| # | Time | Cycle | Message | Progress | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{ row.idx }} | {{ row.time }} | {{ row.cycle }} | {{ row.message }} | {{ row.progress }} | |
| No events yet. Start the simulator to populate the table. | |||||
Terminal installer logs are the scrolling lines you see while software is being downloaded, unpacked, and configured. They help you judge whether an install is moving forward, waiting on a network, or failing early, and they are often shown in tutorials and team runbooks. If you need fake installer terminal output for a recording or a workshop, a simulator keeps the story consistent without changing your machine.
The Terminal Installer Simulator generates a believable stream of install activity that loops, so you can rehearse a setup flow with a Linux, macOS, or Windows look. You pick a scenario preset and a window style, then the session streams timestamps, progress, and messages that resemble common package tools. When you pause, the current log stays ready to resume, and a reset starts a fresh take from the beginning.
Imagine you are recording onboarding for a new developer and you want something realistic on screen while you explain each step. You choose a Homebrew style run, slow the pacing slightly, and keep warnings off so the output stays calm and readable. For a troubleshooting exercise, you can enable warnings so retries and throttling lines appear among normal download and setup messages.
The output is simulated and it can look convincing, so label it clearly when sharing screenshots or clips. If you want comparable takes, keep the same pacing and warning settings and stop at similar progress points. When you need true diagnostics, run the real command in a safe environment and use this simulator only for demonstrations.
An installer session is modeled as a time ordered sequence of events. Each event corresponds to one rendered log line with a timestamp, a message string, a level label, a cycle number, and a progress snapshot. These values are generated locally to look plausible rather than to reflect a real system install.
Progress is treated as an approximate completion percent that drives the narrative. Fixed thresholds map the current progress into a stage such as prepare, download, install, configure, or finish, and that stage determines which template family is used for the next message. The result is a log that naturally shifts from dependency setup into fetching, then into installation and cleanup.
Timing is synthetic and deliberately imperfect. Each new line is scheduled using a random delay that is scaled by the pace setting, and additional jitter is added when warning injection is enabled. This creates small pauses and bursts that feel closer to a real interactive session.
Because the generator uses a pseudo random number generator (PRNG) with no user supplied seed, identical settings will not reproduce identical logs. For consistent demos, rely on the scenario, pacing, and overall cadence rather than any single line of text.
Each line delay starts from a base value, adds random variance and optional jitter, then divides by the pace multiplier and clamps to a minimum and maximum.
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit/Datatype | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
pace |
Speed multiplier that scales delays and progress increments. | number | Input |
variance |
Uniform random delay component added per line. | ms | Derived |
jitter |
Additional uniform random delay, larger when warnings are enabled. | ms | Derived |
delay_ms |
Scheduled wait time until the next generated line. | ms | Derived |
progress |
Completion estimate that drives stage selection and the percent display. | percent (number) | Derived |
cycle |
Loop counter that increments after a completion message. | integer | Derived |
max_lines |
Retention cap for the in memory log. | lines (integer) | Input |
level |
Severity label for each line, used for coloring and exports. | string enum | Derived |
Assume pace is 1.25, warnings are enabled, and the session is currently at 30 percent progress in the download stage. One tick draws variance of 120 ms and jitter of 70 ms.
If the next line is informational, the progress bump uses a larger base than a warning line. With a sample bump of 4.375, progress advances into the mid 30s while staying in the same stage.
Interpretation: the stage remains download because progress is still below 38 percent, and the displayed percent rounds to a whole number for readability.
| Stage | Lower Bound (%) | Upper Bound (%) | Typical message themes |
|---|---|---|---|
prepare |
0 | 12 | Reading lists, resolving dependencies, selecting packages. |
download |
12 | 38 | Fetching packages, showing sizes, speeds, and retries. |
install |
38 | 68 | Unpacking, verifying, and placing files. |
configure |
68 | 96 | Post install hooks, triggers, and environment hints. |
finish |
96 | 100 | Summary lines and cleanup, then the cycle restarts. |
When warnings are enabled, warnings are injected with stage specific probabilities, including about 6 percent in prepare, 12 percent in download, and 8 percent in configure. Warning lines also reduce progress increments and increase delay jitter, which makes the run feel less linear.
