Alternatives to Wave Terminal
A terminal with file previews, a remote file editor, web browsing and AI assistance arranged as blocks in one window. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Wave Terminal
A terminal with file previews, a remote file editor, web browsing and AI assistance arranged as blocks in one window.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Wave Terminal.
Warp
Rust terminal with block-based output, AI assistance and shared workflows.
Warp is a Rust terminal with command blocks, editor-style input and AI assistance, with hosted AI and collaboration features needing a separate account and plan.
Tabby
A terminal, SSH client and serial console in one window, with a connection manager and an encrypted secret store.
Tabby is an MIT Electron terminal that manages SSH, Telnet and serial connections with an encrypted secret store, but lacks file previews and a remote editor.
Electerm
Manage terminal and remote-file connections in one application.
Electerm is an MIT-licensed app combining terminal sessions with SSH and SFTP file connections, without Wave's inline previews or AI assistance.
WezTerm
A GPU-accelerated terminal that is also a multiplexer, configured in Lua and the same on every platform.
WezTerm is a GPU-accelerated terminal with built-in multiplexing to remote hosts over SSH and Lua configuration, trading file previews and AI for a lighter native app.
WindTerm
A fast SSH, SFTP, telnet, serial and tmux client for Windows, macOS and Linux, free for commercial use.
WindTerm is a native SSH, SFTP, telnet and serial client free for commercial use, faster than Electron apps, but only partly open source and quiet since March 2025.
Hyper
A terminal built on web technologies, extended with JavaScript plugins and themed with CSS.
Hyper is an Electron terminal extended with JavaScript plugins and CSS themes, lacking built-in remote file editing or AI, and last released in January 2023.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Wave Terminal as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Extraterm
An open-source terminal emulator that frames command output and adds tools for working with it.
Wave Terminal arranges terminals, file previews, a remote editor and a browser as blocks, but is Electron-based and still pre-1.0.
iTerm2
macOS terminal replacement with split panes, search and session restore.
Wave Terminal arranges terminals, file previews, a remote file editor and AI assistance as blocks in one Electron window instead of tabs and panes.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
MobaXterm
A Windows remote-computing toolbox: tabbed SSH, an X11 server, RDP, VNC, FTP and Unix commands in one portable executable.
tmux
Keeps terminal sessions alive on a server after you disconnect, and splits one window into many.
Zellij
A terminal multiplexer that tells you its own shortcuts on screen, so you can use it on day one.
Wishlist
Choose SSH destinations from an interactive directory.
Eternal Terminal
A remote shell that reconnects automatically after network drops without interrupting the session.
Mosh
A remote shell that replaces interactive SSH and survives roaming, sleep and dropped connections.
