delphi-terminal

Dockable terminal panel for RAD Studio. Run CMD, PowerShell 7 (pwsh), and legacy PowerShell sessions directly inside the IDE.

Features

• Three shell tabs -- CMD, pwsh, and PowerShell in a single panel
• ANSI color rendering -- SGR escape sequences rendered with the Windows Terminal Campbell palette via TRichEdit
• Command history -- Up/Down arrow keys recall previous commands
• Working directory shortcuts -- Project Dir and File Dir toolbar buttons resolve paths via ToolsAPI in the IDE (folder picker in the demo app.)
• Process exit detection -- shows a restart prompt when the shell exits: press Enter to restart
• Saved commands -- store frequently used commands and recall them instantly with a Ctrl+P command palette or the Commands toolbar button
  • Add, edit, delete, and reorder commands via the editor dialog
  • Each command has a name, shell type (Active / CMD / pwsh / PowerShell), command text, and optional working directory
  • Variable expansion: ${ProjectDir}, ${ProjectFile}, ${BuildConfig}, ${Platform}, ${FileDir}, ${FilePath}, ${FileName} -- resolved at execution time from IDE context
  • Enter previews the command in the input field for editing; Ctrl+Enter runs immediately (or Ctrl+DblClick)
  • Command list filtered by the active shell tab
  • JSON bundle import/export for sharing command sets across machines
  • Per-project commands -- place a .delphi-terminal.json bundle file next to a .dproj to add project-specific commands that only appear when that project is active (format details)
• Keyboard shortcuts
  • Ctrl+P -- open the saved-command palette
  • Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab -- cycle through shell tabs
  • Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, Ctrl+3 -- jump to CMD, pwsh, or PowerShell tab
  • Up / Down -- navigate command history
• IDE integration -- dockable form with persistent dock state, View menu item, and config screen in Tools>Options>Third Party>delphi-terminal
• Auto change-directory option when the active Project changes
• Configurable Font Name + Font Size used in console window

Project Layout

Shared Frame (source/)

All core functionality lives in TframeCmdShell, a self-contained TFrame that embeds a terminal panel with ANSI-capable TRichEdit output, command input, and shell process management. Both the IDE plugin and the demo app host this same frame.

IDE Plugin (projects/ide-plugin/)

Minimal BPL package that registers a dockable form within RAD Studio and hosts the shared frame. Contains mostly just IDE plumbing: menu registration via INTAServices, ToolsAPI path resolution, and dockable form lifecycle.

Demo VCL App (projects/demo-vcl/)

Standalone VCL application that hosts the shared frame in a tabbed form. Useful for debugging the plugin.

Tests (test/)

DUnitX test project covering shell process management, ANSI parsing, and command history.

Requirements

• A relatively recent version of RAD Studio
• You should remove {$LIBSUFFIX AUTO} for older versions.
• Plugin might otherwise be compatible back to XE3 (TStringHelper.contains) but old versions are untested.

Optional

• Defaults to Cascadia Mono font (ships with Windows Terminal)
• PowerShell 7+ (pwsh.exe) for the pwsh tab

Installation

IDE Plugin

1. Open projects/ide-plugin/Delphi.Terminal.Plugin.dpk in RAD Studio
2. Right-click the project in Project Manager > Install
3. Access via View > delphi-terminal

NOTE: LIBSUFFIX 'AUTO' was used to add automatic version suffix to the BPL. To support older versions this was wrapped in a $IFDEF test. Tweaking a DPK is fragile and this LIBSUFFIX AUTO option was also a little fragile when first introduced in 10.4. Opening the .DPK and building/installing the package was verified back to XE6 but there may be lingering side effects, especially for older versions. Specifically - to keep the single DPK approach, to install the package into multiple older copies of RAD Studio on the same machine you will have to manage the BPL suffix yourself.

Usage

After installing, use the View menu and select delphi-terminal Dock the form as desired and optionally save Desktop setting.

Screenshot:

Config screen:

Saved commands config:

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Part of Continuous Delphi

This tool is part of the Continuous-Delphi ecosystem, dedicated to the long-term success of Delphi applications.

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Built with Delphi