KTurtle is a tiny programming environment where you type a command and watch a turtle draw. Free, offline, open source. One codebase — four places to run it.
No install, no account. Runs entirely in your browser.
Copy this into a terminal. Downloads the AppImage, drops it into
~/.local/bin,
and registers a menu entry. No sudo.
Per-user install. No admin required. ~4 MB.
Enable "install unknown apps" for your browser, then open the file.
KTurtle is a modern take on the old Logo idea: you give a turtle simple instructions, and it draws what you said. The language is small enough to read out loud; the canvas is a quiet place to make things. The goal isn't to teach syntax — it's to make the first hour of programming feel like play.
The entire app is a single React codebase that ships as a website, a Windows / Linux desktop app, and an Android app. Same interpreter, same canvas, same keyboard shortcuts on every device. No telemetry. No accounts. No network after the binary lands on your machine.
Free and open source under the GPL. Pull requests and bug reports welcome on GitHub.
# Tree — a recursive fractal tree reset canvassize 500, 500 go 250, 480 direction 0 penwidth 2 pencolor 95, 122, 90 learn branch $length { if $length < 6 { return 0 } forward $length turnleft 25 branch $length * 0.72 turnright 50 branch $length * 0.72 turnleft 25 backward $length return 0 } branch 100
Fonts, icons, and the interpreter are bundled with the binary.
Install once, fly across the world with no signal, and the app
still draws. The Android build doesn't even request
INTERNET permission.
Under 5 MB on every platform. No popups, no tutorials-that-won't-end, no "rate this app." The editor, the canvas, and a manual you can read in ten minutes. That's it.
The commands are English words: forward, repeat, turnleft. A child who can read can write programs. A teacher with no coding background can grade them.