Real shells (PowerShell, Command Prompt, Git Bash, WSL) with an always-available bundled Bash, GPU rendering, and one-click profiles for AI coding CLIs like Claude, Codex, and Gemini. A terminal that actually looks and feels good.
Kernel is KVRNL's own terminal — the studio's namesake. It runs real Windows shells over ConPTY (PowerShell, Command Prompt, Git Bash, WSL) with GPU-accelerated rendering, clickable links, search, and a clean, configurable look. Bash always works, even on a fresh machine, thanks to a bundled Bash environment.
It's also built for AI-assisted work: when you have Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini installed, Kernel offers them as one-click profiles and renders their full-screen interfaces perfectly. Right-click any folder to “Open Kernel here.” Themes, fonts, cursor, and opacity are all yours to tune. Free to use; claim your license key and download it straight from this page.
- GPU-accelerated rendering with real ConPTY shells
- Auto-detected profiles + a bundled Bash so bash always works
- One-click AI CLI profiles — Claude, Codex, Gemini
- Clickable links, find, themes, fonts, opacity & “Open Kernel here”
Kernel is completely free. Downloads run through a free KVRNL account so every install gets its own license key.
- Go to kvrnl.io/products/kernel/
- Create a free account — email verification, nothing else
- Claim your license key — instant, no waiting
- Download and install
Note
Kernel isn't code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may warn you on first run. Click More info → Run anyway. Code signing is on the roadmap.
- Free, one per product, issued from your KVRNL account.
- A key activates on one machine. The first device to activate it claims it.
- Switching computers? Hit Release device on your account page and the key is free to use again.
- Keys are checked over HTTPS at launch. See Privacy.
- Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
- A free KVRNL account for your license key
Kernel sends KVRNL only what's needed to validate your license: the key, the product name, and a hardware ID. No telemetry, no analytics, no tracking, and none of your files. Full policy: kvrnl.io/privacy
v1.0.21 — 2026-07-21
- New installs now default to the clean Mono theme with the animated RGB border off. You can switch back to any theme (and turn the RGB border on) anytime in Settings → Appearance.
v1.0.20 — 2026-07-21
- AI CLIs now start up perfectly clean — the shell launches at its final size, so tools like Claude Code paint their welcome screen exactly once (no leftover duplicate).
- Much smoother window resizing: dragging an edge or corner no longer looks buggy or glitchy. Kernel pauses its heavy per-frame link-underlining while you drag and does one clean pass the moment you let go.
v1.0.19 — 2026-07-21
- Fixed the big one: AI CLIs like Claude Code no longer redraw their welcome screen over and over into a stacked, garbled mess. Kernel now waits until you finish resizing the window before telling the shell its new size — so full-screen tools repaint once, cleanly, instead of dozens of times.
v1.0.18 — 2026-07-21
- Fixed rare graphics glitches on some PCs — smeared or repeating text, or old text bleeding through. Kernel now automatically switches to a rock-solid drawing mode if the GPU renderer misbehaves, and stays there.
- New setting (Appearance → Hardware acceleration) to turn GPU drawing off yourself if you ever see glitches — for instant, guaranteed-clean text.
v1.0.17 — 2026-07-09
- Two new themes: GitHub (clean dark) and Cursor Blue.
- A first-run welcome popup plus a new Getting Started tab in Settings, packed with quick tips and shortcuts (reopen it anytime).
- There's now always one empty line under the last row, and it's locked to the bottom of the window — no resize can ever push content past the frame.
- New installs now default to the Matrix theme with the animated RGB border on.
Full history → kvrnl.io/changelog/kernel
Setup guides and how-tos → kvrnl.io/docs/kernel
Important
We don't use GitHub Issues. Report bugs from inside the app — it's the fastest route to us and it attaches the details we need automatically.
- 🐛 Found a bug? Use Report a Problem inside Kernel
- 💬 Chat with us → Discord
- ✉️ Anything else → kvrnl.io/contact
- ❓ FAQ → kvrnl.io/faq
Proprietary freeware — free to use, not open source.
This repository hosts the installer releases, documentation, and license for Kernel. The application source code is not published. See LICENSE for the full terms.
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