PaperTerm is an SSH terminal built for e-paper devices such as the Onyx Boox range, where
screens redraw slowly and leave ghosting behind. It pairs the Termux terminal engine with a
pure-Java SSH client, and adds the details that make a terminal usable on e-ink.
It is a pure SSH client: there is no local shell and no local code execution.
Readable on e-paper
A dark-on-white ANSI palette keeps nvim, less and top legible instead of washing them out.
Ghosting was stress-tested with fast streaming output, large dumps, full-screen inversion,
repeated clears and TUI scrolling: the device's own EPD handling turned out to beat app-level
refresh calls, which caused keyboard flashing, so PaperTerm deliberately stays out of the way.
Page turning, e-reader style
Turn pages with the volume keys or on-screen triangles. Auto, Page-keys and Wheel modes let
editors and terminal multiplexers each behave the way they should.
Korean and CJK input
Composed syllables appear as they are finalized, without sending backspaces, so vim and other
full-screen apps stay safe. Latin text is sent immediately. Jamo can optionally be shown while
composing.
A keyboard row you control
The extra-keys row is fully customizable: a comma separates keys, a semicolon starts a new row,
and KEY=label sets the icon. Any other token is typed literally, so symbols or whole words can
become keys.
SSH essentials
Password and key authentication with a shared key store, known_hosts verification, keepalive,
reconnect after an unexpected disconnect, clipboard support including OSC 52, and per-host
environment injection so remote shells can switch to light themes.
Typography
Four bundled monospace fonts (CJK-capable by default), font import, and pinch-to-zoom sizing.
PaperTerm is free software under the GPLv3.
