Alacritty

Alacritty is a modern, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator built with performance as its primary focus. Unlike traditional terminal emulators, Alacritty leverages OpenGL for rendering, enabling it to deliver exceptional speed and smooth performance even under heavy loads. It consistently outperforms competitors in throughput benchmarks using vtebench, making it ideal for users who demand responsive terminal interaction.

What sets Alacritty apart is its philosophy of doing one thing exceptionally well rather than trying to be an all-in-one solution. It deliberately omits features like built-in tabs, splits, or GUI configuration editors, instead encouraging users to rely on window managers or terminal multiplexers like tmux for these features. This minimalist approach results in a lean, fast terminal that integrates seamlessly with existing workflows.

Alacritty comes with sensible defaults but offers extensive configuration through TOML files, allowing users to customize colors, fonts, key bindings, and behavior to their preferences. Currently in beta but stable enough for daily use, it supports all major platforms including Linux, macOS, Windows, and BSD. The terminal is perfect for developers, system administrators, and power users who prioritize speed and reliability over built-in convenience features.

Installation

# via GitHub Releases
Download prebuilt binaries from GitHub releases page

# via Package Managers
Various package managers available for Linux, BSD, macOS and Windows