Offline Scripture, terminal-native

Bible reading built for the terminal, with a path real users can actually trust.

bterm gives you healthy ASV/KJV data, red-letter reading, fast local search, range copy, saved themes, CLI direct search, AI agent skills, and a release-backed update path that stays simple after first install.

Install now Latest Release

Install from the latest release curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/baney75/bibleterm/main/scripts/install-release.sh | bash

ASV + KJVhealthy bundled data
Offlinesearch and reading stay local
CLI Searchget verses straight to your clipboard
AI Skillsbuilt-in prompt instructions
bterm upgradeone command keeps users current

Real user path

Install once from GitHub Releases, then keep using bterm upgrade.

$ bterm --doctor
bterm 1.0.2
installed: ASV, KJV
healthy: ASV, KJV
status: ok

$ bterm

Genesis 1      ASV      [t] translation  [c] theme  [/] search
[Genesis 1:1] [ASV]  JHN 1:1  HEB 11:3  PSA 33:6
---------------------------------------------------------------
BOOKS                           Genesis 1                  1 / 31
> Genesis                       1  In the beginning God created...

$ bterm john 3:16
John 3:16 ASV

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...

(Copied John 3:16 to clipboard)

Why it works

Serious CLI behavior, not terminal cosplay.

The app only presents healthy translations, keeps data local, routes updates through releases, and gives normal users three commands that matter: bterm, bterm --doctor, and bterm upgrade.

Healthy translation surface

Broken corpora stay out of the picker and out of the lie.

Made for daily reading

Fast navigation, reference jump, range copy, search, and red-letter reading.

Flow

One path in, one path forward.

First-time install and later upgrades land in the same local layout, so the product stays coherent instead of drifting between “package mode” and “manual fix mode.”

Terminal wordmark

 |_ _|_  _  ._ ._ _
 |_) |_ (/_ |  | | |

Bootstrap from a release

The installer downloads the latest GitHub release and runs the normal local install flow.

Run the same command every day

Users open the reader with bterm. They do not need the repo checkout or a second launcher story.

Upgrade without guesswork

bterm upgrade fetches the latest GitHub release and revalidates the installed data before calling it done.

Daily commands

Small surface, clear muscle memory.

Search & Copy Verse bterm john 3:16

Open the reader bterm

Check installed health bterm --doctor

Update later bterm upgrade

Install

The path that works today.

Use the release installer now. The package metadata is already prepared for bun install -g bibleterm, but actual npm publish still depends on npm publish permissions on the maintainer side.

Works without a repo checkout Users install from a published release, not a development branch.

Keeps updates simple After install, future releases are just bterm upgrade.

Stays honest under failure bterm --doctor shows exactly what is healthy and installed.

curl -fsSL \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/baney75/bibleterm/main/scripts/install-release.sh | bash
bterm --doctor
bterm

# later
bterm upgrade

Does this work offline?

Yes. Reading, navigation, search, and copy work from local ASV/KJV data. Network use is only for install and upgrade.

What if an installed translation is broken?

The app filters unhealthy translations out of the picker. You can verify the current install with bterm --doctor.

Where are the docs?

The project lives on GitHub. Release notes, architecture, and contributor docs are all there.

Can I use this with an AI assistant?

Yes. Run bterm skill to install an Open Standard agent skill file and get a prompt you can paste to your local AI to teach it how to search the Bible.