diff --git a/backend/server/dist/index.js b/backend/server/dist/index.js
index d35a61b..e13479f 100644
--- a/backend/server/dist/index.js
+++ b/backend/server/dist/index.js
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ var __importDefault = (this && this.__importDefault) || function (mod) {
 };
 Object.defineProperty(exports, "__esModule", { value: true });
 const fs_1 = __importDefault(require("fs"));
+const os_1 = __importDefault(require("os"));
 const path_1 = __importDefault(require("path"));
 const express_1 = __importDefault(require("express"));
 const dotenv_1 = __importDefault(require("dotenv"));
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ const http_1 = require("http");
 const socket_io_1 = require("socket.io");
 const zod_1 = require("zod");
 const utils_1 = require("./utils");
-const terminal_1 = require("./terminal");
+const node_pty_1 = require("node-pty");
 dotenv_1.default.config();
 const app = (0, express_1.default)();
 const port = process.env.PORT || 4000;
@@ -132,18 +133,37 @@ io.on("connection", (socket) => __awaiter(void 0, void 0, void 0, function* () {
         yield (0, utils_1.renameFile)(fileId, newFileId, file.data);
     }));
     socket.on("createTerminal", ({ id }) => {
-        console.log("creating terminal (" + id + ")");
-        terminals[id] = new terminal_1.Pty(socket, id, `/projects/${data.id}`);
+        console.log("creating terminal, id=" + id);
+        const pty = (0, node_pty_1.spawn)(os_1.default.platform() === "win32" ? "cmd.exe" : "bash", [], {
+            name: "xterm",
+            cols: 100,
+            cwd: path_1.default.join(dirName, "projects", data.id),
+        });
+        pty.onData((data) => {
+            console.log(data);
+            socket.emit("terminalResponse", {
+                // data: Buffer.from(data, "utf-8").toString("base64"),
+                data,
+            });
+        });
+        pty.onExit((code) => console.log("exit :(", code));
+        terminals[id] = pty;
     });
-    socket.on("terminalData", ({ id, data }) => {
+    socket.on("terminalData", (id, data) => {
+        // socket.on("terminalData", (data: string) => {
         console.log(`Received data for terminal ${id}: ${data}`);
+        // pty.write(data)
         if (!terminals[id]) {
             console.log("terminal not found");
             console.log("terminals", terminals);
             return;
         }
-        console.log(`Writing to terminal ${id}`);
-        terminals[id].write(data);
+        try {
+            terminals[id].write(data);
+        }
+        catch (e) {
+            console.log("Error writing to terminal", e);
+        }
     });
     socket.on("disconnect", () => { });
 }));
diff --git a/backend/server/dist/terminal.js b/backend/server/dist/terminal.js
index 301f8f5..93f4e90 100644
--- a/backend/server/dist/terminal.js
+++ b/backend/server/dist/terminal.js
@@ -9,13 +9,11 @@ const os_1 = __importDefault(require("os"));
 class Pty {
     constructor(socket, id, cwd) {
         this.socket = socket;
-        this.shell = os_1.default.platform() === "win32" ? "cmd.exe" : "bash";
         this.id = id;
-        this.ptyProcess = (0, node_pty_1.spawn)(this.shell, [], {
+        this.ptyProcess = (0, node_pty_1.spawn)(os_1.default.platform() === "win32" ? "cmd.exe" : "bash", [], {
             name: "xterm",
             cols: 100,
             cwd: cwd,
-            // env: process.env as { [key: string]: string },
         });
         this.ptyProcess.onData((data) => {
             console.log("onData", data);
diff --git a/backend/server/src/index.ts b/backend/server/src/index.ts
index 62097a5..37f4b09 100644
--- a/backend/server/src/index.ts
+++ b/backend/server/src/index.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import fs from "fs"
+import os from "os"
 import path from "path"
 import express, { Express, NextFunction, Request, Response } from "express"
 import dotenv from "dotenv"
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@ import { z } from "zod"
 import { User } from "./types"
 import { createFile, getSandboxFiles, renameFile, saveFile } from "./utils"
 import { Pty } from "./terminal"
+import { IPty, spawn } from "node-pty"
 
 dotenv.config()
 
@@ -22,7 +24,7 @@ const io = new Server(httpServer, {
   },
 })
 
-const terminals: { [id: string]: Pty } = {}
+const terminals: { [id: string]: IPty } = {}
 
 const dirName = path.join(__dirname, "..")
 
