Learn · AI terminal for teams
What is an AI terminal for teams?
By Lalla Asmaa Alaoui, founder of Mel · Updated
An AI terminal for teams is one a whole company rolls out together, with shared credits and one bill. Every developer gets the same agents and the same controls, instead of buying a tool alone.
When one developer adopts an AI terminal, the questions are personal: is it fast, is it good, what does it cost me? When a team adopts one, new questions appear: who pays, how do we see total usage, how do we keep the same approval habits across people, and how many invoices does finance have to chase?
What a team needs from an AI terminal
- One bill. Not a card per developer, and not a separate bill per AI provider.
- Shared credits. A pool the team draws on, so a heavy week for one person does not block them while someone else's allowance sits unused.
- Consistent control. The same approval habits for commands and edits across the team.
- Model choice. Teams rarely agree on one model, and the best model for a task changes.
- Cross-platform. Real teams mix Mac, Windows and Linux.
- A clear rollout path. Start with a few people on real tasks, then expand.
How Mel does it
Mel Business is the team plan, at $50 a seat a month.
- Shared credits the team draws on together, and one invoice for all of it.
- One tool for everyone, with configurable approvals the team can agree on.
- Mac, Windows and Linux, plus a VS Code extension for people who live in the editor.
- Help outside engineering: research, PDFs, photos and files.
How the options compare
| Each developer buys their own | Separate provider accounts | Mel Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoices | One per person | One per provider | One |
| Credits | Per person | Per provider | Shared across the team |
| Same tool for everyone | No | No | Yes |
| Approvals you configure | Varies by tool | n/a | Yes |
| Platforms | Varies | n/a | Mac, Windows, Linux and VS Code |
A simple rollout plan
- Pick three people and one week. Give each a real task from the backlog.
- Agree on approvals. Decide together which commands and edits need a yes, especially on shared repos.
- Review diffs as a team. Treat agent changes like any pull request.
- Measure two things: tasks finished, and credits used per task.
- Expand to the rest of the team once the habits are set.
FAQ
What is an AI terminal for teams? An AI terminal a whole company uses together, with shared credits, one invoice and the same controls for everyone.
Why not let each developer pick their own tool? You can, but you get many bills, no shared view of usage, and different safety habits on the same repos.
Can the team use different AI models? Yes. On Business the team draws on shared credits, with one invoice. Ask us which model families a Business workspace can use.
Do teammates need their own API keys? Not on Business, which uses shared hosted credits. Anyone can still use Mel free with their own key.
Does it work for a mixed Mac and Windows team? Yes. Mel runs on Mac, Windows and Linux.
Mel – the agentic terminal · openmel.dev. A multi-agent, multi-model AI terminal for Mac, Windows, Linux and VS Code. Free with your own API key.
Lalla is a hands-on tech founder, agentic infrastructure architect and the vision behind Mel.
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