| Parameter | Meaning | Unit/Datatype | Typical Range | Sensitivity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
scenario |
Preset that defines the command line, packages, hosts, and templates. | enum | 10 presets | High | Changing it resets the current session. |
window_style |
Terminal chrome style used for the shell frame. | enum | auto, mac, windows, linux | Low | Auto uses platform detection and scenario hints. |
display_mode |
Where the terminal is presented. | enum | windowed, fullscreen, popup | Medium | Fullscreen attempts the browser feature and falls back to an expanded view. |
pace |
Multiplier applied to delays and progress increments. | number | 0.5 to 2.0 | High | Displayed with two decimals and clamped for safety. |
include_warnings |
Inject warnings, retries, and slower steps for realism. | boolean | true or false | Medium | Also increases delay jitter and reduces some progress bumps. |
auto_scroll |
Keep the viewport pinned to the newest lines. | boolean | true or false | Low | Scrolling up locks it until you return near the bottom. |
timestamps |
Show timestamps next to each line in the viewport. | boolean | true or false | Low | Timestamps still appear in exported data. |
max_lines |
Retention cap for the log to keep rendering responsive. | integer | 80 to 600 | Medium | Exports reflect the trimmed view. |
| Constant | Value | Unit | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base line delay | 650 | ms | Constant | Random variance and jitter are added before scaling by pace. |
| Delay clamp | 220 to 1400 | ms | Constant | Prevents unrealistically fast or slow line emission. |
| Variance range | 0 to 180 | ms | Derived | Uniform random component added each tick. |
| Jitter range | 0 to 120 | ms | Derived | Reduced to 0 to 60 when warnings are disabled. |
| Stage thresholds | 12, 38, 68, 96 | percent | Constant | Defines prepare, download, install, configure, and finish. |
| Initial progress per cycle | 4 | percent | Constant | Each new cycle begins above zero for immediate feedback. |
| Progress internal cap | 104 | percent | Constant | Internal progress is capped before the completion logic resets. |
| Warning chances | 0.06, 0.12, 0.08 | probability | Constant | Applied in prepare, download, and configure stages respectively. |
| Version components | 1 to 4, 0 to 11, 0 to 13 | integers | Derived | Major, minor, and patch are generated per message. |
| Auto scroll bottom threshold | 18 | px | Constant | Scrolling higher than this locks auto scroll until you return. |
HH:MM:SS format with zero padding.| Field | Type | Min | Max | Step/Pattern | Handling | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
pace |
number | 0.5 | 2.0 | step 0.05 | Non finite values become 1, then clamped into range. | 1 |
max_lines |
integer | 80 | 600 | step 20 | Non finite values become 220, then clamped into range. | 220 |
scenario |
enum | 0 | 0 | apt, brew, winget, dnf, pacman, choco, npm, pip, cargo, curlbash | Unknown values fall back to a default preset. | apt |
window_style |
enum | 0 | 0 | auto, mac, windows, linux | Auto resolves from platform and scenario hints. | auto |
display_mode |
enum | 0 | 0 | windowed, fullscreen, popup | Mode changes trigger fullscreen or popup synchronization. | windowed |
| Input | Accepted Families | Output | Encoding/Precision | Rounding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event stream | In memory event list | CSV events table | Rows with columns #, Time, Cycle, Message, Progress | Progress is rounded to a whole percent |
| Session state | Scenario label, command line, window and mode labels | JSON session payload | Pretty printed with two space indentation | Event progress values are numeric and reflect per line snapshots |
| Event stream | Trimmed view of current log | DOCX session report | Title, subtitle metadata, and an events table | Same rounded progress as the events table |
The simulator uses the built in Math.random() generator for package picks, version strings, sizes, and timing variance. Selection is with replacement, which means the same package can appear multiple times within one cycle. Hosts also have short term memory, with about a 35 percent chance to reuse the last host to mimic stickiness.
Heads-up There is no exposed seed or replay log. If you need a repeatable transcript for a script, export one run and reuse that exported data as your source material.
Each event timestamp is derived from the local clock at the moment the line is generated, formatted as time of day only. The date is not included, so very long sessions that cross midnight can appear to jump backward in time.
The generator does not issue network requests. Any hostnames or URLs you see in the log are part of the simulated text, not real traffic. Popup mode renders a separate window whose content is written by the page itself and then set to about:blank to reduce visible location details.
Session state is held in memory while the page is open. Copying and downloading exports depend on standard browser permissions and user gesture rules.
Each tick appends one event and may rerender log views, so the work per tick is proportional to the number of retained lines. The log is trimmed to max_lines to cap memory and keep scrolling responsive, but very high caps can still make popup rendering feel heavy.
The same settings will produce a similar cadence but not identical text, timing, or package order. The exported JSON includes enough context to describe the session, including scenario, command line, window style label, mode label, cycle number, and the full event list.
Behavior relies on common browser platform features described by the WHATWG HTML Living Standard, the ECMAScript Language Specification, the Fullscreen API specification, and Clipboard and permissions specifications.
The session is generated locally and no data is transmitted or stored server-side, but treat any exported logs as shareable artifacts you should label as simulated, and outcomes are purely random and have no monetary value.
Terminal installer logs are easiest to present when you choose the scenario and cadence first, then let the simulator stream a clean narrative you can pause and capture.
Example: Choose a Homebrew scenario, set pace to 0.85, leave warnings off, click Start, and pause around 40 percent to explain the install stage.
Then export JSON to attach a realistic transcript to a ticket or a slide deck.
Pro tip: pause right after a stage transition so the on screen text matches your narration.
The session is kept in memory while the page is open. The script does not send events to a server, and exports only happen when you copy or download them.
Treat exported logs as files you may share, and label them as simulated output.It aims for believability, not accuracy. Messages are chosen from scenario templates, and timing, versions, and sizes are randomized, so the transcript resembles a real install without performing one.
Use it for demos and training, not for forensic evidence.Warnings are injected lines that mimic retries, timeouts, or hash rechecks. They are cosmetic and are meant to add texture and variability to the run.
Turning warnings on also increases timing jitter and can slow progress.Each event uses local time of day formatted as HH:MM:SS. The date is not included, and timestamps remain in exports even if you hide them in the viewport.
The simulator logic does not make network requests. Once the page is loaded, the session generation, copying, and downloads are driven by local browser features.
Popup and clipboard features can still be blocked by browser settings.Use the Events Table or JSON views to copy to clipboard or download a file. Exports reflect the trimmed log, so raise the max lines if you want a longer transcript.
Progress is tied to a looping cycle. When progress reaches 100 percent, the simulator appends a completion message, increments the cycle counter, and restarts progress for the next loop.
The package does not include licensing or pricing text in its UI or metadata. Follow the terms provided by the site or product that hosts this simulator.