Terminal

The Terminal is an in-world computer running Hard Hoof OS. Use its desktop apps, write Volt programs, and connect machines so the computer can operate your factory.

Build: Machine Workshop; use JEI for the recipe.
Power: rear DC input, 48 J reserve.
Storage: 8,000 B built-in flash and two removable-media bays.

First boot

1. Place the Terminal with its screen facing you.
2. Connect copper wire from a powered network to the back. A Coal Generator is enough for a first setup.
3. Turn its master switch on and open the front console.
4. Complete the setup prompts for the computer name, account, company, and screen-lock preference.
5. Press Ctrl+Space to open the Horn, search for the Terminal app, and open a shell.
6. Run the included first program:

run /home/hello.volt

The example asks your name and prints a greeting. It is created on a new computer's first boot. You can read and change your copy with the Editor.

What to open next

Goal	App or command
Find an app, command, or theme	The Horn: Ctrl+Space, goat button, or type on the desktop
Browse files	Files, or ls and cd
Edit a program	Editor; Ctrl+S saves, Ctrl+R runs
Read help	Help app, help, or man
See connected machines	Devices app
Use a storage network	Storage app
Operate reality devices	Printer, Zone, or Worlds app
Read the real web	Browser app, web, or fetch, with an Internet Dish: The web & remote access
Reach this computer from your desktop	remote pair, then Hard Hoof Studio
Check the weather	Weather app, or weather
Run pressure machines	Pressure app, or pressure
Inspect memory and processes	System app or ps
Program a microcontroller	Put it in a bay, then run burn <file>

The built-in apps are Volt programs. Their files under /rom are readable, so you can learn from them and save your own copies.

Connect a machine

Place a compatible device next to a non-screen face of the Terminal, or connect it through Data Cable. Supply power to the device separately. Open Devices to inspect what the computer can reach before issuing commands.

Data Cable provides communication; copper wire supplies electricity. The Terminal's rear power connection and its data connection have different jobs.

Some devices have their controls only in a computer app. The Matter Printer, Zone Projector, Dimension Creator, and Gateway expose state at the block and actions through their apps or commands.

Hardware and power

Feature	Current Terminal
Display	480 × 270 pixels
Built-in CPU	500 kHz; 25,000 instructions per tick
Built-in RAM	64 KB
Upgrade sockets	CPU, two memory modules, network card
Removable bays	Two; accept supported disks or microcontrollers
Base power draw	1.5 W idle plus up to 2.5 W as CPU load rises
Stored energy	48 J

The built-in CPU and memory let an empty-socket Terminal start. Installed parts can change its available hardware; use the System app to inspect your machine.

Closing the console leaves programs running while the computer has usable power. Losing usable power stops them; returning power boots the OS again. Save your work to files rather than relying on a program's temporary state. Files remain on their storage through a power interruption.

When you walk away

Since 0.6.0 a Terminal, rack bay, Router or Exchange keeps running when its chunk unloads, and a server restart resumes every program instead of rebooting. Idle computers sleep until something happens, so they cost almost nothing.

• Devices. While the computer's chunk is loaded but a device's is not, the device stays listed and a call to it answers offline: <label> is not loaded.
• Power, 0.6.0. An unloaded computer runs on its own stored charge: about 30 seconds for an idle Terminal. Then it stops, and boots again when you come back.
• Power, development build. A Terminal, Server Rack, Router or Exchange on a factory's copper wire is fed while its chunk is unloaded, as if you were there, so its programs keep running for as long as the wire has power. Terminals and racks now charge only for power actually delivered.
• Cables. Messages cross a data cable even when part of it is in unloaded chunks.

Neural Link (development build)

An Implant Bench fits a Neural Link in your brain. Press J (while no screen is open) to open the last Terminal you used, from anywhere in its world while its chunk is loaded. The cost: the link is a device on that computer's bus, so programs there, and anyone who gets into that computer, can read your vitals, write to your screen and jolt you. See Implants.

Files and startup

Path	Purpose
/home	Your working files and first example
/rom	Read-only OS, apps, commands, and manuals
/disk	Disk in bay 1, when present
/disk2	Disk in bay 2, when present
/startup.volt	Your optional program launched at boot

Use Drives for copying files, storage limits, and chip programming. Try a program manually before making it your startup program.

If it does not work

• Offline: check the master switch, rear connection, generator fuel, and stored joules.
• Locked: sign in with the computer's configured account.
• Missing device: check its power and non-screen data connection; inspect Devices.
• Save refused: /rom is read-only; use /home or a removable disk.
• Out of memory: inspect running programs in System and close work you no longer need.