The Terminal is one of macOSโ most powerful built-in applications. If youโve been following this blog for a while, then chances are youโre already familiar with some of the 1,400+ Terminal commands that are at your disposal.
While macOSโ built-in Terminal has lots to offer, it does have its limitations. Most notably, you canโt launch the Terminal with a keyboard shortcut, and you canโt customise the Terminalโs appearance, which isnโt ideal if you have eyesight problems, or if youโre simply not a fan of the Terminalโs stark, black-and-white look!
In this article, Iโm going to introduce you to iTerm2, a free alternative to Appleโs built-in Terminal, thatโs completely customisable.
Replacing the stock Terminal with iTerm2
To try this app for yourself, head over to the iTerm2 website and download the latest version. iTerm2 is free to download and use, but if you enjoy using this app then you should consider donating to the developer to help support their work on this project.
Once youโve downloaded iTerm2, install and launch it. Initially, iTerm2 looks pretty similar to the standard Terminal.
However, thereโs lots of functionality hidden beneath the surface, including some features that simply donโt exist in the official Terminal application.
Customise the Terminal
You can customise pretty much every part of iTerm2โs appearance, which can make it easier to work with, for example if youโre struggling to read the text then you can increase the text size, change the font or use different colours to increase the contrast between the text and the iTerm2 background.
To change the background and/or text colour:
- Select โiTerm2 > Preferences…โ from the iTerm2 menu bar.
- Select the โProfilesโ tab.
- In the left-hand menu, select โDefault.โ
- Select the โColorsโ tab.
- To change the text, select the โForegroundโ colour and then use the subsequent menu to select a new colour. The iTerm2 window updates automatically as you select different colours, so you can immediately see how your changes will look.
- To change the colour of the iTerm2 background, select โBackgroundโ and then make your selection from the colour picker.
If youโre struggling to read the Terminal text, then you can change the text size and font family:
- Select โiTerm2 > Preferences…โ from the iTerm2 menu bar.
- Select โProfilesโ and make sure โDefaultโ is selected.
- Click the โTextโ tab.
- Give the โChange Fontโ button a click.
- This opens a โFontsโ window where you can change the font family, typeface and font size.
Launch iTerm with a keyboard shortcut
macOSโ default Terminal isnโt exactly difficult to reach (you can find it by navigating to โApplications > Utilities > Terminalโ). However, if you use the Terminal on a regular basis, then the fact that you canโt launch it with a keyboard shortcut is one of those little niggles that can become seriously frustrating.
When you switch to iTerm2, you gain the ability to create a keyboard shortcut that lets you launch the โTerminalโ window with the press of a few keys:
- Select โiTerm2 > Preferencesโฆโ from the iTerm2 toolbar.
- Select the โKeysโ tab.
- Click the โCreate a Dedicated Hotkey window…โ button.
- Decide which keyboard shortcut you want to use, and then click the โHotkeyโ field. This field should now display a โRecordingโ label. Press the keys that you want to use, and the field should update to display these keys.
- When youโre happy with the shortcut youโve created, click โOK.โ
- You should now see a message that a new โHotkey Windowโ has been created. Click โOK.โ
- Test your keyboard shortcut by closing the โPreferencesโฆโ window and exiting iTerm2. Now press your keys, and an iTerm2 overlay should appear.
You can interact with this overlay in exactly the same way you interact with the regular iTerm2 window. However, sometimes transparency can be distracting, for example if you have a particularly noisy wallpaper then you might struggle to read the iTerm2 text.
To turn this overlay opaque, so that it looks more like the โregularโ iTerm2 window:
- Select โiTerm2 > Preferences…โ form the iTerm2 menu bar.
- Select the โProfilesโ tab.
- In the left-hand menu, select the โHotkey Windowโ profile.
- Select the โWindowโ tab.
- Drag the โWindow appearanceโ slider to the โOpaqueโ end of the scale.
- Exit iTerm2 and then repeat your keyboard shortcut, and you should see that the iTerm2 overlay is no longer transparent.
Get two Terminals in one!
One particularly useful iTerm2 feature that isnโt available in the standard Terminal, is split-screen view. This allows you to have two iTerm2 windows side-by-side, which operate independently of one another. To take a look at this split-screen view, press the โCommand+Dโ keyboard shortcut.
This split-screen setup is great for general multi-tasking, but it can also be useful when youโre performing complex operations that require lots of Terminal commands, as you can divide this complex task into multiple parts and then handle each part in a separate window. You may also want to use this split-screen setup to display some useful information in one window, and then work with this information in another window. This is much easier than having to scroll back through your Terminal history, every single time you need to check some information!
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