I've toyed around with similar concepts, but went the way of trying to middle-man the input and display of a standard console instead of trying to recreate one.

I've toyed around with similar concepts, but went the way of trying to middle-man the input and display of a standard console instead of trying to recreate one. Admittedly that creates some limitations to how integrated things can look without extra work, but it allows for normal interactive programs and really only enhances what was already there. Plus there's the added benefit of being able to run commands even while something interactive is up. In any case, these kinds of hybrids are inevitable due to the vast room for improvement that exists in desktop and system apps combined with how powerful the web standards have become for UI and interactivity. Really though, while I think TermKit is a decently executed attempt at this, it alienates some of its audience for obvious reasons. It completely throws away the charm of a shell with visual style choices and breaks powerful features that people expect. That's fine, because even with those departures it can suffice as a casual mode with certain conveniences for times when it makes sense. Visual styles can be fixed or customized, so that's just shortsightedness by others. As far as expected features like interactivity and whatever else people feel TermKit lacks, it seems like any hybrid terminal that takes this route should really try to implement a quickswitch that lets you fade between a rich terminal and a standard text console, already at your working directory with the same permissions. Sure, people could just task switch to another running console, but that segments the whole experience a bit more.