The Original Graphical Touchscreen Restaurant Point of Sale Interface
ViewTouch is a registered trademark in the USA
ViewTouch is a powerful, open-source Point of Sale system designed specifically for the restaurant and hospitality industry. With over four decades of development, it combines the reliability of Linux with the flexibility of the X Window System to deliver a robust, network-transparent POS solution.
- Lightning-fast performance - Entire transaction history kept in RAM for instant reporting
- Network transparency - Remote display capability via X Window System
- Comprehensive reporting - Real-time drill-down analytics and decision support
- Labor management - Interactive time clock with overtime alerts and cost control
- Cross-platform - Runs on Raspberry Pi 4/5, x86, and ARM architectures
- Mobile integration - Android tableside order entry support
- Multilingual support - Built-in language pack system
Note: For build instructions and the latest announcements, visit the Wiki.
Download the latest ViewTouch image for Raspberry Pi (4 or 5). Write the image to a 32GB or larger microSD card, and boot directly to the ViewTouch desktop with full POS functionality.
See the Wiki for detailed build instructions and development setup.
15.8" All-in-One Touchscreen POS Computer
Powered by Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5
Manufactured by Chipsee, Beijing, China
ViewTouch offers all-in-one Point of Sale computers featuring:
- 15.8" capacitive touchscreen display (1920×1080 default resolution)
- Raspberry Pi 5 Compute Module
- Pre-installed ViewTouch software
- Network-ready for multi-terminal setups
With open-source code and Raspberry Pi hardware, restaurateurs can now fully automate their operations with complete control over their POS system.
Thanks to the efforts of Pelya (Sergii Pylypenko) and Ariel Brambila Pelayo, ViewTouch supports mobile Android devices as wireless tableside order entry terminals.
Screenshots shown in 1280×1024 resolution. Default resolution is 1920×1080.
Order Breakfast, then Display and/or Print in Kitchen
Time Clock Review and Edit - Control Labor Expense
Back Office, Comprehensive Labor Costing, Overtime Alerts, Interactive Time Clock Review and Editing
Decision Support: Fly-Over, Drill-Down in Real Time
Touch 'n' View Any Day or Any Period Updated Every Minute
ViewTouch doesn't just store your data—it keeps your entire transaction history in RAM for perfect accuracy and lightning speed. Auditors can see compliance across every period. Control non-cash revenue adjustments and labor costs, including non-intuitive details, shift by shift, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
Gene Mosher began writing Point of Sale code on an Apple ][ in 1979. ViewTouch© as we know it today was first created by restaurateur Gene Mosher and C programmer Nick Colley in 1986, making it the ORIGINAL Graphical Touchscreen Restaurant Point of Sale Interface.
First Public Demonstration: ComDex, Las Vegas, November 1986
See historical photo
Early Platform: Atari ST computers (1986-1993/4 under Jack Tramiel)
Initial Funding & Support:
- Ed Ramsay (1986 - code development funding)
- Barbara Mosher (1986 - present, ongoing financial support)
- John King, M.D., Chicago (early funding)
The current version of ViewTouch was created by Gene Mosher and C programmer Richard Bradley, transitioning to:
- UNIX (AIX) on Motorola PowerPC (1995)
- MIT's X Window System for network-transparent graphical interface (1995)
- Linux on Intel x86 (1997)
Major Funding: Billy Foster (1995-1998)
- C to C++ transition (2000)
- Extensive code enhancement by Bruce King
- Major Funding: Doug DeLeeuw
ViewTouch released under GNU Public License (GPL v3) with code hosted on GitHub. Significant modernization and refinement by the open-source community:
Key Contributors:
- Jack Morrison - Amazing debugging skills
- NeroBurner (Reinhold Gschweicher) - Major refactoring and standardization
- NoOne558 (Ariel Brambila Pelayo) - Upgraded to Xft scalable fonts, mobile integration
- Gene and Barbara Mosher - Lifetime support and funding
| Year | Platform | Key Technology |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Apple ][ | Initial POS code |
| 1986 | Atari ST | First GUI touchscreen POS |
| 1995 | AIX/PowerPC | UNIX + X Window System |
| 1997 | Linux/x86 | Intel architecture |
| 2000 | Linux/x86 | C++ transition |
| 2016+ | Raspberry Pi | Default platform (Pi 4/5) |
Current Stack:
- OS: Debian Linux with XFCE desktop
- Display: X Window System (network-transparent)
- Default Hardware: Raspberry Pi family
- Auto-update: Desktop icon compiles and installs latest code from GitHub
Gene Mosher's passion and vision has overseen the development, management, and maintenance of ViewTouch code across six decades, spanning a wide array of computers and point of sale equipment. Gene owns the ViewTouch copyright.
ViewTouch Official
- Website: www.viewtouch.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 541-515-5913
- Discord: Join our server
- GitHub Issues: Bug reports and feature requests
- Gitter Chat: Join the conversation
- Wiki: Documentation and guides
The availability of ViewTouch source code and documentation at GitHub benefits clients, customers, and associates of Gene Mosher, facilitating the enhancement and extension of ViewTouch source code.
ViewTouch is released under the GNU General Public License, version 3 (GPL v3).
See LICENSE for full details.
ViewTouch does not manage electronic payment processing. Please make your own decisions with regard to Electronic Funds Transfer functionality.
ViewTouch - Six decades of innovation in restaurant technology
Made with ❤️ by the ViewTouch community