[opensourcedex]

iTerm 2 is a free, open source terminals project written in Objective-C and released under GPL-2.0. It has 18,067 GitHub stars, 1,496 forks and 73 open issues, and was last pushed 5 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #8 of 8 tracked projects in Terminals, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 24 stars over the last 6 tracked days.

What is iTerm 2?

What it is

iTerm 2 is a terminal emulator for macOS, written in Objective-C and licensed under GPL-2.0. It replaces the default macOS terminal with an interface for shells, tabs, panes, and remote sessions. The project lives in the macOS developer tools ecosystem, where command-line work, SSH sessions, tmux sessions, and shell history need one persistent client.

The problem it solves is the gap between a basic text terminal and workflows that need recovery after crashes, upgrades, or disconnects. iTerm 2 keeps sessions in server processes, adds shell awareness, profile switching, search across sessions, and native integration with tmux windows.

Key capabilities

  • tmux integration lets tmux windows become real macOS windows when tmux is run with the -CC option, and sessions persist through crashes, SSH disconnects, and app upgrades.
  • Shell integration tracks commands, directories, hostnames, and usernames, enabling click-to-download files via SCP, drag-and-drop uploads, per-host command history, recent directories by frecency, and marks at each prompt.
  • Session restoration keeps shells running in long-lived server processes, so iTerm 2 can reconnect to sessions after a crash or upgrade without losing the running state.
  • Automatic profile switching changes terminal appearance based on hostname, username, directory, or running command, giving different visual context for environments such as production.
  • Triggers apply regular expressions to terminal output and can highlight text, run commands, send notifications, open a password manager, set marks, or invoke Python scripts.

Who uses it and how

  • Mac developers use it as the main shell environment for local work, with tabs, panes, status bars, and shell marks to keep commands and output organized.
  • Users who run tmux use it to replace tmux's text-based window management with native macOS windows while keeping tmux sessions alive through interruptions.
  • Operations engineers use hostname, username, directory, and command-based profile switching to make SSH sessions visually distinct, including a red background for production.
  • Power users automate inspection and response with triggers, Python scripting, copy mode, smart selection, and open quickly across many sessions.

Getting started

The README gives download and source-build paths: download the latest version from iterm2.com/downloads, or use the nightly build. Alternatively, clone the GitHub repository and run make setup to install Homebrew, Xcode, Rust, and other dependencies with confirmation prompts.

When to use it — and when not to

iTerm 2 fits macOS users who need persistent sessions, shell context, tmux integration, and automation features, and the provided facts do not list a paid product it replaces. The trade-off is platform lock-in to macOS, and the supplied repository metadata shows zero contributors and a zero-year repository age, which may make source builds less attractive than official downloads. Development builds may also be less stable than official releases.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

iTerm2

macOS Terminal Replacement

Version Platform

Website • Downloads • Documentation • Features

About

iTerm2 is a powerful terminal emulator for macOS that brings the terminal into the modern age with features you never knew you always wanted.

Key Features

  • tmux Integration - Native iTerm2 windows/tabs replace tmux's text-based interface. Run tmux -CC and tmux windows become real macOS windows. Sessions persist through crashes, SSH disconnects, and even app upgrades. Collaborate by having two people attach to the same session.
  • Shell Integration - Deep shell awareness that tracks commands, directories, hostnames, and usernames. Enables click-to-download files via SCP, drag-and-drop uploads, command history per host, recent directories by "frecency," and marks at each prompt.
  • AI Chat - Built-in LLM chat window that can optionally interact with terminal contents. Link sessions to get context-aware help, run commands on your behalf, or explain output with annotations.
  • Inline Images - Display images (including animated GIFs) directly in the terminal. Use imgcat to view photos, charts, or visual output without leaving your workflow.
  • Automatic Profile Switching - Terminal appearance changes automatically based on hostname, username, directory, or running command. SSH to production? Background turns red. Different environments get different visual contexts.
  • Dedicated Hotkey Windows - System-wide hotkey summons a terminal that slides down from the top of the screen (or any edge), even over fullscreen apps. Pin it or let it auto-hide.
  • Session Restoration - Sessions run in long-lived server processes. If iTerm2 crashes or upgrades, your shells keep running. When iTerm2 restarts, it reconnects to your sessions exactly where you left off.
  • Built-in Web Browser - Browser profiles integrate web browsing into iTerm2's window/tab/pane hierarchy. Copy mode, triggers, AI chat, and other terminal features work in browser sessions.
  • Configurable Status Bar - Per-session status bar showing git branch, CPU/memory graphs, current directory, hostname, custom interpolated strings, or Python API components.
  • Triggers - Regex patterns that fire actions when matched: highlight text, run commands, send notifications, open password manager, set marks, or invoke Python scripts.
  • Smart Selection - Quad-click selects semantic objects (URLs, file paths, email addresses, quoted strings). Right-click for context actions. Cmd-click to open.
  • Copy Mode - Vim-like keyboard selection. Navigate and select text without touching the mouse. Works with marks to jump between command prompts.
  • Instant Replay - Scrub backward through terminal history to see exactly what was on screen at any moment, with timestamps. Perfect for catching fleeting errors.
  • Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.
  • Open Quickly - Cmd-Shift-O opens a search across all sessions by tab title, command, hostname, directory, or badge. Navigate large session collections instantly.

