# ConEmu

> Windows console emulator that hosts console programs in one tabbed GUI window, with splits, a quake-style mode and Far Manager integration.

Stars: 9.3k · Language: C++ · License: BSD-3-Clause · Platforms: Windows · Config: XML/registry

Features: built-in multiplexer, configurable

- Repository: https://github.com/ConEmu/ConEmu
- Page: https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/conemu

## Overview

ConEmu (ConEmu-Maximus5) is a console emulator for Windows, written in C++ and licensed under BSD-3-Clause. It starts console programs in a hidden console window and shows them in its own customizable GUI window, so `cmd.exe`, PowerShell, bash, WSL shells and other console programs can share one tabbed window. It began as a companion to Far Manager and grew out of an earlier ConEmu by Zoin. Cmder is built on top of it. It suits Windows users who want tabs, splits and a quake-style window around the shells they already use.

Settings are read from the registry or from a `ConEmu.xml` file, and command-line parameters are applied on top, so several named configurations can be kept side by side, for example one per PC. Most options are edited in a large Settings dialog. Tasks define named startup commands, such as a shell with a given working directory or a set of tabs and splits opened together, and GuiMacro exposes ConEmu's functions to scripts and key bindings.

Each tab can be split into resizable panes, and the window can run in normal, maximized, full-screen or quake-style drop-down mode. Fonts are configurable by family, height, width and style, with normal, bold and italic fonts used for different parts of the console at once, and anti-aliasing can be standard, ClearType or off. ConEmu supports ANSI escape sequences and xterm 256 colors, detects hyperlinks and file paths in output, shows operation progress on the Windows 7+ taskbar, can run old DOS programs through DosBox, and can be embedded in another window in Inside mode. Far Manager users get tabs for editors and viewers, thumbnails and tiles, and the full output of the last command in the editor.

ConEmu does not document GPU rendering, font ligatures or an inline image protocol. It runs on Windows XP and later (32-bit) or Vista and later (64-bit). The repository is not archived, but the last stable release, 23.07.24, came out in July 2023, and the only commits since then are a handful from April 2025.

## Alternatives

- [Windows Terminal](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/windows-terminal.md): Microsoft's terminal for Windows that hosts PowerShell, cmd and WSL shells in tabs and panes, with GPU text rendering and JSON settings. (Windows, 105.3k stars)
- [Tabby](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/tabby.md): Cross-platform Electron terminal with a built-in SSH, Telnet and serial client, saved connection profiles and a plugin system. (Linux/macOS/Windows, 75.2k stars)
- [Alacritty](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/alacritty.md): Cross-platform OpenGL terminal emulator written in Rust, configured with a TOML file and leaving tabs and splits to a multiplexer like tmux. (Linux/macOS/Windows/BSD, 66.1k stars)
- [Warp](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/warp.md): Terminal written in Rust with an IDE-style command editor, command output grouped into blocks, and built-in AI agents. (macOS/Linux/Windows, 65.7k stars)
- [Termux](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/termux.md): Android terminal emulator and Linux environment that installs packages through its own apt repository, no root required. (Android, 63.6k stars)
- [Ghostty](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/ghostty.md): Terminal emulator written in Zig with GPU rendering and a native UI on each platform: Swift/AppKit on macOS, GTK on Linux. (Linux/macOS, 62.8k stars)
- [Hyper](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/hyper.md): Electron terminal built on HTML, CSS and JavaScript, themed and extended through npm plugins. (Linux/macOS/Windows, 44.8k stars)
- [Kitty](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/kitty.md): GPU-rendered terminal written in C and Python, with its own graphics protocol, built-in tabs and splits, and scriptable 'kittens'. (Linux/macOS/BSD, 35.5k stars)

---

Canonical: https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/conemu
