eDEX-UI For Mac

If you got into coding because of how movies portrayed it, you were no doubt a bit disappointed. But why shouldn't your terminal be as exciting as what you see on the big screen? Sure, it might not be quite as practical and efficient as a basic command console, but it can't all be about the numbers, right?

For those looking to add a bit of sci-fi to their development, eDEX-UI is just the thing. Inspired by the 2010 TRON: Legacy, it presents you with a full-screen terminal, file browser, virtual keyboard, and system monitor. It comes with additional themes, sound effects, and a fair number of configuration options.

As soon as you launch eDEX-UI, you'll feel like you're in your own sci-fi movie. The default theme is modeled after the board room sequence in TRON: Legacy, and it comes quite close to replicating the design.

The bulk of the UI is reserved for the terminal itself, with 5 tabs for you to work with. You have a system monitor to the left and a network monitor to the right, as well as a file browser and a virtual keyboard below.

Of course, we can't neglect to mention the futuristic sound effects that are played when typing or opening menus. Mind you, if they aren't really your thing (and they will probably get old very quickly) you can disable them at any time.

In the app's user directory (~/Library/Application Support/eDEX-UI), you will find the .json files used for configuring the emulator's settings and shortcuts. Simply open these in a text editor or directly in eDEX-UI to customize your preferences.

To change the default theme, go to the themes folder and select one of the many that are available. The app will restart automatically. Variations of the TRON theme also allow you to rearrange UI elements and remove the virtual keyboard.

Of course, most developers aren't going to take a terminal emulator like eDEX-UI seriously, but it's fun to play around with at the very least. Once the novelty wears off, though, you'll find that it's quite a resource hog, and it doesn't really have enough features to go with the futuristic look.