A headless terminal CLI + daemon for driving, asserting on, and recording shells
Publisher’s description
What is shell-use?
shell-use is an open-source terminals & cli tool program for Windows from Microsoft. It is written in Rust.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 64-bit and ARM64 as Portable. It runs without installation (portable).
Updates and version history
The current version is 0.0.1-beta.6, released on August 5, 2026. 3 versions are listed since July 15, 2026, each with links to its own installer files.
Popularity and file types
The source code on GitHub (microsoft/tui-test) has 293 stars. Similar programs include Oh My Posh, QPDF and fzf.
Project description on GitHub: “💻 control, record, & test any tui app / cli with popular terminals - makes the terminal fully accessible to AI”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- Portable: runs without installation
In short: shell-use is an open-source terminals & cli tool tool for 64-bit and ARM64 PCs.
Is shell-use 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:
C48DF4C0BB179C1CA3F6C1B9747D5FB9F286D19B89B48D879D053D30A10F3B95· 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0.1-beta.6Latest | August 5, 2026 | — | ARM64 ZIP64-bit ZIP |
| 0.0.1-beta.4 | July 16, 2026 | — | ARM64 ZIP64-bit ZIP |
| 0.0.1-beta.3 | July 15, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIPARM64 ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Microsoft.ShellUse -eRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- Microsoft
- Category
- Terminals & CLI tools
- Licence
- MIT
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/microsoft/tui-test
- Written in
- Rust
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64
- Installer
- Portable
- Version
- 0.0.1-beta.6
- Released
- August 5, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- July 15, 2026
- Versions listed
- 3
- GitHub stars
- 293
- GitHub forks
- 28
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- Microsoft.ShellUse
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to shell-use
See all ›-
Open source820.8K ↓ -
QPDF12.4.2QPDF is a command-line tool and C++ library that performs content-preserving transformations on PDF files.Open source2.1M ↓ -
Open source290.1K ↓ -
Alacritty0.17.0Alacritty is a free and open-source GPU accelerated terminal emulator focused on performance and simplicity.Open source75.9K ↓ -
Open source1.5M ↓ -
Open source127.8K ↓ -
Open source832.7K ↓ -
Free5.9M ↓
Frequently asked questions
Is shell-use free?
Yes. shell-use is open-source software under the MIT licence.
Is shell-use 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 shell-use 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.
Does shell-use run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of shell-use?
The versions page lists all 3 versions with links to their official installer files, back to July 15, 2026.
Can I use shell-use without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.
What are alternatives to shell-use?
Oh My Posh, QPDF, fzf, Alacritty and yq. The alternatives page compares them.
