Contour

Contour is a modern, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator designed for power users who demand both performance and advanced features. Built with C++23, it emphasizes speed through hardware acceleration while offering a comprehensive feature set that includes font ligatures, Unicode emoji support with grapheme clusters, Sixel inline images, and Vi-like input modes for enhanced navigation and text selection.

What sets Contour apart is its focus on modern terminal capabilities combined with practical productivity features. It supports synchronized rendering to eliminate screen tearing, text reflow for dynamic content adjustment, and unique features like vertical line markers for quick history navigation and a built-in Fira Code-inspired progress bar. The terminal also includes advanced customization options through profiles, color schemes, and extensive key binding support.

Contour targets developers and power users across all major platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, OpenBSD) who want a fast, feature-rich terminal that doesn't compromise on modern standards. Its support for terminal tabs, blurred transparent backgrounds, clickable hyperlinks via OSC 8, and comprehensive VT320 compatibility makes it suitable for both everyday use and specialized development workflows. The terminal requires OpenGL 3.3 support and modern hardware with AES-NI or ARMv8 crypto extensions.

Installation

# via Fedora
dnf install contour-terminal

# via Arch Linux
pacman -S contour

# via Flatpak
flatpak install flathub org.contourterminal.Contour