Login required without a reason + Trial without sign in + Offline mode

[swsnider]

Discord username (optional)

No response

Describe the bug

I downloaded warp for the first time based on a link someone sent me about it being in public beta, but I'm immediately presented with a login form that I cannot dismiss. I know I cannot be the only developer who would never do a cloud login to use a terminal, let alone do it without any indication why it's needed or what it implies will be collected/transmitted to the warp team.

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce:

1. Go to https://www.warp.dev
2. Click on Download
3. Drag app to Applications
4. Run Warp

Expected behaviour

A terminal emulator or similar experience opening quickly and slickly

Screenshots

No response

Operating System

MacOS

OS Version

No response

Additional context

No response

[obazin]

I want to insist on one point : it could be perfectly to ask for login if user wants to use features requiring it. But being in front of a terminal without being able to type any command is such a bad experience, to say the least. This kind of very intrusive pattern doesn't serve the product at all.

[v-sec0]

Extremely disappointed with the forced login. Saw this terminal sponsored on the nvim page and wanted to check it out. Hopefull full release is better.

[benjamin-rood]

So, I have downloaded and tested Warp out and I think the product is great and what it can do is very powerful. I think the way Warp as a company is going about all this is shady as hell and completely unnecessary. I am more than happy to pay for software, but this is what I would pay for:

• Using my OWN OpenAPI keys, I already pay for ChatGPT-4, I should be able to use it, I shouldn't have to foot the bill for your calls to OpenAPI on your keys
• Zero telemetry or metadata storage
• No more bullshit about the motivations - just be honest about why you want everyone's data, so you can sell it to third parties, or use it to train some AI system which you then sell
• The "it's just metadata" argument is a fiction, metadata has gotten people locked up and droned :skull:, it's completely egregious and unnecessary for a terminal emulator
• Security, and privacy: at a minimum, give me the option to pay instead of being exploited

Until there is more honesty about the motivations behind these decisions, though...

[ProxiBlue]

So, you can come to work one day, and your terminal is locked out. No. thank. you. I'll stick to a terminal that does not require an external service to work.

[vugarli]

Could have popped up login whenever needed. Probably not developers' choice, rather something to do with management. Uninstalled anyways.

[Panocha]

As bad as Microsoft. Requiring a login? Really? Deleted immediately.

[Panocha]

and it's NOT just about telemetry! smh... https://search.brave.com/search?q=mac+warp+no+login+hack&source=desktop

[n0one42]

Sadly I also decided to stop using it. It was such a great tool and rly game changing at the beginning of this project but now... This is just getting annoying. Everywhere... login here, login there... sucks. Maybe there will be an alternative of using just a small llm on the own machine using phi-3 or such inside the terminal. There are also still many ways to use AI without login like perplexity.ai so no sense to force people using cloud and this stuff. R.I.P Warp

[nixoeen]

The software -looks- open source and free software, that's why I consider using it. Forcing login made me suspicious and by checking the License, I saw that it's closed source! (https://github.com/warpdotdev/Warp?tab=License-1-ov-file) I directly uninstalled it.

I believe it is not the right way to deal with users. Make it clear that it is a closed source software and login is necessary to use the software. Right now it seems that you are intentionally tricking users.

[ThisNekoGuy]

I'm kind of baffled how this has been an open issue for two years without actually doing anything about it. "We're listening to feedback" and then doing nothing to resolve this issue since 2022 is far from caring.

And I'm inclined to agree with @nixoeen as well: FOSS licenses exist for a reason; if you're so concerned about your company's focus/attention and your IP, you're not under obligation to manage contributors nor require a license that robs you of ownership. But stop pretending you're "for open source" when this project has no actual plans to act as anything other than a vehicle for business if Warp is intended to be closed source. It's dishonest.

[n0one42]

The software -looks- open source and free software, that's why I consider using it. Forcing login made me suspicious and by checking the License, I saw that it's closed source! (https://github.com/warpdotdev/Warp?tab=License-1-ov-file) I directly uninstalled it.

I believe it is not the right way to deal with users. Make it clear that it is a closed source software and login is necessary to use the software. Right now it seems that you are intentionally tricking users.

