Unleash Your Command Line: Discovering the Best RXVT Alternatives
RXVT – our extended virtual terminal – is a terminal emulator for X11, widely known as a popular replacement for the standard ‘xterm’. While RXVT has served many users faithfully, the world of terminal emulators has evolved, offering a diverse range of features, platforms, and customization options. If you're looking to enhance your command-line experience, explore new functionalities, or find a better fit for your specific workflow, considering an RXVT alternative is a smart move.
Top RXVT Alternatives
Whether you prioritize cross-platform compatibility, advanced SSH features, extensive customization, or a lightweight footprint, there's a terminal emulator out there perfect for you. Here are some of the leading RXVT alternatives to consider:
PuTTY
PuTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console, and network file transfer application, making it a robust RXVT alternative. It's available across Free, Open Source, Windows, Linux, BSD, PortableApps.com, and ReactOS. Key features that make it stand out include SSH, a built-in SSH client, Telnet client, host management, support for SFTP, and extensive configurability, offering a lightweight and session-managed experience with Xterm emulation.
cmder
Cmder is an open-source replacement for the Windows command-line, extending ConEmu with powerful features. This RXVT alternative is available for Free, Open Source, Windows, and integrates with clink, ConEmu, Windows Command Prompt, and PowerShell. Its features include a terminal emulator, ANSI color support, a built-in SSH client, customizable command line/bash, developer tools, extensibility via plugins, and a lightweight, portable, tabbed interface.
ConEmu
ConEmu is a powerful, fast, and reliable Windows terminal that can run any console WinAPI or Unix PTY app, making it a solid RXVT alternative for Windows users. It's free and open-source, offering features like a tabbed interface, Quake-style dropdown, command line, extensive customization, multi-tabs, multiple window layouts, shell integration, split-screen view, ANSI color support, and portability.
MobaXterm
MobaXterm is an advanced terminal that provides Windows users with a powerful, Unix-like command-line experience, making it a comprehensive RXVT alternative. Available as Freemium for Windows, it boasts features like SFTP support, an embedded X server, SSH with a built-in client, FTP support, multiple terminals, RDP functionality, secure copy (SCP), extensive customization, plugin extensibility, and portability, supporting multiple protocols including VNC.
Terminator
Terminator allows for multiple terminals in one window, making it an excellent RXVT alternative for users who juggle many command-line tasks. This free and open-source terminal emulator is available for Mac, Linux, and BSD. It offers extensive configurability, function key shortcuts, support for multiple monitors, plugins, split-screen view, split windows, and support for themes and tiling layouts, ideal for managing complex workflows.
KiTTY
KiTTY is an open-source terminal emulator, forked from PuTTY, that adds many extra features to the original software, positioning itself as a robust RXVT alternative for Windows users. It's free and open-source, with features like portability, SSH and SSH tunnel, auto-saving, auto-login, a built-in editor, keyboard shortcut support, multiple browser tabs, and session management, providing an enhanced PuTTY experience.
Hyper
Hyper™ is a beautiful and extensible, cross-platform terminal built on open web standards, offering a modern RXVT alternative. This free and open-source emulator is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux, built on Electron/Atom Shell. It provides an elegant command-line experience with features like extensibility via plugins, split-screen view, tiling panes, a clean design, customization, plugin API, and support for themes and packages, ideal for developers.
iTerm2
iTerm2 is a replacement for Terminal and the successor to iTerm, working on Macs with macOS 10.10 or newer, making it a powerful RXVT alternative for Apple users. It's free and open-source, bringing the terminal into the modern age with features like extensive customization, annotating history, a clean design, dropdown terminal, dual pane support, integrated search, key binding, multiple language support, Quake-style, split windows, and SSH.
GNOME Terminal
GNOME Terminal is a terminal emulator for the GNOME desktop environment, written by Havoc Pennington and others. As a free and open-source RXVT alternative, it's widely available on Linux and BSD, providing a stable and integrated terminal experience within the GNOME ecosystem, allowing users to execute commands with ease.
Terminal
The built-in terminal window on Mac OS is a lean but effective RXVT alternative for Mac users. It's free and readily available, offering a no-frills terminal emulator that does exactly what it's supposed to without being bloated, providing a reliable command-line interface for macOS users.
The choice of a terminal emulator often comes down to personal preference, specific operating system needs, and desired features. By exploring these RXVT alternatives, you can find the perfect tool to optimize your command-line productivity and tailor your terminal experience to your exact requirements.