@@ -149,12 +151,30 @@ io.on("connection", async (socket) => {
   })
 
   socket.on("createTerminal", ({ id }: { id: string }) => {
-    console.log("creating terminal (" + id + ")")
-    terminals[id] = new Pty(socket, id, `/projects/${data.id}`)
+    console.log("creating terminal, id=" + id)
+    const pty = spawn(os.platform() === "win32" ? "cmd.exe" : "bash", [], {
+      name: "xterm",
+      cols: 100,
+      cwd: path.join(dirName, "projects", data.id),
+    })
+
+    pty.onData((data) => {
+      console.log(data)
+      socket.emit("terminalResponse", {
+        // data: Buffer.from(data, "utf-8").toString("base64"),
+        data,
+      })
+    })
+
+    pty.onExit((code) => console.log("exit :(", code))
+
+    terminals[id] = pty
   })
 
-  socket.on("terminalData", ({ id, data }: { id: string; data: string }) => {
+  socket.on("terminalData", (id: string, data: string) => {
+    // socket.on("terminalData", (data: string) => {
     console.log(`Received data for terminal ${id}: ${data}`)
+    // pty.write(data)
 
     if (!terminals[id]) {
       console.log("terminal not found")
@@ -162,8 +182,11 @@ io.on("connection", async (socket) => {
       return
     }
 
-    console.log(`Writing to terminal ${id}`)
-    terminals[id].write(data)
+    try {
+      terminals[id].write(data)
+    } catch (e) {
+      console.log("Error writing to terminal", e)
+    }
   })
 
   socket.on("disconnect", () => {})
diff --git a/backend/server/src/terminal.ts b/backend/server/src/terminal.ts
index b118850..8717e75 100644
--- a/backend/server/src/terminal.ts
+++ b/backend/server/src/terminal.ts
@@ -5,20 +5,21 @@ import os from "os"
 export class Pty {
   socket: Socket
   ptyProcess: IPty
-  shell: string
   id: string
 
   constructor(socket: Socket, id: string, cwd: string) {
     this.socket = socket
-    this.shell = os.platform() === "win32" ? "cmd.exe" : "bash"
     this.id = id
 
-    this.ptyProcess = spawn(this.shell, [], {
-      name: "xterm",
-      cols: 100,
-      cwd: cwd,
-      // env: process.env as { [key: string]: string },
-    })
+    this.ptyProcess = spawn(
+      os.platform() === "win32" ? "cmd.exe" : "bash",
+      [],
+      {
+        name: "xterm",
+        cols: 100,
+        cwd: cwd,
+      }
+    )
 
     this.ptyProcess.onData((data) => {
       console.log("onData", data)
diff --git a/frontend/components/editor/terminal.tsx b/frontend/components/editor/terminal.tsx
index ced83c1..257a9a1 100644
--- a/frontend/components/editor/terminal.tsx
+++ b/frontend/components/editor/terminal.tsx
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import { FitAddon } from "@xterm/addon-fit"
 
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react"
 import { Socket } from "socket.io-client"
-import { decodeTerminalResponse } from "@/lib/utils"
 
 export default function EditorTerminal({ socket }: { socket: Socket }) {
   const terminalRef = useRef(null)
@@ -36,9 +35,11 @@ export default function EditorTerminal({ socket }: { socket: Socket }) {
       }, 500)
     }
 
-    const onTerminalResponse = (data: Buffer) => {
-      console.log("received data", decodeTerminalResponse(data))
-      term.write(decodeTerminalResponse(data))
+    const onTerminalResponse = (response: { data: string }) => {
+      // const res = Buffer.from(response.data, "base64").toString("utf-8")
+      const res = response.data
+      console.log("terminal response", res)
+      term.write(res)
     }
 
     socket.on("connect", onConnect)
@@ -54,15 +55,10 @@ export default function EditorTerminal({ socket }: { socket: Socket }) {
     }
     const disposable = term.onData((data) => {
       console.log("sending data", data)
-      socket.emit("terminalData", {
-        id: "testId",
-        data,
-      })
+      socket.emit("terminalData", "testId", data)
     })
 
-    socket.emit("terminalData", {
-      data: "\n",
-    })
+    socket.emit("terminalData", "\n")
 
     return () => {
       socket.off("connect", onConnect)
diff --git a/frontend/lib/utils.ts b/frontend/lib/utils.ts
index f7a6a5e..6a4244b 100644
--- a/frontend/lib/utils.ts
+++ b/frontend/lib/utils.ts
@@ -16,10 +16,6 @@ export function processFileType(file: string) {
   return "plaintext"
 }
 
-export function decodeTerminalResponse(buffer: Buffer): string {
-  return buffer.toString("utf-8")
-}
-
 export function validateName(
   newName: string,
   oldName: string,