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iTerm2 VS zsh

Compare iTerm2 VS zsh and see what are their differences

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iTerm2 logo iTerm2

A terminal emulator for macOS that does amazing things.

zsh logo zsh

The Z shell (Zsh) is a Unix shell that can be used as an interactive login shell and as a powerful command interpreter for shell scripting.
  • iTerm2 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-10-29
  • zsh Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-09

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.

zsh features and specs

  • Powerful Scripting
    zsh offers advanced scripting capabilities, including features like associative arrays, floating-point arithmetic, and powerful loops and conditionals, making it ideal for complex scripting tasks.
  • Customizability
    zsh provides extensive customization options. Users can personalize prompts, key bindings, and much more using various modules and plugins, such as oh-my-zsh.
  • Plugin Ecosystem
    The support for plugins in zsh, especially through frameworks like oh-my-zsh, allows users to easily add functionalities and enhance the shell experience, offering a rich ecosystem of community-contributed plugins.
  • Auto-suggestions and Command Correction
    zsh features intelligent auto-suggestions and command correction capabilities, which can drastically improve efficiency and reduce errors while typing commands.
  • Compatibility with Bash
    zsh is largely compatible with bash, meaning most bash scripts and commands will run without modification, facilitating a smoother transition for users migrating from bash.

Possible disadvantages of zsh

  • Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive features and customizability, zsh can be overwhelming for new users, requiring time to learn and configure effectively.
  • Initial Configuration
    Setting up zsh for the first time can be more complex compared to simpler shells like bash, especially when including frameworks like oh-my-zsh, which can require additional configuration.
  • Performance Overhead
    Loading many plugins and customizations can introduce a performance hit, making zsh slower to start compared to more lightweight shells.
  • Resource Consumption
    zsh, particularly with extensive customizations and plugins, can consume more system resources (memory and CPU) than simpler shells like bash.
  • Inconsistent Behavior with Legacy Scripts
    While zsh is largely compatible with bash, certain edge cases and legacy scripts might exhibit inconsistent behavior, potentially necessitating script rewrites or adjustments.

Analysis of iTerm2

Overall verdict

  • iTerm2 is regarded as an excellent terminal emulator for macOS due to its robust feature set and usability, making it a top choice for power users.

Why this product is good

  • iTerm2 is often praised for its advanced features, customization options, and efficiency that enhance productivity for users who work with the command line frequently. It offers split panes, hotkey window, undo close, instant replay, and a highly configurable interface that caters to power users, making it a versatile tool for developers and system administrators.

Recommended for

  • Developers and programmers who need a highly customizable terminal.
  • System administrators who require powerful scripting and automation capabilities.
  • Users who frequently work with command-line interfaces and require multiple sessions handled efficiently.
  • Anyone seeking an enhanced, feature-rich alternative to the default macOS terminal.

iTerm2 videos

+ Add

Customizing iterm2 with ZSH and PowerLevel9k | Z shell Tutorial

zsh videos

+ Add

Working with Linux - Terminal, Zsh & Oh My Zsh

More videos:

  • Review - ZSH | A Better Shell
  • Review - You Really Don't Need Oh My Zsh And Here's Why (Rant)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to iTerm2 and zsh)

iTerm2

zsh

SSH
100 100%
SSH
0% 0
Cryptocurrencies
0 0%
Cryptocurrencies
100% 100
Server Management
100 100%
Server Management
0% 0
Blockchain
0 0%
Blockchain
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using iTerm2 and zsh. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

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

iTerm2 Reviews

  1. KateBlanc
    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.
Source: www.macoszon.com
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...
Source: www.comparitech.com

zsh Reviews

We have no reviews of zsh yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, iTerm2 seems to be a lot more popular than zsh. While we know about 111 links to iTerm2, we've tracked only 1 mention of zsh. 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.

iTerm2 mentions (111)

  • Must-have apps and services in 2024
    iTerm + fish. I wrote a post explaining my environment settings. - Source: dev.to / 7 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 / 8 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 / 9 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
View more

zsh mentions (1)

  • My developer workflow using WSL, tmux and Neovim
    Ubuntu by default comes with the bash shell. Bash is great but I personally find it harder to customize. That is why I use Z shell, more commonly known as zsh. To manage my zsh configuration, I use Oh My Zsh. It has a huge community and makes it trivial to install and use plugins. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

fish shell - The friendly interactive shell.

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

GNU Bourne Again SHell - Bash is the shell, or command language interpreter, that will appear in the GNU operating system.

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

PowerShell Plus - Learn how to learn and master PowerShell fast with an interactive learning center, a powerful IDE, pre-loaded scripts, and a PowerShell Editor… all for free.

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