diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/redhat/devtools/gateway/terminal/WorkspaceTerminal.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/redhat/devtools/gateway/terminal/WorkspaceTerminal.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..09ec2d38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/redhat/devtools/gateway/terminal/WorkspaceTerminal.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Red Hat, Inc.
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made
+ * available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License 2.0
+ * which is available at https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0/
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0
+ *
+ * Contributors:
+ *   Red Hat, Inc. - initial API and implementation
+ */
+package com.redhat.devtools.gateway.terminal
+
+import com.intellij.openapi.diagnostic.thisLogger
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.SystemInfo
+
+/**
+ * Utility for opening a local terminal window connected to a workspace pod.
+ */
+object WorkspaceTerminal {
+
+    private val logger = thisLogger()
+
+    /**
+     * Opens a local terminal connected to the specified workspace pod.
+     *
+     * @param namespace The Kubernetes namespace
+     * @param workspaceName The workspace name (used as pattern to find the pod)
+     * @return true if the terminal was opened successfully, false otherwise
+     */
+    fun open(namespace: String, workspaceName: String): Boolean {
+        return try {
+            logger.info("Opening local terminal for workspace: $workspaceName in namespace: $namespace")
+
+            when {
+                SystemInfo.isMac -> openMacTerminal(namespace, workspaceName)
+                SystemInfo.isWindows -> openWindowsTerminal(namespace, workspaceName)
+                SystemInfo.isLinux -> openLinuxTerminal(namespace, workspaceName)
+                else -> {
+                    logger.error("Unsupported operating system")
+                    return false
+                }
+            }
+
+            logger.info("Successfully opened local terminal for workspace: $workspaceName")
+            true
+        } catch (e: Exception) {
+            logger.error("Failed to open local terminal for workspace: $workspaceName", e)
+            false
+        }
+    }
+
+    private fun buildShellScript(namespace: String, workspaceName: String): String {
+        // Use label selector to find the pod associated with the workspace
+        // DevWorkspace pods have the label controller.devfile.io/devworkspace_name=<workspace-name>
+        return """
+            podName=${'$'}(kubectl get pod -n $namespace -l controller.devfile.io/devworkspace_name=$workspaceName --no-headers -o custom-columns=":metadata.name" | head -n 1)
+            echo "Connecting to workspace '$workspaceName' in namespace '$namespace'..."
+            echo "Pod: ${'$'}podName"
+            echo "Executing: kubectl exec -it -n $namespace ${'$'}podName -- bash"
+            echo ""
+            kubectl exec -it -n $namespace ${'$'}podName -- bash
+        """.trimIndent()
+    }
+
+    private fun openMacTerminal(namespace: String, workspaceName: String) {
+        logger.debug("Opening macOS Terminal for workspace: $workspaceName in namespace: $namespace")
+
+        val shellScript = buildShellScript(namespace, workspaceName)
+        logger.debug("Shell command: $shellScript")
+
+        // Create a .command file - macOS will open it with the user's default terminal app
+        val commandFile = createTempScriptFile(".command", "#!/bin/bash\n$shellScript\nexec bash\n")
+        logger.debug("Created .command file: ${commandFile.absolutePath}")
+
+        // Use 'open' to open the .command file with the user's default terminal
+        executeProcess("open", commandFile.absolutePath)
+        logger.debug("Successfully opened terminal with user's default terminal app")
+    }
+
+    private fun openWindowsTerminal(namespace: String, workspaceName: String) {
+        logger.debug("Opening Windows terminal for workspace: $workspaceName in namespace: $namespace")
+
+        val batchScript = """
+            @echo off
+            echo Connecting to workspace '$workspaceName' in namespace '$namespace'...
+            for /f %%i in ('kubectl get pod -n $namespace -l controller.devfile.io/devworkspace_name^=$workspaceName --no-headers -o custom-columns^=":metadata.name"') do (
+                echo Pod: %%i
+                echo Executing: kubectl exec -it -n $namespace %%i -- bash
+                echo.
+                kubectl exec -it -n $namespace %%i -- bash
+                goto :done
+            )
+            :done
+        """.trimIndent()
+
+        val tempFile = createTempScriptFile(".bat", batchScript, executable = false)
+        logger.debug("Created temporary batch file: ${tempFile.absolutePath}")
+
+        executeProcess("cmd", "/c", "start", "cmd", "/k", tempFile.absolutePath)
+        logger.debug("Launched cmd.exe with batch script")
+    }
+
+    private fun openLinuxTerminal(namespace: String, workspaceName: String) {
+        logger.debug("Opening Linux terminal for workspace: $workspaceName in namespace: $namespace")
+
+        val shellScript = buildShellScript(namespace, workspaceName)
+        val fullCommand = "$shellScript; exec bash"
+
+        val terminalCommands = listOf(
+            listOf("gnome-terminal", "--", "bash", "-c", fullCommand),
+            listOf("konsole", "-e", "bash", "-c", fullCommand),
+            listOf("xterm", "-e", "bash", "-c", fullCommand),
+            listOf("x-terminal-emulator", "-e", "bash", "-c", fullCommand)
+        )
+
+        tryLaunchTerminal(terminalCommands)
+    }
+
+    private fun tryLaunchTerminal(terminalCommands: List<List<String>>) {
+        var lastException: Exception? = null
+        for (command in terminalCommands) {
+            val terminalName = command.firstOrNull() ?: "unknown"
+            try {
+                logger.debug("Attempting to launch terminal: $terminalName")
+                executeProcess(*command.toTypedArray())
+                logger.debug("Successfully launched terminal: $terminalName")
+                return
+            } catch (e: Exception) {
+                logger.debug("Failed to launch $terminalName: ${e.message}")
+                lastException = e
+            }
+        }
+        logger.error("No suitable terminal emulator found on Linux. Tried: ${terminalCommands.mapNotNull { it.firstOrNull() }}")
+        throw lastException ?: RuntimeException("No suitable terminal emulator found on Linux")
+    }
+
+    private fun createTempScriptFile(extension: String, content: String, executable: Boolean = true): java.io.File {
+        return createTempFile("devspaces-terminal", extension).apply {
+            writeText(content)
+            if (executable) setExecutable(true)
+            deleteOnExit()
+        }
+    }
+
+    private fun executeProcess(vararg command: String) {
+        logger.trace("Starting process: ${command.joinToString(" ")}")
+        val process = ProcessBuilder(*command)
+            .redirectErrorStream(true)
+            .start()
+
+        val output = process.inputStream.bufferedReader().readText()
+        val exitCode = process.waitFor()
+
+        if (exitCode != 0) {
+            logger.error("Process failed with exit code $exitCode. Command: ${command.joinToString(" ")}")
+            logger.error("Process output: $output")
+            throw RuntimeException("Failed to start terminal. Exit code: $exitCode, Output: $output")
+        }
+
+        if (output.isNotBlank()) {
+            logger.debug("Process output: $output")
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/redhat/devtools/gateway/view/steps/DevSpacesWorkspacesStepView.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/redhat/devtools/gateway/view/steps/DevSpacesWorkspacesStepView.kt
index 44960803..0d677012 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/redhat/devtools/gateway/view/steps/DevSpacesWorkspacesStepView.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/redhat/devtools/gateway/view/steps/DevSpacesWorkspacesStepView.kt
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import com.redhat.devtools.gateway.DevSpacesContext
 import com.redhat.devtools.gateway.DevSpacesIcons
 import com.redhat.devtools.gateway.openshift.*
 import com.redhat.devtools.gateway.util.messageWithoutPrefix
+import com.redhat.devtools.gateway.terminal.WorkspaceTerminal
 import com.redhat.devtools.gateway.view.ui.Dialogs
 import com.redhat.devtools.gateway.view.ui.onDoubleClick
 import kotlinx.coroutines.runBlocking
@@ -54,8 +55,10 @@ class DevSpacesWorkspacesStepView(
 