Yes, it feels open source because in my opinion it looks just to close to this software which I found some days ago: GitHub - Tabby It feels just like a fork of this but is just my opinion. Its worth to try this.

[dheera]

+1 here. Installed it because the screenshots looked pretty. As soon as I saw the "sign up" box and "privacy settings" I just X'ed out of this mess and uninstalled it. Privacy settings? For a terminal? Why???? It shouldn't even be an issue in the first place.

We need more software that takes you straight to what you want to do, not present you with obstructions.

What's next, SMS verification?

[gerardsimons]

Boooooooo! This is completely unncessary and made me stop using Warp! I used to be an avid Warp user but I really do not like this login stuff. At least give an option to skip it. Happy to pay if that fixes your money needs.

[ImGGAAVVIINN]

This is a pr disaster :( Linux users are quite privacy conscious, to require them to login to use their terminal is basically a death sentence for the product. If you want to collect data entered into the terminal and then send it to advertisers, it is recommended to shift the target audience to Windows, who most don't know about or are less weary about their privacy. Edit: fixed typos

[xeor]

I think warp would have been a completly different place if they had dropped the forced login. Probably one of the "I NEED THIS" tool for a lot of people. Instead, they are where they are; I have never heard any of my fellow geeks mention warp at all. It's just not a popular tool, even tho it really could be one of "those".

It looks very good, but as many here have said, it is just not going to fly for advanced terminal users.

What are you doing devs?

ps; I'm not trying to be mean. But I really want to use this tool as well. It looks awesome..

[AlecRust]

What are you doing devs?

Devs aren't the problem. This is a major fail at the product level.

[JohnHuddleston]

The idea of having any kind of web account tied to a terminal emulator is disconcerting as-is, making the account mandatory is absurd. The FAQ mentions that they're looking for ways to allow users to "try" Warp without an account which sounds like some kind of trial offering rather than just allowing users to opt out of the cloud-based features and support. Terrible product design choice, zero improvement in over 2 years according to this issue, I uninstalled without hesitation.

[n0one42]

The open-source terminal emulator Wave offers AI features and the significant advantage of local LLM hosting. While still in its early stages, this project shows considerable promise. Its development may encourage competitors like Warp to reassess their strategies, potentially leading to the removal of mandatory logins, as was the case initially.

[ljennings-chip]

We recommended this terminal from a peer. Went to download and try and immediately uninstalled after seeing an account is required. There is nothing this product does that cannot be achieved with some open source plugins.

Do not sell your privacy for some shortcuts.

[totallypredictable]

Unfortunately, since it is considered that "data is the new oil" in this age, more and more companies opt for shady business practices and this project feels just like one of them. We need more honest projects. Open source. Open minds. Open future.

[JamesJosephFinn]

+1 This is absolutely and utterly inexcusable and unjustifiable. (Side note: AI is a marketing scam [which, in this particular instance, is being used to trojan-horse spyware]. There is no such thing as "AI"; and LLMs / Generative Transformers / ML has been actively researched in academe since before most reading this post were born. It has its usefulness, but it will never be intelligent.)

[4oooo4]

+1 to remove login. I'm fine to use terminal without AI features, but login in terminal... it is so wrong. I tried warp - looks great, but just because of login i can't use it as my daily terminal

[4oooo4]

Same here.

1. Downloaded and Installed.
2. Started the app and when it forced a 'login' to usage.
3. Just deleted the app.
4. Thanks !

feel your pain :)

[xyres137]

+1

[paulpetrila]

+1

Any company needs to earn the access to my data, you can't just request it from me the second I install your software. Make login optional. It is not required on any other terminal I've ever used.

[JamesJosephFinn]

There is a fully open-sourced emulator dropping this Fall, Ghostty, built by the brilliant mind behind Hashicorp. If you, like me, are on the hunt for a proper, cross-platform emulator, and are innately averse to telemetry network requests being sent from your shell (even if you can intercept them), then say hello to your soon-to-be new favorite terminal.

[vmjaws]

Imagine a terminal that requires a login but insists its data collection is anonymous—like telling people Christmas is in August, humm with climate changes it may be true.

[nnmalex]

My workflow: Install WARP, stare at the mandatory login screen, find this issue, uninstall WARP.