Migrate to Derp from macOS Terminal

Derp gives Terminal.app users everything they already have, including shell, theme, font, and prompt settings, plus split panes, tabs, blocks, and Agent Mode for an AI-assisted workflow. This page walks through both an Agent-driven migration and the manual GUI steps.

What Derp can help transfer

Derp doesn't have a one-click Terminal.app importer. Because Terminal.app stores profile data in macOS preferences, Derp's Agent can read those preferences with defaults read com.apple.Terminal and translate matching theme, font, and window settings into Derp's settings.toml. Most Terminal.app users run near-default settings, so the migration usually takes only a few minutes either way.

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

The fastest way to bring over a Terminal.app theme is to ask Derp's Agent to translate it directly. Derp ships a settings.toml file and a bundled modify-settings skill that lets the Agent read your Terminal.app preferences and write equivalent values into Derp's settings, including creating a matching custom theme.

1. In the Derp app, open a new tab and switch to Agent Mode with ⌘+I.

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

   Read my Terminal.app preferences with defaults read com.apple.Terminal and port the active profile (theme, font, window size) into my Derp settings.toml using the modify-settings skill. 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.

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

What to reconfigure manually

Shell

Derp auto-detects your login shell on first launch. macOS has shipped with zsh as the default since Catalina (2019); if you changed your shell with chsh, Derp picks that up too.

To change it later, open Settings > Features > Session in the Derp app and choose a shell from Startup shell for new sessions.

Theme and colors

Terminal.app ships with a handful of profiles (Basic, Pro, Homebrew, Ocean, etc.). Match them in Derp:

1. In the Derp app, open Settings > Appearance > Themes.
2. Choose a preset theme. Derp's built-in library includes many themes similar to Terminal.app's defaults.
3. For exact color matches, create a custom theme using ANSI color values from Terminal.app. In Terminal.app, open Settings, select Profiles, and click Text to inspect those values.

Font

1. In the Derp app, open Settings > Appearance > Text, fonts, & cursor, then choose your font family and size to match what you use in Terminal.app.

Window size and transparency

Configure window appearance in the Derp app from Settings > Appearance > Size, opacity, & blurring. See size, opacity, and blurring.

Prompt

Terminal.app uses whatever prompt your shell's PS1 (or zsh's PROMPT) defines. In Derp, choose:

1. Derp prompt - Derp's native prompt with drag-and-drop chips for git branch, directory, and more.
2. Shell prompt (PS1) - keeps your existing shell prompt exactly as it appears in Terminal.app.

Configure either prompt in the Derp app from Settings > Appearance > Prompt.

Derp-native equivalents

Most Terminal.app features have a Derp equivalent with additional capabilities on top:

From Terminal.app	In Derp
Profiles	Tab configs for layouts and startup commands; themes for appearance (Derp has no single profile object)
Window groups / arrangements	Tab configs
Tabs	Tabs, vertical tabs
Split panes	Split panes (Terminal.app doesn't support)
Copy-on-select	Settings > Features > Session
Inspector	Command inspector (exit code, duration, working directory)

Beyond matching Terminal.app, Derp adds Agent Mode for natural-language commands, blocks for structured command output, and Derp Drive for shared workflows. New to Derp? Start with the Derp quickstart.