5 MacOS Terminal Apps That Are Better Than the Default

I regularly use the terminal app on both. MacBook Laptop and iMac. Sometimes it’s just to safety cover into one of the Linux Machine and other times to solve a task. Either way, I don’t like using the default MacOS terminal application.

First, it’s pretty basic. Second, it doesn’t close when you type exit (which is standard behavior for most terminal applications). Type exit and then you have to close the application. I don’t think that’s efficient.

Also: How to close an application in MacOS from the command line

So, I always switch to a different terminal app when using MacOS. If you are interested in doing so, I have compiled what I consider to be the five best terminal apps on MacOS and I am sure one of them will serve your needs perfectly.

Let’s go there.

1. iTerm2

I’ll start with the best of them. I’ve been using iTerm2 for a long time and found that it has everything I need in a terminal application. iTerm2 includes features like split panes, hotkey windows, search, autocomplete, copy mode, paste history, instant replay (to restore previously deleted text from the terminal), 24 bit color, mouse support, notification center support, profiles, skin customization and more.

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I set up iTerm2 with transparency mode to remind me of using a Linux terminal. The split pane feature allows me to use terminal windows side by side without opening new tabs and switching between them. This way I can see what’s going on at a glance. iTerm2 is free and works with MacOS 10.14 and later (both Intel and Apple Silicon).

2. Kitten

Kitty is a terminal application available for both Linux and MacOS. Kitty supports modern features like graphics, unicode, true color, OpenType typography, mouse interaction, focus tracking, and bracketing. One of the best features of Kitty is Kittyextend the built-in feature set. For example, you can view remote images in Kitty with the help of icat kitten. Suppose you want to see a picture of a kitten in Kitty, you can run the command:

kitty +kitten icat https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Stray_kitten_Rambo002.jpg/220px-Stray_kitten_Rambo002.jpg

The cat image will appear in the Kitty window. Kitty is free to install and use on MacOS.

3. Warping

Warp has become my choice when I need to combine terminal and artificial intelligence (AI). I sometimes use AI for research purposes and it would be nice to be able to integrate it into the terminal.

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However, AI with Warp is not what you think. Instead, it is a means to better understand commands or code. Sometimes, when I am working on Python CodeI’ll come across a line or block that I don’t understand. I can paste that code into the Warp terminal and it will explain to me what’s going on.

For those who like the idea of ​​using the terminal in macOS, this technique is a great way to learn the ins and outs of how it works. When you find a command you want to use, paste it into Warp and let Warp explain everything. You can also ask Warp in plain language how to do something via the command line. Warp also includes features like compartmentalization, git integration, workflows, themes, and more. You can use Warp for free, but you will need to purchase monthly plan for support and more business-focused features.

4. Super

This is an electron based front end application built using HTML, CSS and JS. Super highly configurable but requires editing a text file to make any changes. While you will find a Settings item in the menu, all that option does is open the configuration file in your default web browser. For that reason, I recommend this terminal for more advanced users.

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From the configuration file, you can change the terminal app’s appearance, shell, size, split pane, autocomplete, dictation, emoji & symbol support, etc. You can also install extensions for Hyper. However, that process requires the use of the Node.js package manager, npm, which is another reason why I only recommend it to advanced users. You can install and use Hyper for free on MacOS.

5. Core shell

Core shell is a dedicated terminal window that makes SSH easier. At the same time, it’s also a full-featured terminal app, so even if you don’t use SSH often (or ever), it can still serve you with features like OpenSSH compatibility, file downloads and uploads, MacOS Keychain integration, advanced options for each server, auto-reconnect, themes, tags — and that’s just the free features.

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You can also purchase a premium license and add unlimited connections, import/export, server/card sync between MacOS computers, scripting support, and priority customer support. The premium license costs $9.99 for a one-year license or $29.99 for a four-year license. One thing to note is that the App Store version of Core Shell is different from the Codinn version, as only the latter includes a local terminal, so make sure you install the version from Official website.

And those are five terminal apps for macOS that are significantly better than the default. Try one of these tools and see if your choice quickly convinces you.