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Alacritty vs cool-retro-term: catalog facts
Alacritty	cool-retro-term
Free Free and open source, with no paid edition.	Free Free and open source.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Linux
Vi mode for moving around and making selections with Vi bindings Search across the scrollback buffer, and regex hints for marking text	Convincing CRT effects with several retro profiles Full terminal emulator, not just a screensaver
The project describes itself as beta, with features still missing and bugs to fix No tabs or built-in multiplexer by design; you need tmux or your window manager	Visual effects make text harder to read than a plain terminal Heavier on graphics resources than ordinary terminals
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: GPL-3.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.