gitzette / @mitchellh / Mar 16 – Mar 22 W12
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@mitchellh — open-source digest March 16 – March 22, 2026
Vol. 1, No. 2 github.com/mitchellh
the dispatch
@mitchellh
libghostty's C API gets concrete — static libs, CMake, and state machines that remember where they were.
198 commits 19 PRs 0 releases 3 repos

92 commits to ghostty, 53 each to ghostling and ghostty-windows, no releases this week.

FEATURE

libghostty now builds as a static library

*CMake and Zig tooling mature enough to ship the VT library in multiple forms.*

@mitchellh merged #11732 to add static library support alongside the existing dynamic build. This follows weeks of infrastructure work: CMake support landed in #11700, Zig optimization flags for release builds in #11707, and CI validation in #11703. Static linking reduces runtime dependencies for consumers of libghostty-vt, particularly useful for embedded terminal implementations like ghostling.

FEATURE

VT decoder state now persists across vt_write calls

*Streaming parsers no longer reset mid-sequence when input arrives in fragments.*

The VT state machine in libghostty-vt previously lost context between separate write operations. #11728 preserves decoder state across boundaries — critical for any consumer receiving escape sequences in chunks rather than complete messages. This is a correctness fix disguised as infrastructure work; parsers that can't hold state across I/O boundaries produce corrupted output or drop sequences entirely.

FEATURE

libghostty C API expands with build info and cell inspection

*Consumers can now query renderer state and terminal grid contents directly from C.*

#11725 adds a ghostty_build_info API for querying build configuration, while #11676 provides grid point and cell inspection — the low-level terminal data structs that screen readers and clipboard handlers need. Together with #11664's render state API, the C interface now exposes enough of the terminal's internals that alternative UIs (like ghostling) and accessibility tools can work directly with rendered output without reimplementing parsing.

the dispatch — Vol. 1, No. 2 March 16 – March 22, 2026
FEATURE

VT color cell types support palette and RGB data

*Cell-level color information now distinguishes between indexed and direct color modes.*

#11717 adds color_palette and color_rgb cell data types to the VT library. This allows consumers of libghostty-vt to preserve the semantic difference between a cell colored via a 256-color palette index versus direct 24-bit RGB — important for accurate round-tripping of terminal output and for accessibility layers that need to report actual color values.

FEATURE

build system consolidates around a single configuration option

*The `-Demit-lib-vt` flag replaces a separate build step, simplifying consumer integrations.*

#11716 replaces the old lib-vt build step with a Zig compile option, reducing the number of build modes consumers need to maintain. A pending Meson wrapper (#11702) suggests the next abstraction layer — making libghostty-vt available through multiple build systems without custom glue.

PENDING

ghostling accumulates commits at steady pace

*The minimal terminal emulator built on libghostty continues development in parallel.*

53 commits this week to ghostling — no merged PRs or releases, but consistent iteration. This suggests ongoing integration work against libghostty's expanding C API. The project remains a real-time stress test of whether the library bindings are sufficient for an independent UI layer.

stats corner
198
commits
19
pull requests
0
releases
commits by repo
REPO COMMITS ghostty 92 ghostling 53 ghostty-windows 53
github stars
ghostty
48,181
ghostling
720
repo index
  • ghostty
    👻 Ghostty is a fast, feature-rich, and cross-platform terminal emulator that uses platform-native UI and GPU acceleration.
    92 commits · 0 releases · ★ 48181
  • ghostling
    A minimum viable terminal emulator built on top of the libghostty C API. Ex minimo, infinita nascuntur. 👻🐣
    53 commits · 0 releases · ★ 720
  • ghostty-windows
    53 commits · 0 releases · ★ 0
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