Review every project your agents touch.

Tern is a fast, keyboard-first app for watching many git projects at once. See what needs you, read diffs, check CI, pull and push, and hand exact file paths back to your agents, without opening a single editor window.

Download Tern View the source

Free for individuals and small teamsWindows, macOS, LinuxAbout a 2 MB download

Tern Home: cards for agents that are working, commits to push and pull, and tickets in progress, above a table of every project

Built for the review loop

When agents write the code, your work moves from typing to reviewing. Tern keeps that loop in one window, with every step one keystroke away.

01
Watch

Home shows what needs you across every project and worktree. Projects an agent is changing show working, and Tern tells you when they go quiet.
Ctrl 0 Alt ↑ ↓
02
Review

Step through changed files with the arrow keys. Split or unified diffs, or everything a branch did since main.
↑ ↓ Ctrl D
03
Hand off

Copy a path with line numbers, an @mention, a diff, a failing CI step, or a ticket, ready to paste to an agent.
Ctrl Shift C
04
Ship

Stage, commit, and push. Pull and push always show you the commits first, and warn before you push to main.
S Ctrl Enter

Review without opening an editor

Step through changed files with the arrow keys. Split or unified diffs fold away the lines that did not change.

Jump between changes with F7, and wrap long lines
Stage, unstage, or discard single blocks of a change
Review everything a branch did since it left main

A split diff of a changed file, with the project's changes listed on the left

History that knows what you're missing

A commit graph with branches and tags, and the commits on the remote that you haven't pulled yet, right above your branch.

Long runs of new commits fold into one row
Review everything a pull would bring as one diff
Filter commits by message, author, or ID

The History tab with a commit graph, and one commit's changes open in a split diff

CI without the browser tab

Pipeline runs from Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions, with the stage, job, and step that failed, and its error.

Running pipelines refresh on their own
Tern tells you when one finishes, and Home lists failing ones
Copy the failing steps for an agent in one click

A CI run showing a failed test step and a warning

Your tickets, next to your code

Azure DevOps work items and GitHub issues assigned to you, grouped by state, with the description, repro steps, linked commits, and images.

Copy a ticket as plain text for an agent
Copy a branch name like bug/4790-grid-loses-its-sort
Read only: Tern never changes a ticket

The tickets view with tickets grouped by state and one ticket's details

Your databases, read-only by default

SQLite, Postgres, SQL Server, and Redis. Browse tables or keys, run a query, and see the first 1,000 rows.

Each database refuses writes until you allow them
Passwords stay in your system keychain
Copy the schema or a result for an agent

The database view with a Postgres connection, its tables, a query, and the result rows

Views for more than code

Files open in the view that fits them, and big ones stay fast.

CSV and TSV as a table; JSON, YAML, and TOML as a tree
Logs that follow the file as it grows, with errors marked
Images with before and after, PDFs, and Markdown as a page

A CSV file shown as a table with a fixed header and row numbers

Calm, in dark or light

One sidebar to go anywhere, one command bar, and the same parts on every screen. Group projects into spaces like Work and Personal.

Twelve themes, dark and light, or follow your system
Fetch, pull, or push many projects at once
Worktrees fold under their project

And the rest of the toolbox

Everything a review session needs, and nothing a code editor would add on top.

Pull requestsFrom GitHub and Azure DevOps, with the diff computed locally against the merge base.

Real terminalsTasks and shells run on pseudo-terminals, so prompts, arrow keys, and full-screen tools work.

TasksFinds npm scripts, VS Code tasks, .NET, Cargo, Gradle, Make, and Docker Compose. Pin the ones you use.

SearchCode, file names, commits, branches, pull requests, and issues, in one project, a space, or all of them.

Branches and worktreesSwitch, create, and remove, or open a branch in a new worktree for an agent.

Go to definitionJump to a name's definition or every place it's used, without a language server.

MarkdownOpen .md files as a rendered page, from Tern or straight from your file manager.

Images and PDFsSee pictures and PDFs in place. A changed image shows before and after, side by side or with a swipe.

Data and tablesJSON, YAML, and TOML as a tree you can fold. CSV and TSV as a table with a fixed header, even at 100 MB.

DatabasesSQLite, Postgres, SQL Server, and Redis. Read-only by default, passwords in your keychain, schema copied for agents.

Live logsA log follows the file as it grows. Filter by text or regex, and show only errors or warnings.

Quick editFix a typo in place, save, and keep reviewing.

NotificationsFinished runs, failed actions, and agents that went quiet, in one list you can look back at.

Keyboard first, mouse friendly

Every action has a shortcut. Press F1 in Tern for the full list.

`Ctrl K` `Ctrl P` `Ctrl Shift P`	Go to a project, a file, or a command
`Ctrl Shift F`	Search across projects
`Ctrl 0`	Home: what needs you
`↑` `↓`	Step through changes; each one opens as you move
`Ctrl Shift C`	Copy a path, path with lines, `@mention`, or diff
`S` `Ctrl Enter`	Stage, then commit
`Ctrl B`	Branches and worktrees
`Ctrl Shift T` `Ctrl Shift D`	Your tickets, your databases
Ctrl `	A terminal in this project
`F12` `Shift F12`	Go to definition, or find where it's used

Download

Pick the file for your system on the latest release.

System	File
Windows	Tern_x64-setup.exe or .msi
Windows on ARM	Tern_arm64-setup.exe
macOS, Apple Silicon	Tern_aarch64.dmg
macOS, Intel	Tern_x64.dmg
Linux x64	.AppImage, .deb, or .rpm
Linux ARM64	.AppImage, .deb, or .rpm (arm64)

WindowsThe builds aren't code-signed yet. If SmartScreen appears, click More info, then Run anyway.

macOSTern isn't notarized yet. After the first try, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. If macOS says it's damaged, run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Tern.app in Terminal.

What it needsgit, plus gh for GitHub or az for Azure DevOps if you use them. Tern reuses their sign-ins.

Small on purpose

Tern is built with Tauri 2, Rust, Svelte, and CodeMirror. It uses your system's web view, so the app stays tiny.

Starts in under a second; tabs load only when you open them.
Runs git so it never blocks an agent using the same project.
No accounts, no cloud, no telemetry. Sign-in stays with gh and az.
No plugins or language servers to set up.

Build it yourself

You need Node.js and Rust.

# clone and run
git clone https://github.com/Car-Role/tern
cd tern
npm install
npm run app

# an installer for your system
npm run release