iTerm2

macOS Terminal Replacement

Website • Downloads • Documentation • Features

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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.

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:

Complete the Clone and Setup steps above.
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.
Open iTerm2.xcodeproj in Xcode.
Edit Scheme (Cmd-<) and set Build Configuration to Development.
Press Cmd-R to build and run.

Development

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please read our contribution guide before submitting pull requests.

Bug Reports & Issues

File bugs: iterm2.com/bugs
Issue tracker: GitLab Issues

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:

Starring this repository
Spreading the word
Sponsoring development

Made by George Nachman and contributors