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xterm

xterm is a terminal emulator for the X Window System, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Place
#21 of 40
Score
6.3
xterm's website

What xterm is

xterm is a terminal emulator for the X Window System, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It emulates DEC VT102 and VT220 terminals, selected features from VT320, VT420, and VT520, and Tektronix 4014. Separate xterm windows can run on remote machines and display locally over the X protocol; SSH support is also listed. The current version implements ISO/ANSI colors using background color erase. Where the operating system supports terminal resizing, xterm can notify programs in its window when the size changes. It works with different flavors of the Athena widgets and supports scripting. The official site links to source and archive downloads, and the FAQ points to a manual page for command-line options, X resources, and other configurable settings. Related components add support for encodings beyond ISO-8859-1 and UTF-8, X resource support, and TrueType fonts. The FAQ documents known limitations, including color behavior that may fall back to monochrome. xterm is free, with no paid plans or usage limits stated.

Good

  • Free, with no usage limits stated.
  • Emulates several DEC terminal models and Tektronix 4014.
  • Remote windows can display locally through the X protocol.
  • Supports scripting and SSH.
  • Source and archive downloads are linked.

Watch out

  • Split panes are not supported.
  • Color behavior can fall back to monochrome.
  • Terminal resize notifications depend on operating-system support.

Who it suits

xterm suits users who need an X Window System terminal emulator across the listed platforms. It may also fit users working with remote X sessions or configurable terminal behavior.

Verdict

xterm provides broad terminal emulation with remote display and configuration options. Its documented color limitations and lack of split panes are worth considering if those matter to your setup.

Plans and prices

From xterm's own pricing page, checked 9 Oct 2026.

All about pricing
PlanPriceWhat it gives you
FreeFreeNo paid plans or usage limits stated

The facts

Each one read from xterm's own pages, with the date it was checked.

What it does

Build availability
The official page links to source and archive downloads.checked 9 Oct 2026
Colors
The current version implements ISO/ANSI colors using background color erase.checked 9 Oct 2026
Documentation
The FAQ points to the manual page for command-line options, X resources and other configurable options.checked 9 Oct 2026
Known limitations
The FAQ documents known bugs or limitations in modern xterm, including color-related behavior and cases where colors may fall back to monochrome.checked 9 Oct 2026
Maintainer
The FAQ says Thomas E. Dickey has worked on xterm since early 1996, while describing the original program as a collective effort maintained by the X Consortium.checked 9 Oct 2026
Purpose
xterm is a terminal emulator for the X Window System.checked 9 Oct 2026
Related components
The site says luit adds support for encodings other than ISO-8859-1 and UTF-8, X Toolkit provides X resource support, and Xft provides TrueType font support.checked 9 Oct 2026
Remote use
Separate xterm windows can run on remote machines and display locally using the X protocol.checked 9 Oct 2026
Scripting API
Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
Split panes
Nochecked 20 Sep 2026
SSH support
Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
Support
The maintainer says users should report bugs to [email protected] and notes that he also responds through several bug-tracking systems.checked 9 Oct 2026
Terminal emulation
It provides DEC VT102 and VT220 emulation, selected features from VT320, VT420 and VT520, and Tektronix 4014 emulation.checked 9 Oct 2026
Terminal resizing
When the operating system supports terminal resizing capabilities, xterm can notify programs in its window when it is resized.checked 9 Oct 2026
Widgets
xterm works with different flavors of the Athena widgets.checked 9 Oct 2026

Money

Free plan
Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026

Where it runs

Platform support
The FAQ says xterm runs in all implementations of X11 and mentions MacOS, NetBSD, OpenBSD, QNX, Cygwin and Minix among platforms used since 2000.checked 9 Oct 2026
Supported platforms
linux,macos,windowschecked 20 Sep 2026

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