This is a list of notable
terminal emulator
A terminal emulator, or terminal application, is a computer program that emulates a video terminal within some other display architecture. Though typically synonymous with a shell or text terminal, the term ''terminal'' covers all remote term ...
s. Most used terminal emulators on Linux and Unix-like systems are
GNOME Terminal
GNOME Terminal is a terminal emulator for the GNOME desktop environment written by Havoc Pennington and others. Terminal emulators allow users to access a UNIX shell while remaining on their graphical desktop.
Features
GNOME Terminal (gnome-term ...
on
GNOME and GTK-based environments,
Konsole
Konsole is a free and open-source terminal emulator graphical application which is part of KDE Applications and ships with the KDE desktop environment. Konsole was originally written by Lars Doelle. It ls licensed under the GPL-2.0-or-later and ...
on
KDE
KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that allow collaborative work on this kind of software. Well-known products include the ...
, and
xfce4-terminal on
Xfce as well as
xterm
In computing, xterm is the standard terminal emulator for the X Window System. It allows users to run programs which require a command-line interface.
If no particular program is specified, xterm runs the user's shell. An X display can sho ...
.
Character-oriented terminal emulators
Unix-like
Command-line interface
*
Linux console
The Linux console is a system console internal to the Linux kernel. A system console is the device which receives all kernel messages and warnings and which allows logins in single user mode. The Linux console provides a way for the kernel and ...
– implements a subset of the VT102 and
ECMA-48/ISO 6429/ANSI X3.64
escape sequences.
The following terminal emulators run inside of other terminals, utilizing libraries such as
Curses
A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular ...
and
Termcap
Termcap (''terminal capability'') is a software library and database used on Unix-like computers. It enables programs to use display computer terminals in a device-independent manner, which greatly simplifies the process of writing portable text ...
:
*
GNU Screen
GNU Screen is a terminal multiplexer, a software application that can be used to multiplex several virtual consoles, allowing a user to access multiple separate login sessions inside a single terminal window, or detach and reattach sessions fro ...
– Terminal multiplexer with VT100/ANSI terminal emulation
*
Minicom
Minicom is a text-based modem control and terminal emulator program for Unix-like operating systems, originally written by Miquel van Smoorenburg, and modeled somewhat after the popular MS-DOS program Telix but is open source. Minicom includ ...
– text-based modem control and terminal emulation program for Unix-like operating systems
*
tmux
tmux is an open-source terminal multiplexer for Unix-like operating systems. It allows multiple terminal sessions to be accessed simultaneously in a single window. It is useful for running more than one command-line program at the same time. ...
– Terminal multiplexer with a feature set similar to GNU Screen
Graphical
=X11 and Wayland
=
Terminal emulators used in combination with
X Window System
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems.
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting wi ...
and
Wayland:
*
Alacritty
Alacritty is a free and open-source GPU-accelerated terminal emulator focused on performance and simplicity. Consequently, it does not support tabs or splits and is configured by editing a text file. It is written in Rust and uses OpenGL (for pe ...
– GPU accelerated, without tabs
*
GNOME Terminal
GNOME Terminal is a terminal emulator for the GNOME desktop environment written by Havoc Pennington and others. Terminal emulators allow users to access a UNIX shell while remaining on their graphical desktop.
Features
GNOME Terminal (gnome-term ...
– default terminal for
GNOME with native
Wayland support
*
guake –
drop-down terminal for
GNOME
*
kitty – GPU accelerated, with tabs, tiling, image viewing, interactive unicode character input
*
konsole
Konsole is a free and open-source terminal emulator graphical application which is part of KDE Applications and ships with the KDE desktop environment. Konsole was originally written by Lars Doelle. It ls licensed under the GPL-2.0-or-later and ...
– default terminal for
KDE
KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that allow collaborative work on this kind of software. Well-known products include the ...
*
rxvt
Rxvt (acronym for our extended virtual terminal) is a terminal emulator for the X Window System, and in the form of a Cygwin port, for Windows.
History
Rxvt was originally written by Rob Nation and later extensively modified by Mark Olesen, who ...
– lightweight X11 terminal emulator
:* aterm (from rxvt 2.4.8) created for use with the
AfterStep window manager (no longer maintained)
:* Eterm (from rxvt 2.21) created for use with
Enlightenment
:*
mrxvt
The mrxvt program is a terminal emulator for X Window System. It provides DEC VT102 compatible terminals.
mrxvt is based on rxvt version 2.7.11 CVS (in 2004), and features most of functionality of rxvt. Unlike rxvt, it provides multiple tabs ...
