17.9k GitHub stars and counting — gnachman/iTerm2 is a Objective-C project TopGit is tracking across repositories on the platform. iTerm2 is a terminal emulator for Mac OS X that does amazing things.
Snapshot summary built from the project's own GitHub metadata — there's no written TopGit review yet. The page will update automatically when a full review is published.
WHY NO REVIEW YET
TopGit writes full reviews for the most-starred, most-requested repositories. This page is a snapshot until then — see the READ ME tab for the original README in full.
iTerm2 is a powerful terminal emulator for macOS that brings the terminal into the modern age with features you never knew you always wanted.
Key Features
tmux Integration - Native iTerm2 windows/tabs replace tmux's text-based interface. Run tmux -CC and tmux windows become real macOS windows. Sessions persist through crashes, SSH disconnects, and even app upgrades. Collaborate by having two people attach to the same session.
Shell Integration - Deep shell awareness that tracks commands, directories, hostnames, and usernames. Enables click-to-download files via SCP, drag-and-drop uploads, command history per host, recent directories by "frecency," and marks at each prompt.
AI Chat - Built-in LLM chat window that can optionally interact with terminal contents. Link sessions to get context-aware help, run commands on your behalf, or explain output with annotations.
Inline Images - Display images (including animated GIFs) directly in the terminal. Use imgcat to view photos, charts, or visual output without leaving your workflow.
Automatic Profile Switching - Terminal appearance changes automatically based on hostname, username, directory, or running command. SSH to production? Background turns red. Different environments get different visual contexts.
Dedicated Hotkey Windows - System-wide hotkey summons a terminal that slides down from the top of the screen (or any edge), even over fullscreen apps. Pin it or let it auto-hide.
Session Restoration - Sessions run in long-lived server processes. If iTerm2 crashes or upgrades, your shells keep running. When iTerm2 restarts, it reconnects to your sessions exactly where you left off.
Built-in Web Browser - Browser profiles integrate web browsing into iTerm2's window/tab/pane hierarchy. Copy mode, triggers, AI chat, and other terminal features work in browser sessions.
Configurable Status Bar - Per-session status bar showing git branch, CPU/memory graphs, current directory, hostname, custom interpolated strings, or Python API components.
Triggers - Regex patterns that fire actions when matched: highlight text, run commands, send notifications, open password manager, set marks, or invoke Python scripts.
Copy Mode - Vim-like keyboard selection. Navigate and select text without touching the mouse. Works with marks to jump between command prompts.
Instant Replay - Scrub backward through terminal history to see exactly what was on screen at any moment, with timestamps. Perfect for catching fleeting errors.
Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.
Open Quickly - Cmd-Shift-O opens a search across all sessions by tab title, command, hostname, directory, or badge. Navigate large session collections instantly.
Installation
Download
Get the latest version from iterm2.com/downloads
For the bleeding edge without building, try the nightly build.
Build from Source
Note: Development builds may be less stable than official releases.
Prerequisites
No manual prerequisites. make setup will install Homebrew, Xcode,
Rust, and all other dependencies, prompting for confirmation before each privileged step.
Clone
git clone https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2.git
Setup (first time)
make setup
make setup is interactive and will prompt for confirmation before any privileged or
security-sensitive operation. It performs the following steps:
Homebrew -- Installs Homebrew via its official install script
if not already present. Prompts before running the installer (which requires sudo).
Xcode -- If no Xcode is selected via xcode-select, installs
xcodes (via Homebrew) and
aria2 (for faster downloads), then either selects an
existing /Applications/Xcode*.app or downloads the latest Xcode automatically.
Prompts before running sudo xcode-select and before accepting the Xcode license.
Rust -- Installs rustup via the official curl | sh
installer if not already present. Prompts before executing the script.
Homebrew packages -- Installs cmake, pkg-config, automake, perl, and python3 if
missing. If brew link python@3 would overwrite existing symlinks, prompts for
confirmation before proceeding.
SF Symbols -- Installs the SF Symbols cask (a .pkg installer that requires
sudo). Prompts before attempting the install; continues without it if declined.
Python/Rust packages -- Installs pyobjc (via pip) and cbindgen (via cargo) if not
already present.
Submodules and toolchains -- Initializes git submodules, adds the x86_64 Rust
target, and downloads the Metal toolchain.
To skip all confirmation prompts, use make dangerous-setup instead.
After setup, compile native dependencies and build:
make paranoid-deps # compile OpenSSL, libsixel, libgit2, Sparkle, etc. (sandboxed)
make # build iTerm2
Re-run make paranoid-deps whenever your active Xcode version changes -- the file last-xcode-version tracks which version was last used.
If your Xcode version differs from the one committed in last-xcode-version (e.g. you're on an older machine), suppress the noise without committing your local version:
To undo: git update-index --no-skip-worktree last-xcode-version
Build
make Development
Run
make run
Architecture
Builds target your native architecture by default. To produce a universal (arm64 + x86_64) binary:
UNIVERSAL=1 make Development
Code signing
Code signing is disabled by default to keep contributor builds simple. To enable it with the project's signing identity:
SIGNED=1 make Development
Building in Xcode
If you prefer building from Xcode instead of the command line:
Complete the Clone and Setup steps above.
Configure code signing with your team ID:
tools/set_team_id.sh YOUR_TEAM_ID
This script updates DEVELOPMENT_TEAM in all Xcode project files (iTerm2 and its dependencies like Sparkle, SwiftyMarkdown, etc.) so code signing works with your identity.
To find your team ID: Open Keychain Access, find your "Apple Development" or "Developer ID" certificate, and look for the 10-character string in parentheses (e.g., "H7V7XYVQ7D").
No Developer account? Skip this step and select "Sign to Run Locally" in Xcode's Signing & Capabilities tab.
Open iTerm2.xcodeproj in Xcode.
Edit Scheme (Cmd-<) and set Build Configuration to Development.
Press Cmd-R to build and run.
Development
Contributing
We welcome contributions! Please read our contribution guide before submitting pull requests.
Bug Reports & Issues
File bugs: iterm2.com/bugs
Issue tracker: GitLab Issues
Note: We use GitLab for issues because it provides better support for attachments.
TopGit's last sync did not record any GitHub topics for gnachman/iTerm2. GitHub topics appear in the right sidebar of a repository page; that's the authoritative place to check.
How active is development on gnachman/iTerm2?
The most recent commit recorded on gnachman/iTerm2 was 10 days ago, based on the GitHub push timestamp. The repository has 1.5k forks — one of the better signals of community interest.
Is gnachman/iTerm2 open source?
Yes — gnachman/iTerm2 ships under the GPL-2.0 license, which makes its source code freely readable (and, depending on license terms, forkable and reusable). Source: github.com/gnachman/iTerm2.
What license does gnachman/iTerm2 use?
gnachman/iTerm2 is released under the GPL-2.0 license. Always verify the LICENSE file directly on GitHub for the authoritative terms — license strings can be edited out of sync with a project's actual stance.
Where can I see gnachman/iTerm2 in action?
The project maintains a homepage at https://iterm2.com/. The README tab on this page also usually contains screenshots and a quickstart.
Where do I read more about gnachman/iTerm2?
This TopGit page is a snapshot — the READ ME tab shows the project's own README content (links stripped, images preserved). The GitHub repository at github.com/gnachman/iTerm2 is the definitive source.
Read full README in the tab above.
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