Alacritty for MAC
Fast, free and open-source terminal for Mac that draws with the GPU and is set up with one config file.
Alacritty Overview
Alacritty is a fast, free and open-source terminal emulator. It draws text with the graphics chip (OpenGL), which keeps it quick even with lots of output, and comes with sensible defaults that you can change in a single TOML configuration file. Rather than building in everything, Alacritty works together with other tools: for tabs and split panes, many people pair it with tmux. Alacritty is developed by the Alacritty project and its contributors and released under the Apache License 2.0.
Alacritty runs on macOS, Linux, BSD and Windows. On a Mac, download the disk image from its GitHub releases page or install it with Homebrew. Its developers still call it beta software, with a few features missing, but it is already many people's everyday terminal.
Key Features
Alacritty keeps the terminal fast and simple, and lets you configure the rest.
- GPU rendering: drawing with OpenGL keeps scrolling and large output fast.
- One config file: change fonts, colors, key bindings and more in alacritty.toml.
- Vi mode: move around the scrollback and select text with Vi keys.
- Search: search forward and backward through the terminal output.
- Hints: open URLs and copy paths or other text found on the screen with the keyboard.
- Selection expansion: expand a selection to words, lines or semantic units.
- Clickable links: open web addresses with the mouse.
- Multiple windows: open several windows from one Alacritty process.
What’s New in Version 0.17.0
Alacritty 0.17.0 adds new options and fixes several crashes.
- Mouse bindings for WheelUp and WheelDown
- Support for TOML 1.1 syntax in the configuration file
- Hints are no longer highlighted on hover while the mouse cursor is hidden
- Fixed a crash when committing text with some input methods on macOS
- Fixed a crash when the OpenGL context resets
- Fixed a brief error popup when saving the config file with some editors
Alacritty FAQ
Is Alacritty free?
Yes. Alacritty is free and open source, released under the Apache License 2.0.
How do I install Alacritty on a Mac?
Download the Alacritty disk image from its GitHub releases page and drag Alacritty to Applications, or install it with Homebrew (brew install --cask alacritty).
Why is Alacritty fast?
Alacritty draws the terminal with the graphics chip through OpenGL instead of the processor, which keeps it quick even with a lot of output.
Does Alacritty have tabs or split panes?
No. Alacritty leaves those to other tools on purpose. Many people use it with a terminal multiplexer such as tmux for tabs and splits.
Where is the Alacritty configuration file?
Alacritty reads a TOML file, usually ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml. The settings are documented in the alacritty(5) manual page and on alacritty.org.
What is Vi mode in Alacritty?
Vi mode lets you move around the terminal's scrollback, search and select text with Vi-style keys, without using the mouse.
What are hints in Alacritty?
Hints find things like web addresses on the screen and label them, so you can open or copy them with a few key presses.
Is Alacritty finished software?
Its developers describe it as beta: a few features are missing and some bugs remain, but many people already use it as their everyday terminal.
Does Alacritty run on other systems too?
Yes. Alacritty runs on macOS, Linux, BSD and Windows, so you can use the same configuration everywhere.
Where does the Alacritty download on alacritty.FULLMAC.app come from?
The download button leads to Alacritty's official website at https://alacritty.org/, which links to the releases. alacritty.FULLMAC.app does not change or repackage the app.
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