WorldTUI predicts a terminal screen without running a real shell

WorldTUI is a 360-million-parameter model that predicts terminal screen updates from keystrokes, with no real shell or filesystem behind the display. Simon Edwardsson trained it on recorded sessions and examples that repair its own mistakes. Parallel row drafts, checked sequentially, reduce redraw work. The browser prototype can produce convincing interactions while still forgetting file contents or accepting commands a real shell would reject.

Simon Edwardsson · Oct 21, 2026

Why it matters

Plausible output and preserved state are different properties, so a convincing interface needs tests of both.

More context

Try the 208 MB local WebGPU demo in a desktop Chrome or Edge browser with a physical keyboard. The article explains its screen-update representation and failure tests. It is an experiment for studying learned interfaces, rather than a terminal for real work.

Keep in mind

The reported tests are the author’s small task sets, not a general world-model evaluation. Files are simulated, arithmetic can be wrong, and the downloadable weights link is still promised.

Original read