact when switching back to official
- Detects and warns about ANTHROPIC_* / OPENAI_* environment variables that would override config files
Terminal
- Built on xterm.js with WebGL renderer—no horizontal seams between block characters
- Unix PTY on macOS, ConPTY on Windows; shell auto-detects PowerShell, %ComSpec%, and cmd.exe in order
- SSH sessions directly invoke the system OpenSSH client: passwords, host fingerprints, and 2FA are handled natively in the terminal; ~/.ssh/config aliases, keys, and agent are inherited as-is
- Check "Remember Password" upon connection to save it to the system keychain (macOS Keychain / Windows Credential Manager) for automatic autofill on future connections; saved passwords can be cleared from the SSH form at any time
- OSC 10/11 color queries are answered directly on the Rust side. This is unavoidable: TUIs like Codex allow only a 100 ms window, and a full round trip of PTY → IPC → xterm.js → IPC → PTY often times out; on Windows, the consequence of a timeout isn't "no color" but "wrong color"—Codex falls back to reading ConPTY's black palette, rendering the input box as a solid black block
- Password prompt detection with suppressed echo
- ⌘F to search current terminal content with multi-line matching; clickable HTTP(S) links; CJK, combining characters, and emojis rendered with accurate widths
Usage Statistics
- Aggregates data by reading local Codex / Claude session logs directly, without making any network requests
- Normalized into four token categories: input (cache misses), cachedInput, cacheWrite, output
- Split across two dimensions: by model and by project; selectable time windows of Past 7 Days / Past 30 Days / All Time
- Rate limit windows and subscription tiers (currently only available in Codex logs, not in Claude's)
Appearance
- Light/Dark theme switching, with theme colors synchronized to the terminal palette
- App-wide font and 10–20px font size customization, supporting locally installed system fonts
- Import multiple TTF / OTF / WOFF / WOFF2 fonts with individual switching or removal, and switch back to system fonts at any time
- Bundled with JetBrains Mono and HarmonyOS Sans SC
Belfry shortcuts: ⌘T for New Shell, ⌘B to toggle sidebar, ⌘K to open Quick Open, ⌘U to toggle Usage, ⌘⇧H to toggle History, ⌘, to open Settings, ⌘1–9 to switch sessions, ⌘/ to open quick commands. Windows / Linux uniformly use Ctrl+Shift combinations to avoid conflicting with native Ctrl shortcuts in Codex and Claude.
Publisher’s description
What is Belfry?
Belfry by appmakes is open-source Windows software in the terminals & cli tools category. It is written in Rust.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (NSIS) and MSI installers for 64-bit Windows. It can be installed for the current user only, without administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches. An MSI package is available for deployment with Group Policy, Intune or Configuration Manager.
Updates and version history
The current version is 0.21.13, released on October 10, 2026. The version history goes back to September 5, 2026: 3 releases, all linked to the official files. The last update is less than a month old.
Popularity and file types
The source code on GitHub (ChengSoon/belfry-desktop) has 26 stars. Similar programs include PowerShell, Oh My Posh and Tabby.
Project description on GitHub: “跨平台（macOS + Windows）AI 编程终端，托管 Codex / Claude Code 等 CLI Agent。Tauri 2 + Rust + React + xterm.js”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- MSI package for managed deployment
- Documented silent install
- Installs without administrator rights
- Updated in the last two months
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
In short: Belfry is an open-source terminals & cli tool tool for 64-bit PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is Belfry safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
AABBBB9A88A0B39799169F9BEC7299A4B6DA43CEB0932E1AE6A8E70A151EE3AA· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 3 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.21.13Latest | October 10, 2026 | — | 64-bit MSI64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 0.21.8 | September 24, 2026 | — | 64-bit MSI64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 0.19.0 | September 5, 2026 | — | 64-bit MSI64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id ChengSoon.Belfry -eBelfry_0.21.13_x64-setup.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- appmakes
- Category
- Terminals & CLI tools
- Licence
- LGPL-3.0-only
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/ChengSoon/belfry-desktop
- Written in
- Rust
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS), MSI
- Version
- 0.21.13
- Released
- October 10, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- September 25, 2026
- Versions listed
- 3
- GitHub stars
- 26
- GitHub forks
- 3
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- ChengSoon.Belfry
- MSI product code
- {F713EA13-6255-4D8E-9A9B-7FE92380D862}
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Belfry free?
Yes. Belfry is open-source software under the LGPL-3.0-only licence.
Is Belfry safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Belfry with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Belfry be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer, including msiexec for the MSI package.
Does Belfry run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Belfry?
The versions page lists all 3 versions with links to their official installer files, back to September 5, 2026.
Can I use Belfry without administrator rights?
Yes, there is a per-user installer that does not need administrator rights.
What are alternatives to Belfry?
PowerShell, Oh My Posh, Tabby, QPDF and Alacritty. The alternatives page compares them.
