Alternatives to WezTerm
A GPU-accelerated terminal that is also a multiplexer, configured in Lua and the same on every platform. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
WezTerm
A GPU-accelerated terminal that is also a multiplexer, configured in Lua and the same on every platform.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as WezTerm.
kitty
GPU-accelerated terminal with tabs, splits, graphics and a kitten scripting system.
kitty is a GPL-3.0 GPU-accelerated terminal with tabs, splits, image display and kittens, configured in a text file rather than Lua, and has no Windows build.
Ghostty
A GPU-accelerated terminal that uses the real native interface of the platform instead of drawing its own.
Ghostty is a GPU-accelerated terminal with native window chrome and a single text config, but has no Windows build and no built-in multiplexer.
Alacritty
A deliberately minimal OpenGL terminal that leaves multiplexing and tabs to other programs and just draws text fast.
Alacritty is a minimal OpenGL terminal for Windows, macOS and Linux with no tabs or multiplexer by design, so panes and sessions come from tmux.
Windows Terminal
Microsoft’s tabbed terminal for Windows, hosting Command Prompt, PowerShell and WSL in one GPU-rendered window.
Windows Terminal is Microsoft's GPU-rendered tabbed terminal with split panes and JSON settings, but it runs only on current Windows 10 or 11.
iTerm2
macOS terminal replacement with split panes, search and session restore.
iTerm2 is a macOS-only GPL-2.0 terminal with split panes, instant replay and native tmux control mode, configured through an extensive settings interface instead of Lua.
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 features requiring a separate account and plan.
Contour Terminal
Run shell sessions in a GPU-rendered terminal emulator.
Contour Terminal is an Apache-2.0 GPU-rendered emulator for Windows, macOS and Linux with ligatures, Unicode and tabs, without WezTerm's built-in remote multiplexing.
Rio
Use a configurable terminal emulator across desktop platforms.
Rio is an MIT-licensed configurable terminal emulator for Windows, macOS and Linux, offering a modern interface without WezTerm's multiplexing to remote hosts.
Also worth comparing
These listings name WezTerm as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
ConEmu
Keep several Windows console sessions in a tabbed window.
WezTerm brings GPU rendering and built-in multiplexing of panes and tabs to Windows, macOS and Linux, configured in Lua instead of through settings dialogs.
COSMIC Terminal
The terminal emulator for the COSMIC desktop, with GPU rendering, ligatures and bidirectional text.
WezTerm is a GPU-accelerated terminal with a built-in multiplexer and Lua configuration that works the same on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Extraterm
An open-source terminal emulator that frames command output and adds tools for working with it.
WezTerm drops output framing but adds GPU rendering, a built-in multiplexer with SSH remotes and Lua configuration across Windows, macOS and Linux.
foot
A fast, lightweight and minimalistic terminal emulator built for Wayland on Linux and FreeBSD.
WezTerm adds built-in multiplexing and Lua configuration across Windows, macOS and Linux, maintained largely by one person.
Hyper
A terminal built on web technologies, extended with JavaScript plugins and themed with CSS.
WezTerm is a native GPU terminal for Windows, macOS and Linux with built-in multiplexing, configured in Lua rather than CSS and npm plugins.
Konsole
KDE's terminal emulator for running a command shell, with tabs, profiles, bookmarks and output search.
WezTerm is a GPU-accelerated terminal with built-in multiplexing and Lua configuration that behaves the same on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Mintty
A terminal emulator for Cygwin, MSYS2 and WSL on Windows with thorough xterm compatibility.
WezTerm is a GPU-accelerated terminal with built-in multiplexing and Lua configuration that also runs on macOS and Linux, without needing Cygwin or MSYS2.
st
The suckless simple terminal, a minimal X terminal emulator configured by editing its source code.
WezTerm is a GPU-accelerated terminal with built-in multiplexing and Lua configuration across Windows, macOS and Linux, far larger in scope than st's minimal design.
Tabby
A terminal, SSH client and serial console in one window, with a connection manager and an encrypted secret store.
WezTerm is a native GPU terminal with built-in multiplexing including remote SSH hosts and Lua configuration, but no serial console or encrypted secret store.
Terminator
A Linux terminal emulator that arranges several GNOME terminals in grids of split panes within one window.
WezTerm is GPU-accelerated, has built-in panes, tabs and remote multiplexing over SSH, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and is configured in Lua instead of preferences.
Terminology
A terminal emulator for Linux and BSD built on the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries, with inline media previews.
WezTerm displays images with its imgcat command, adds built-in multiplexing and Lua configuration, and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux instead of only Linux and BSD.
Tilix
A tiling terminal emulator for Linux using GTK 3, with split panes and saved sessions.
WezTerm has built-in panes, tabs and remote multiplexing over SSH, is GPU-accelerated, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and uses Lua configuration.
Tmuxinator
A command-line tool that creates and manages tmux sessions from YAML project configuration files.
WezTerm has built-in multiplexing configured in Lua, so project layouts live in one config file instead of Tmuxinator's YAML files driving tmux.
Wave Terminal
A terminal with file previews, a remote file editor, web browsing and AI assistance arranged as blocks in one window.
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.
WSLtty
A Windows terminal for Windows Subsystem for Linux based on mintty and wslbridge2.
WezTerm runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with built-in tabs and panes and Lua configuration, rather than WSLtty's one window per session.
Zellij
A terminal multiplexer that tells you its own shortcuts on screen, so you can use it on day one.
WezTerm moves multiplexing into a GPU-accelerated terminal emulator with panes, tabs and remote SSH domains, configured in Lua, rather than running as a multiplexer inside any terminal.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
PuTTY
The small, stubbornly reliable SSH and Telnet client that has been on every Windows admin’s desktop for twenty-five years.
tmux
Keeps terminal sessions alive on a server after you disconnect, and splits one window into many.
Nerd Fonts
A collection of programming fonts patched with thousands of icons, plus a patcher for adding them to other fonts.
Starship
A shell prompt that shows the git branch, language version and other context, configured once and working in every shell.
Gogh
A collection of hundreds of terminal color schemes, installed into your terminal with a single command.
