Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

explainshell VS iTerm2

Compare explainshell VS iTerm2 and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

explainshell logo explainshell

Match command-line arguments to their help.

iTerm2 logo iTerm2

A terminal emulator for macOS that does amazing things.
  • explainshell Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-08-07
  • iTerm2 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-10-29

explainshell features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Explainshell provides a clean and easy-to-navigate interface, making it accessible for users with different experience levels.
  • Command Line Breakdown
    It breaks down complex command-line statements into simpler parts, explaining each part's function in detail.
  • Educational Tool
    Serves as a great learning resource for beginners and intermediate users who want to understand shell commands in depth.
  • Library of Commands
    Leverages the extensive `man` page collection to provide detailed explanations of a wide variety of commands.
  • Web-Based Accessibility
    Being a web-based tool, it is accessible from any device with an internet connection, without needing any additional software installation.

Possible disadvantages of explainshell

  • Dependency on `man` Pages
    The tool relies on `man` pages for explanations, which might not cover all edge cases or the latest versions of commands.
  • Internet Requirement
    Requires an internet connection to use, limiting its accessibility in offline scenarios.
  • Limited to Shell Commands
    Focused solely on shell commands, it doesn't cover other scripting languages or programming environments.
  • No Live Execution
    Cannot execute commands or provide real-time feedback; it's purely an explanatory tool.
  • Potential Outdated Information
    The explanations might occasionally be based on older versions of `man` pages, potentially missing out on new features or changes.

iTerm2 features and specs

  • Versatility
    iTerm2 supports a wide range of features such as split panes, multiple tab management, and hotkey-activated terminal windows, making it highly versatile for different workflows.
  • Customization
    Offers extensive customization options, including themes, color schemes, and key bindings, allowing users to tailor the terminal to their preferences.
  • Advanced Features
    Includes advanced functionality like instant replay, which allows users to rewind their terminal session, and integration with automation tools like AppleScript.
  • Performance
    Designed to be efficient and responsive, ensuring it performs well even with multiple sessions and tabs open simultaneously.
  • Integrations
    Seamless integration with macOS features such as native notifications, fullscreen mode, and support for external editors.
  • Community Support
    Active community and comprehensive documentation, which can be very helpful for troubleshooting and learning advanced configurations.

Possible disadvantages of iTerm2

  • Mac-Only
    iTerm2 is exclusive to macOS, which means users on other operating systems cannot utilize its features.
  • Complexity
    The sheer number of features and customization options can be overwhelming for beginners, requiring a learning curve to utilize efficiently.
  • System Resource Usage
    iTerm2 may consume more system resources compared to simpler terminal emulators, which could be a concern on lower-end hardware.
  • Update Frequency
    Occasional updates can introduce bugs or unexpected behavior, requiring users to adjust settings or find workarounds.

explainshell videos

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iTerm2 videos

Customizing iterm2 with ZSH and PowerLevel9k | Z shell Tutorial

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to explainshell and iTerm2)
Productivity
100 100%
0% 0
SSH
0 0%
100% 100
Mac
100 100%
0% 0
Server Management
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare explainshell and iTerm2

explainshell Reviews

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iTerm2 Reviews

  1. Useful

    I've had so many problems with terminal in my Mac.. thanks for this tool. It's like really useful

    👍 Pros:    Fast|Convenience|Fastest, safest, and cheapest
    👎 Cons:    None

MobaXterm for Mac: Best Alternatives to MobaXterm for Mac
You can choose a Hotkey and register it as a shortcut to open the iTerm2. When you are using other application, just press the Hotkey and it will bring iTerm (terminal) to the foreground of your screen. So the iTerm2 is the best alternative to MobaXterm for Mac which will be always available for you.
30 best PuTTY alternatives for SSH clients for 2020
The iTerm2 system is available for Macs. Specifically, the program can run on Mac OS 10.10 and higher. This interface shows different terminal sessions through a split screen method, allowing you to tile sessions side by side. To lessen confusion, the active panel shows in full resolution, while the others dimmed. You can set up keyboard shortcuts to navigate through the...

Social recommendations and mentions

iTerm2 might be a bit more popular than explainshell. We know about 111 links to it since March 2021 and only 111 links to explainshell. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

explainshell mentions (111)

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iTerm2 mentions (111)

  • Must-have apps and services in 2024
    iTerm + fish. I wrote a post explaining my environment settings. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Unavoidable developer tools
    🍎 macOS: The default Terminal.app is widely used, but iTerm2 is often preferred for its rich feature set and customization options. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: How can I experiment with LLMs with a old machine?
    Make yourself comfortable with https://blogs.oracle.com/database/post/freedom-to-build-announcing-oracle-cloud-free-tier-with-new-always-free-services-and-always-free-oracle-autonomous-database https://gist.github.com/rssnyder/51e3cfedd730e7dd5f4a816143b25dbd https://www.reddit.com/r/oraclecloud/ or any other offer. Deploy some minimal Linux on them, or use what's offered. Plus optionally, if you don't want to... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Honukai Color Theme Goes IDE
    Honukai has long been my favorite iTerm, Oh My ZSH color theme, and I just assumed it existed for other use cases. But alas, I had to create them for myself. I adapted Oskar's work for Tabby terminal, ZED IDE and VS Code. You can get the files here. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • (Youtube blogpost) Building Tree Link app with Svelte and Tailwind CSS
    iTerm2 is a fast terminal emulator for macOS. Install one of Nerd Fonts for displaying fancy glyphs on your terminal. My current choice is Hack. And use it on your terminal app. For example, on iTerm2:. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing explainshell and iTerm2, you can also consider the following products

cheat.sh - The only cheat sheet you need Unified access to the best community driven documentation

MobaXterm - Enhanced terminal for Windows with X11 server, tabbed SSH client, network tools and much more

cheat - Cheat allows you to create and view interactive cheatsheets on the command-line.

PuTTY - Popular free terminal application. Mostly used as an SSH client.

Kmdr - Kmdr explains the syntax of CLI commands you select in your browser

KiTTY - KiTTY is a fork from version 0.70 of PuTTY. It adds extra features to PuTTY.