Up and running,
fast.

Quick start

One command. The installer detects your OS, writes a single .env, generates secrets, seeds an admin account and starts the terminal — in Docker if you have it, otherwise with local Python and Node.

$ git clone https://github.com/Hitheshkaranth/OpenTerminalUI.git
$ cd OpenTerminalUI
$ ./install.sh          # Windows: ./install.ps1
✓ OpenTerminalUI is ready  → http://localhost:8000
    email:    admin@openterminal.local
    password: <generated>

The credentials are also saved in .env. Change the password after first login. Force a mode with OTUI_MODE=docker or OTUI_MODE=local.

Prerequisites

Either Docker, or Python and Node for the local path. Nothing else to configure.

Docker image

Every release publishes a multi-arch image (linux/amd64 and linux/arm64) to GitHub Container Registry, tagged X.Y.Z, X.Y and latest. No clone needed.

$ docker run -p 8000:8000 -v otui-data:/app/data \
    ghcr.io/hitheshkaranth/openterminalui:latest
✓ http://localhost:8000

Pass keys with -e FMP_API_KEY=… or --env-file .env. The volume keeps the SQLite database across upgrades; without Redis the quote bus falls back to in-memory automatically.

Docker Compose

$ cp .env.example .env            # add API keys if you have them
$ docker compose up --build       # backend + Redis, SQLite
$ docker compose --profile postgres up --build   # with PostgreSQL 16
$ docker compose down -v          # stop and wipe the database

The UI and API are served from the backend container at http://127.0.0.1:8000. Compose maps host.docker.internal so the container can reach LM Studio on your host.

Local development

$ python3.11 -m venv .venv
$ source .venv/bin/activate
$ pip install -r backend/requirements.txt
$ PYTHONPATH=. uvicorn backend.main:app --reload

$ cd frontend
$ npm ci
$ npm run dev
→ http://127.0.0.1:5173

Run every check before a PR with make gate.

API keys & providers

All keys are optional — the terminal runs on free sources out of the box. Add keys from the terminal or in the browser.

In the browser (admins)

Settings → Data Providers shows what each provider unlocks, its live status and last error. Set keys writes the same .env the installer uses, applies values live where possible and lists what needs a restart; Test runs the real probe. Placeholder values such as your-api-key are not treated as configured.

From the terminal

$ make keys        # or ./scripts/setup-keys.sh — guided, shows what each key unlocks

Provider waterfall

Environment

The full list is in the README.

Provenance

Every security snapshot carries {source, quality, as_of, latency_ms, note}. The UI renders it as a chip next to the value:

Provider health comes from GET /api/providers/status, which runs real probes — an expired Kite token reads down.

MCP & agents

The agent's tool registry is exposed over the Model Context Protocol, so Claude Code, Claude Desktop or any MCP client can use the terminal.

1 · Create an API key

In Settings → API Keys, create an otui_ key with read (38 read-only tools) or read_write permission (adds 7 propose_* tools). The key maps to your user, so tools see your portfolio, watchlists and alerts.

2 · Connect

GET  /api/mcp/manifest          # tools, resources, prompts
GET  /api/mcp/tools
POST /api/mcp/tools/{{name}}
     X-API-Key: otui_…

For a local stdio session run python -m backend.mcp from the repo root (anonymous — market-data tools only).

Every result is returned as {ok, data, provenance}, and five prompts ship with the server: morning_brief, position_review, screen_to_thesis, risk_check, idea_to_backtest.

Caching & failover

Keyboard