Migrate to Derp from Ghostty

Derp gives Ghostty users a fast path to bring over themes, fonts, and keybindings, plus native equivalents for the Ghostty features you rely on, from the quick terminal to native tabs and splits.

What Derp can help transfer

Derp doesn't have a one-click Ghostty importer. Because Ghostty stores its configuration in a plain-text key-value file at ~/.config/ghostty/config, Derp's Agent can read that file and translate matching values into Derp's settings.toml.

Use Derp's Agent to migrate your settings (recommended)

The fastest way to bring over your Ghostty setup is to ask Derp's Agent to translate your config directly. Derp ships a settings.toml file and a bundled modify-settings skill that lets the Agent read your existing config and write equivalent values into Derp's settings, including translating your Ghostty theme into a Derp custom theme.

1. In the Derp app, open a new tab and switch to Agent Mode with ⌘+I (macOS) or Ctrl+I (Linux/Windows).

2. Paste this prompt into Agent Mode, then press Enter.

   Read my Ghostty config at ~/.config/ghostty/config and any referenced theme files in ~/.config/ghostty/themes/. Port the equivalent settings (theme, font, keybindings, shell) into my Derp settings.toml using the modify-settings skill, and create a matching custom theme. Show me a diff before applying.

3. Review the proposed diff, then approve the changes. Derp hot-reloads settings.toml, so changes take effect immediately.

If you'd rather configure each setting manually through the Settings UI, the steps below cover the most common cases.

What to reconfigure manually

Theme and colors

1. In the Derp app, open Settings > Appearance > Themes.
2. Choose a built-in theme that matches your Ghostty setup, or create a custom theme by translating your Ghostty colors into a YAML theme file.
3. If your Ghostty config references a custom theme, open the matching file in ~/.config/ghostty/themes/ and copy the foreground, background, and 16 ANSI color values.

Font and text

1. In the Derp app, open Settings > Appearance > Text, fonts, & cursor and match your Ghostty font-family and font-size values.
2. If you use font ligatures, toggle Ligatures on.

Keybindings

Derp's default keyboard shortcuts cover most Ghostty bindings. For custom bindings from your Ghostty keybind lines, open Settings > Keyboard shortcuts in the Derp app and add them manually.

Shell and prompt

Derp detects your login shell automatically. To override it, open Settings > Features > Session in the Derp app and choose a shell from Startup shell for new sessions.

For prompts, choose between Derp's native prompt (drag-and-drop context chips) or the shell prompt (PS1) if you want to keep your existing prompt configuration.

Quick terminal (Quake mode)

In the Derp app, configure Derp's equivalent from Settings > Features > Window > Global hotkey. See global hotkey for the full configuration.

Derp-native equivalents

Use this table to find the closest Derp equivalent for Ghostty features you might look for after switching:

From Ghostty	In Derp
Quick terminal / dropdown window	Global hotkey
Native tabs and splits	Tabs, vertical tabs, split panes
Command palette	Command Palette (⌘+P on macOS, Ctrl+Shift+P on Linux/Windows)
GPU-accelerated rendering	GPU-rendered natively on all supported platforms
Kitty graphics protocol	Image rendering for most common workflows (see more features)
Shaders and custom visual effects	Not supported; closest: size, opacity, and blurring + pane dimming

Beyond parity, Derp adds Agent Mode, Code Review, and Derp Drive for AI-assisted development and team collaboration.

For more on what you can configure, see Customizing Derp.