     private lateinit var startDevWorkspaceButton: JButton
     private lateinit var stopDevWorkspaceButton: JButton
+    private var openTerminalCheckbox: JCheckBox? = null
 
     private var watchManager: DevWorkspaceWatchManager? = null
+    private var terminalOpened = false
 
     override fun dispose() {
     }
@@ -102,6 +105,12 @@ class DevSpacesWorkspacesStepView(
             ) {
                 refreshAllDevWorkspaces()
             }.gap(RightGap.SMALL).align(AlignX.RIGHT)
+        }.bottomGap(BottomGap.SMALL)
+
+        row {
+            openTerminalCheckbox = checkBox("Open local terminal to workspace")
+                .comment("Opens a terminal window connected to the workspace pod after connecting")
+                .component
         }
     }.apply {
         background = WelcomeScreenUIManager.getMainAssociatedComponentBackground()
@@ -318,6 +327,9 @@ class DevSpacesWorkspacesStepView(
             }
         }
 
+        val shouldOpenTerminal = openTerminalCheckbox?.isSelected ?: false
+        terminalOpened = false // Reset flag for new connection
+
         ProgressManager.getInstance().runProcessWithProgressSynchronously(
             {
                 try {
@@ -328,6 +340,12 @@ class DevSpacesWorkspacesStepView(
                                 devSpacesContext.devWorkspace.name
                             )
                             enableButtons()
+
+                            // Open terminal if checkbox was checked (only once)
+                            if (shouldOpenTerminal && !terminalOpened) {
+                                terminalOpened = true
+                                openWorkspaceTerminal()
+                            }
                         },
                         {
                             enableButtons()
@@ -358,6 +376,20 @@ class DevSpacesWorkspacesStepView(
         )
     }
 
+    private fun openWorkspaceTerminal() {
+        try {
+            val namespace = devSpacesContext.devWorkspace.namespace
+            val workspaceName = devSpacesContext.devWorkspace.name
+
+            val success = WorkspaceTerminal.open(namespace, workspaceName)
+            if (!success) {
+                thisLogger().warn("Failed to open workspace terminal for $namespace/$workspaceName")
+            }
+        } catch (e: Exception) {
+            thisLogger().error("Error opening workspace terminal", e)
+        }
+    }
+
     private fun waitDevWorkspaceNotStopped(devWorkspace: DevWorkspace): Boolean {
         return runBlocking { DevWorkspaces(devSpacesContext.client)
             .waitPhaseChanges(