Ghostty
A fast, native, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator for macOS and Linux, written in Zig.
Loved for fast, responsive rendering123, a simple file-based config with good defaults456, and stability that lets it stay out of the way.789 The most common caveats are friction for longtime iTerm2 users101112 and gaps in search, such as working Cmd+F shortcuts.1314
Why people recommend it
Speed · 3
Commenters call it the most responsive or fastest terminal they have used, especially with heavy output.
“I love ghostty and I think it's the most responsive terminal emulator around.”
“I switched to Ghostty a few months ago and it's become one of the apps I never close.”
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“it’s been noticeably faster and i appreciate the file-based config as well as the defaults”
Agent workflows · 3
Often used as the terminal for running Claude Code, Codex and multiple agents.
“Ghostty has been flawless for me the past 9months. It gets out of the way and just works really well.”
“Ghostty with Claude Code. That's pretty much it.”
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“I recommend using Ghostty which has 2026 support and zero flicker.”
Stability · 3
Users report months of heavy use without crashes and say it just works.
“I have been using Ghostty for a few months, very intensively, all day long, and I have not seen any crash or other suspicious behavior.”
“I use the ghostty terminal emulator regularly -- it is built in Zig and it is super stable. It is a fantastic piece of software.”
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“Ghostty has been flawless for me the past 9months. It gets out of the way and just works really well.”
Hackability · 3
libghostty, shader support and a pleasant codebase let people embed and extend it.
“ghostty has extensive shader support”
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“It's a well attended codebase and a pleasure to work with, props to Mitchell.”
Config file · 3
A plain config file with sensible defaults means little setup and easy dotfile syncing.
“the biggest thing that made me stay on Ghostty was that there's a freaking config file.”
“I definitely spent way less time configuring it to suit my needs that I did with any other terminal I used before.”
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“it’s been noticeably faster and i appreciate the file-based config as well as the defaults”
Font rendering · 3
Users praise its text rendering and default fonts over other terminals.
“Ghostty's rendering is always superior.”
“Ghostty didn't have issues with the same font”
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“It had nicer fonts by default, better tab switching that was consistent with the keyboard shortcut”
Caveats and dissent
iTerm2 switching · 3
Some former iTerm2 users hit a learning curve or subtle usability quirks.
“then the subtle usability issues become too much, and i wonder why i switched from iterm2 to begin with”
“I now use ghostty it’s faster definitely”
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“the biggest thing that made me stay on Ghostty was that there's a freaking config file.”
Search shortcuts · 2
Cmd+F search support was missing for some users and still mishandles keyboard shortcuts.
“without the CMD+F, it's of no use to me.”
Missing features · 3
Users miss Kitty-style hints mode, sidebar tabs and OpenBSD support.
“Loving how well Ghostty works and looks.”
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“I love Ghostty and use it under Linux and MacOS”
Linux rough edges · 3
Linux users report hard upgrades, slow launch times and a disliked Adwaita tab UI.
“I love the application. It became my default driver overnight.”
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“the turn off was Adwaita, the tablet UI for the tabs and context menu.. i just can't”
TERM compatibility · 2
Some saw TUIs break or warnings caused by the TERM variable it sets.
“I used ghosty and others for awhile but had continuous issues of it not passing a compatible term variable so a lot of tuis would break.”
“WARNING: terminal is not fully functional”
Often compared with
12 moved from iTerm2 to Ghostty
6 moved from Kitty to Ghostty
1 moved from Ghostty to Kitty
2 moved from WezTerm to GhosttyAlacritty9 comments mention both
1 moved from Alacritty to Ghostty
2 moved from Terminal.app to Ghostty
2 moved from Warp to Ghostty
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Ghostty 1.4 28 mentions
- Herdr has released native app 6 mentions
- Pledging Another $400k to the Zig Software Foundation 6 mentions
- Ask HN: What is your (AI) dev tech stack / workflow? (June 2026) 6 mentions
- Ghostty – Terminal Emulator 6 mentions
- Mitchellh starts a new company: Superlogical 3 mentions
Data: ghostty.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 45
“I can use the tui in ghosttty or wezterm or iterm”
“After trying out all the others ghostty, alacritty etc. I still found it incredibly annoying”
“I use it from Ghostty”
“Since I am using Ghostty I can give it a try”
“I just use tmux with multiple ghostty sessions”
“But I’m already using ghostty.”
“I recently switched to Zellij with Ghostty”
“I love the application. It became my default driver overnight.”
“I love Ghostty and use it under Linux and MacOS”
“I use that version every day”
“I love ghostty and I think it's the most responsive terminal emulator around.”
“I did use Kitty, then switched to Ghostty.”
“I was wondering about the actual measurements of the improvements given the added complexity”
“Ghostty is fine, but I want a scripting language for my terminal”
“Ghostty is a lot faster and lighter, it has occasional rendering issues and does not detect URLs as well.”
“I use ghostty as my go-to terminal on my linux devices. I chose it after trying four or so”
“I love ghostty and libghostty.”
“Ghostty just fits my needs pretty much exactly.”
“I love Ghostty and your vision here, and evangelize it whenever I can.”
“Why should I use Ghostty over iTerm2?”
“Ghostty didn't have issues with the same font”
“Now Ghostty is the fastest.”
“Ghostty has been flawless for me the past 9months. It gets out of the way and just works really well.”
“switching to Ghostty full time in 2024 with minimal fuss”
“the biggest thing that made me stay on Ghostty was that there's a freaking config file.”
“Ghostty has been a pretty good upgrade”
“I now use ghostty it’s faster definitely”
“then the subtle usability issues become too much, and i wonder why i switched from iterm2 to begin with”
“Alacritty -> Ghostty -> tty7”
“Ghostty was slightly faster, but then Ptyxis was also faster.”
“It's slow on Linux, for sure.”
“I've tried Ghostty and it's great”
“still does not fix the one bug I care about”
“then I have switched to ghostty around the beginning of 2026”
“Ghostty's rendering is always superior.”
“I switched to Ghostty just because I got tired of nothing happening in the WezTerm land”
“ghostty as snap on fresh boot/after a while opens in several seconds vs miliseconds for deb”
“Switched to Jetbrains Mono when Ghostty came out nearly 2 years ago”
“this was also right about the time I migrated to Ghostty so that also made a big difference”
“Ghostty (fine, it's my terminal)”
“I have been using Ghostty for a few months, very intensively, all day long, and I have not seen any crash or other suspicious behavior.”
“I definitely spent way less time configuring it to suit my needs that I did with any other terminal I used before.”
“it’s been noticeably faster and i appreciate the file-based config as well as the defaults”
“I switched to Ghostty a few months ago and it's become one of the apps I never close.”
“without the CMD+F, it's of no use to me.”