6 ms·

I have found iTerm to have very bad performance relative to Terminal.app. I honestly have no clue why its so popular, I cannot stand it.

by jakear 7y ago

dijit 7y ago
I agree with you, or, I did, until they switched to the metal renderer. Now iTerm is as fast as terminal.app (provided you use the same settings)
- bradknowles 7y ago
  So, in this case, why would I prefer iTerm over Terminal.app? Seriously, I don't understand what the benefits are, if it's only "just as fast as Terminal.app".
  - ShamelessC 7y ago
    It has quite a few nice features that Terminal doesn't have. But yeah, if you don't need those features then just use Terminal.
  - Cort3z 7y ago
    iTerm has very many features that are great for productivity which the default Terminal.app does not have.
  - phailhaus 7y ago
    Did you read the release notes for 3.3? How many of those features are supported by Terminal.app?
  - dijit 7y ago
    Speed is secondary. iTerm has much richer features, even the hotkeys are super nice. But among those features is tmux integration and now python extension support.
kmundnic 7y ago
For me it's about using tmux with the same commands as the native iTerm2 commands to split panes and other tasks. That way I can work on a server in the same way I work on my machine.
jbverschoor 7y ago
For me it’s only 1 feature: the profiles window. I configure them as ssh to hosts. And then I have a decal/text in the corner + a color in the bg. But most importantly is the favorites manager
- uberduper 7y ago
  I do this in my ssh config to get what I assume is the same effect with the iTerm badge. Host * !github.com LocalCommand printf '\e]7;file://%n/\a' PermitLocalCommand yes
liability 7y ago
It supports a 'quake mode', which is the only reason I use it.
- alextooter 7y ago
  Agree,I set the same key as in Quake,and full screen console drop down,which is very cool.
rodorgas 7y ago
I think that iTerm is prettier. The font rendering looks better to me.
sys_64738 7y ago
Tmux integration.
- tazard 7y ago
  Is that really a nice feature? I live in tmux + iTerm, and have set up the integration but never really used/enjoyed is so I just disabled it. Not sure what I'm missing honestly
yoz-y 7y ago
For me it is the Quake mode and triggers so I can turn output of the many tools I use into coloured and functioning URLs. (E.g. bug ids, pull requests and so on)
Abishek_Muthian 7y ago
Metal based iTerm2 on a low power intel CPU is one thing which doesn't make me miss Linux terminal on MacOS. I've put up a dedicated display for it and functions seamlessly. Please try to explain your performance issues, the author is active on HN and perhaps he could comment on it.

I have found iTerm to have very bad performance relative to Terminal.app. I honestly have no clue why its so popular, I cannot stand it.

by jakear 7y ago

I have found iTerm to have very bad performance relative to Terminal.app. I honestly have no clue why its so popular, I cannot stand it.

dijit 7y ago

I agree with you, or, I did, until they switched to the metal renderer. Now iTerm is as fast as terminal.app (provided you use the same settings)

bradknowles 7y ago
So, in this case, why would I prefer iTerm over Terminal.app? Seriously, I don't understand what the benefits are, if it's only "just as fast as Terminal.app".
- ShamelessC 7y ago
  It has quite a few nice features that Terminal doesn't have. But yeah, if you don't need those features then just use Terminal.
- Cort3z 7y ago
  iTerm has very many features that are great for productivity which the default Terminal.app does not have.
- phailhaus 7y ago
  Did you read the release notes for 3.3? How many of those features are supported by Terminal.app?
- dijit 7y ago
  Speed is secondary. iTerm has much richer features, even the hotkeys are super nice. But among those features is tmux integration and now python extension support.

kmundnic 7y ago

For me it's about using tmux with the same commands as the native iTerm2 commands to split panes and other tasks. That way I can work on a server in the same way I work on my machine.

jbverschoor 7y ago

For me it’s only 1 feature: the profiles window. I configure them as ssh to hosts. And then I have a decal/text in the corner + a color in the bg. But most importantly is the favorites manager

uberduper 7y ago
I do this in my ssh config to get what I assume is the same effect with the iTerm badge. Host * !github.com LocalCommand printf '\e]7;file://%n/\a' PermitLocalCommand yes

liability 7y ago

It supports a 'quake mode', which is the only reason I use it.

alextooter 7y ago
Agree,I set the same key as in Quake,and full screen console drop down,which is very cool.

rodorgas 7y ago

I think that iTerm is prettier. The font rendering looks better to me.

sys_64738 7y ago

Tmux integration.

tazard 7y ago
Is that really a nice feature? I live in tmux + iTerm, and have set up the integration but never really used/enjoyed is so I just disabled it. Not sure what I'm missing honestly

yoz-y 7y ago

For me it is the Quake mode and triggers so I can turn output of the many tools I use into coloured and functioning URLs. (E.g. bug ids, pull requests and so on)

Abishek_Muthian 7y ago

Metal based iTerm2 on a low power intel CPU is one thing which doesn't make me miss Linux terminal on MacOS. I've put up a dedicated display for it and functions seamlessly. Please try to explain your performance issues, the author is active on HN and perhaps he could comment on it.