Alacritty
Alacritty is a cross-platform terminal emulator built with OpenGL for performance and extensive configuration.
What Alacritty is
Alacritty is a cross-platform terminal emulator built with OpenGL for performance and extensive configuration. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, and is free under the Apache License 2.0 and MIT licenses. Vi mode supports viewport and scrollback navigation, text selection and copying through keyboard bindings; users can also search forward or backward through scrollback. Configurable regex hints can recognize visible text or links and pass them to an external application or trigger a built-in action. A single instance can open multiple terminal windows, including with the `alacritty msg create-window` command. Alacritty is intended to work alongside other applications, and URL-opening applications can be configured. Settings use a TOML file that the software does not create automatically. The project describes Alacritty as beta, with missing features and bugs remaining. It has no tabs, split panes or graphical configuration editor. OpenGL ES 2.0 is required; Windows requires ConPTY support on Windows 10 version 1809 or higher.
Good
- Free and released under Apache 2.0 and MIT licenses.
- Vi mode supports navigation, selection and copying.
- Scrollback search works in either direction.
- Regex hints can trigger external or built-in actions.
- One instance can run multiple windows.
Watch out
- Project status is beta, with bugs remaining.
- No tabs or split panes.
- No graphical configuration editor.
- TOML configuration file is not created automatically.
Who it suits
Alacritty suits people who spend substantial time in a terminal and want keyboard-based navigation and configurable behavior. It is available across Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD.
Verdict
Alacritty offers a configurable, OpenGL-based terminal with vi mode, search and multiple windows. Its beta status and lack of tabs, splits and a graphical settings editor are important tradeoffs.
Plans and prices
From Alacritty's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Alacritty | Free | Open-source terminal emulator · BSD, Linux, macOS, Windows |
The facts
Each one read from Alacritty's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Clipboard control
- Configuration controls OSC 52 clipboard access, which defaults to allowing copy but not paste.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Configuration
- Alacritty uses a TOML configuration file and does not create that file automatically.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Feature limits
- The project says Alacritty does not include tabs, splits, or a graphical configuration editor.checked 4 Oct 2026
- GPU acceleration
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Integrations
- Alacritty integrates with other applications instead of reimplementing their functionality, and URL opening applications can be configured.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The project describes Alacritty as suited to people who spend a lot of time in a terminal.checked 4 Oct 2026
- License
- The project is released under the Apache License 2.0 and MIT licenses.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Alacritty is a modern, cross-platform OpenGL terminal emulator designed for high performance and extensive configuration.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Readiness
- The project describes the software as beta, with some missing features and bugs still to be fixed.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Scripting API
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Search
- Users can search forward or backward through the scrollback buffer, including while in vi mode.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Split panes
- Nochecked 20 Sep 2026
- Support
- The project README points users to the `#alacritty` channel on Libera.Chat for questions or quick help.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Terminal hints
- Configurable regex hints can detect visible text or hyperlinks and send them to an external application or trigger a built-in action.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Vi mode
- Vi mode lets users navigate the viewport and scrollback, select text, and copy it using keyboard bindings.checked 4 Oct 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
Where it runs
- Multiple windows
- Alacritty can run multiple terminal windows from one instance, including through the `alacritty msg create-window` command.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Platform requirements
- The project lists OpenGL ES 2.0 as a requirement and requires ConPTY support on Windows 10 version 1809 or higher.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- Linux,macOS,Windows,BSDchecked 20 Sep 2026
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