Installation

Download

Get the latest version from iterm2.com/downloads

For the bleeding edge without building, try the nightly build.

Build from Source

Note: Development builds may be less stable than official releases.

Prerequisites
  • No manual prerequisites. make setup will install Homebrew, Xcode, Rust, and all other dependencies, prompting for confirmation before each privileged step.
Clone
git clone https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2.git
Setup (first time)
make setup

make setup is interactive and will prompt for confirmation before any privileged or security-sensitive operation. It performs the following steps:

  • Homebrew -- Installs Homebrew via its official install script if not already present. Prompts before running the installer (which requires sudo).
  • Xcode -- If no Xcode is selected via xcode-select, installs xcodes (via Homebrew) and aria2 (for faster downloads), then either selects an existing /Applications/Xcode*.app or downloads the latest Xcode automatically. Prompts before running sudo xcode-select and before accepting the Xcode license.
  • Rust -- Installs rustup via the official curl | sh installer if not already present. Prompts before executing the script.
  • Homebrew packages -- Installs cmake, pkg-config, automake, perl, and python3 if missing. If brew link python@3 would overwrite existing symlinks, prompts for confirmation before proceeding.
  • SF Symbols -- Installs the SF Symbols cask (a .pkg installer that requires sudo). Prompts before attempting the install; continues without it if declined.
  • Python/Rust packages -- Installs pyobjc (via pip) and cbindgen (via cargo) if not already present.
  • Submodules and toolchains -- Initializes git submodules, adds the x86_64 Rust target, and downloads the Metal toolchain.

To skip all confirmation prompts, use make dangerous-setup instead.

After setup, compile native dependencies and build:

make paranoid-deps   # compile OpenSSL, libsixel, libgit2, Sparkle, etc. (sandboxed)
make                 # build iTerm2

Re-run make paranoid-deps whenever your active Xcode version changes -- the file last-xcode-version tracks which version was last used.

If your Xcode version differs from the one committed in last-xcode-version (e.g. you're on an older machine), suppress the noise without committing your local version:

git update-index --skip-worktree last-xcode-version

To undo: git update-index --no-skip-worktree last-xcode-version

Build
make Development
Run
make run
Architecture

Builds target your native architecture by default. To produce a universal (arm64 + x86_64) binary:

UNIVERSAL=1 make Development
Code signing

Code signing is disabled by default to keep contributor builds simple. To enable it with the project's signing identity:

SIGNED=1 make Development
Building in Xcode

If you prefer building from Xcode instead of the command line:

  1. Complete the Clone and Setup steps above.

  2. Configure code signing with your team ID:

    tools/set_team_id.sh YOUR_TEAM_ID

    This script updates DEVELOPMENT_TEAM in all Xcode project files (iTerm2 and its dependencies like Sparkle, SwiftyMarkdown, etc.) so code signing works with your identity.

    To find your team ID: Open Keychain Access, find your "Apple Development" or "Developer ID" certificate, and look for the 10-character string in parentheses (e.g., "H7V7XYVQ7D").

    No Developer account? Skip this step and select "Sign to Run Locally" in Xcode's Signing & Capabilities tab.

  3. Open iTerm2.xcodeproj in Xcode.

  4. Edit Scheme (Cmd- Note: We use GitLab for issues because it provides better support for attachments.

Resources

Resource Link
Official Website iterm2.com
Documentation iterm2.com/documentation
Community iTerm2 Discussions
Downloads iterm2.com/downloads

License

iTerm2 is distributed under the GPLv3 license.

Support

If you love iTerm2, consider:

Made by George Nachman and contributors

Frequently asked questions

Is iTerm 2 free to use?

iTerm 2 is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does iTerm 2 do?

Advanced terminal with modern features for Mac developers

What is iTerm 2 written in?

iTerm 2 is primarily written in Objective-C. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/gnachman/iterm2, and it has 18,067 GitHub stars.