(from rxvt 2.7.11) created for multiple tabs and additional features (latest version released in 2008-09-10)
:* urxvt (from rxvt 2.7.11) created to support
Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, wh ...
, also known as rxvt-unicode
:* Wterm – created for
NeXTSTEP
NeXTSTEP is a discontinued object-oriented, multitasking operating system based on the Mach kernel and the UNIX-derived BSD. It was developed by NeXT Computer in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was initially used for its range of propri ...
style
window manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment. They work in conjunctio ...
s such as
Window Maker
Window Maker is a free and open-source window manager for the X Window System, allowing graphical applications to be run on Unix-like operating-systems. It is designed to emulate NeXTSTEP's GUI as an OpenStep-compatible environment. Window Maker ...
*
Terminator
Terminator may refer to:
Science and technology
Genetics
* Terminator (genetics), the end of a gene for transcription
* Terminator technology, proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified plants by causing second generation s ...
– written in Java with many novel or experimental features
*
Tilda – a
drop-down terminal
*
Tilix – GTK3 tiling terminal emulator
*
xfce4-terminal – default terminal for
Xfce with drop-down support
*
xterm
In computing, xterm is the standard terminal emulator for the X Window System. It allows users to run programs which require a command-line interface.
If no particular program is specified, xterm runs the user's shell. An X display can sho ...
– standard terminal for X11
*
Yakuake
The KDE Gear (also known as the KDE Applications Bundle or KDE Applications) is a set of applications and supporting libraries that are developed by the KDE community, primarily used on Linux-based operating systems but mostly multiplatform, and ...
– (Yet Another Kuake) a drop-down terminal for
KDE
KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that allow collaborative work on this kind of software. Well-known products include the ...
= macOS
=
Terminal emulators used on
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
*
iTerm2 – open-source terminal specifically for macOS
*
kitty – GPU accelerated, with tabs, tiling, image viewing, interactive unicode character input
*
MacWise
*
SecureCRT
SecureCRT is a commercial SSH and Telnet client and terminal emulator by VanDyke Software. Originally a Windows product, VanDyke later added a Mac OS X version in 2010 with release v6.6 and a Linux version in 2011 with release v6.7.
History
Sec ...
*
Terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...
– default macOS terminal
*
xterm
In computing, xterm is the standard terminal emulator for the X Window System. It allows users to run programs which require a command-line interface.
If no particular program is specified, xterm runs the user's shell. An X display can sho ...
– default terminal when
X11.app
XQuartz is an open-source version of the X.Org X server, a component of the X Window System (X11, or shortened to simply X, and sometimes informally X-Windows) that runs on macOS. It formally replaced Apple's internal X11 app. The name "XQuart ...
starts
*
ZOC
*
ZTerm – serial line terminal
Apple Classic Mac OS
*
MacTerminal
*
Red Ryder
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
*
ZTerm
Android
*
Termux
Termux is a free and open source terminal emulator for Android which allows for running a Linux environment on an Android device. In addition, various software can be installed through the application's package manager.
Termux installs a minim ...
Microsoft Windows
*
AbsoluteTelnet
AbsoluteTelnet is a software terminal client for Windows that implements Telnet, SSH 1 and 2, SFTP, TAPI Dialup and direct COM port connections. It is commercial software, originally released in 1999 and is still in regular development by Bria ...
*
Alacritty
Alacritty is a free and open-source GPU-accelerated terminal emulator focused on performance and simplicity. Consequently, it does not support tabs or splits and is configured by editing a text file. It is written in Rust and uses OpenGL (for pe ...
*
AlphaCom
*
ConEmu – local terminal window that can host console application developed either for WinAPI (cmd, powershell, far) or Unix PTY (cygwin, msys, wsl bash)
*
HyperACCESS (commercial) and HyperTerminal (included free with Windows XP and earlier, but not included with Windows Vista and later)
*
Kermit 95
*
mintty
mintty is a free and open source terminal emulator for Cygwin, the Unix-like environment for Windows. It features a native Windows user interface and does not require a display server; its terminal emulation is aimed to be compatible with x ...
–
Cygwin terminal
*
Procomm Plus
Datastorm Technologies, Inc., was a computer software company that existed from 1986 until 1996. Bruce Barkelew and Thomas Smith founded the company to develop and publish ProComm, a general purpose communications program for personal computers.
...
*
PuTTY
*
Qmodem Pro
*
RUMBA
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...
*
SecureCRT
SecureCRT is a commercial SSH and Telnet client and terminal emulator by VanDyke Software. Originally a Windows product, VanDyke later added a Mac OS X version in 2010 with release v6.6 and a Linux version in 2011 with release v6.7.
History
Sec ...
*
Tera Term
*
TtyEmulator
TtyEmulator is a Freeware terminal emulator application which can act as a client for the SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw TCP computing protocols and as a serial console client.
TtyEmulator is written for Microsoft Windows, but it will be port ...
*
Windows Console
Windows Console is the infrastructure for console applications in Microsoft Windows. An instance of a Windows Console has a screen buffer and an input buffer. It allows console apps to run inside a window or in hardware text mode (so as to oc ...
– Windows command line terminal
*
Windows Terminal
Windows Terminal is a multi-tabbed terminal emulator that Microsoft has developed for Windows 10 and later as a replacement for Windows Console. It can run any command-line app in a separate tab. It is preconfigured to run Command Prompt, Pow ...
*
ZOC
MS-DOS
*
Crosstalk
*
Kermit
*
ProComm
Datastorm Technologies, Inc., was a computer software company that existed from 1986 until 1996. Bruce Barkelew and Thomas Smith founded the company to develop and publish ProComm, a general purpose communications program for personal computers.
...
*
Qmodem
Qmodem was an MS-DOS shareware telecommunications program and terminal emulator. Qmodem was widely used to access bulletin boards in the 1980s and was well respected in the Bulletin Board System community. Qmodem was also known as Qmodem SST and ...
and Qmodem Pro
*
Synchronet
*
Telix
*
Terminate
IBM OS/2
*
Kermit 95
*
ZOC – discontinued support for OS/2
Amiga
*
NComm NComm is one of the most popular shareware terminal programs used on the Commodore Amiga line of computers, especially for connecting to BBS systems via a modem connected to the telephone line. The program was originally written by Daniel Bloch and ...
Commodore 64
*
CBterm/C64
Block-oriented terminal emulators
Emulators for
block-oriented terminal
A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that can be used for entering data into, and transcribing data from, a computer or a computing system. The teletype was an example of an early-day hard-copy terminal and ...
s, primarily
IBM 3270, but also
IBM 5250
IBM 5250 is a family of block-oriented terminals originally introduced with the IBM System/34 midrange computer systems in 1977. It also connects to the later System/36, System/38, and IBM AS/400 systems, and to IBM Power Systems systems runni ...
and other non-IBM terminals.
Coax/Twinax connected
These terminal emulators are used to replace terminals attached to a host or terminal controller via a
coaxial cable (coax) or
twinaxial cabling
Twinaxial cabling, or "Twinax", is a type of cable similar to coaxial cable, but with two inner conductors instead of one. Due to cost efficiency it is becoming common in modern (2013) very-short-range high-speed differential signaling applicatio ...
(twinax). They require that the computer on which they run have a hardware adapter to support such an attachment.
*
RUMBA
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...
3270 and 5250
tn3270/tn5250
These terminal emulators connect to a host using the
tn3270
The IBM 3270 is a family of block oriented display and printer computer terminals introduced by IBM in 1971
and normally used to communicate with IBM mainframes. The 3270 was the successor to the IBM 2260 display terminal. Due to the text ...
or
tn5250
IBM 5250 is a family of block-oriented terminals originally introduced with the IBM System/34 midrange computer systems in 1977. It also connects to the later System/36, System/38, and IBM AS/400 systems, and to IBM Power Systems systems running ...
protocols, which run over a
Transmission Control Protocol
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the main protocols of the Internet protocol suite. It originated in the initial network implementation in which it complemented the Internet Protocol (IP). Therefore, the entire suite is common ...
(TCP) connection.
* Eicon Aviva
* IBM Personal Communications
* Rocket BlueZone
*
TN3270 Plus
TN3270 Plus is a terminal emulator for Microsoft Windows. It is used for connecting Windows PC users to IBM mainframe, IBM i and UNIX systems via TCP/IP. TN3270 Plus includes terminal emulation for 3270, 5250, VT100, VT220 and ANSI terminals.
...
* Tn5250j
* x3270 – open-source, multi-platform, TN3270 client
*
ZOC
See also
*
Web-based SSH
References
External links
Linux console escape and control sequencesList of X11 terminals available on Gentoo LinuxList of X11 terminals available on archlinuxGuide to Windows terminalsThe Grumpy Editor's guide to terminal emulators 2004
Comprehensive Linux Terminal Performance Comparison 2007
x11-terminals
{{Terminal emulator
*
Emulators, Terminal