Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

MinGW VS iTerm2

Compare MinGW VS iTerm2 and see what are their differences

MinGW logo MinGW

MinGW ("Minimalistic GNU for Windows") is a port of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and...

iTerm2 logo iTerm2

A terminal emulator for macOS that does amazing things.
  • MinGW Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-12-08
  • iTerm2 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-10-29

MinGW features and specs

  • Open Source
    MinGW is an open-source software project, which makes it freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute.
  • Lightweight
    It is a lightweight alternative to full-fledged development environments, providing essential tools without unnecessary overhead.
  • Windows Compatibility
    MinGW offers native Windows support, allowing developers to compile applications that can run directly on Windows without the need for a compatibility layer.
  • GCC Integration
    It includes the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), which is widely considered a strong, stable, and versatile set of compilers for C, C++, and other languages.
  • Active Community
    MinGW is supported by an active community, which can provide help, patches, and additional resources via forums and online discussions.

Possible disadvantages of MinGW

  • Limited POSIX Support
    While MinGW provides some POSIX functionality, its support is limited compared to other environments like Cygwin, which might be a drawback for developers relying on extensive POSIX compatibility.
  • Manual Configuration
    Initial setup and configuration can be cumbersome for beginners, requiring a manual installation process that might be intimidating or time-consuming.
  • Lacks Newest GCC Features
    At times, MinGW may lag in providing the latest features or updates available in the newest versions of GCC, leading to potential compatibility or feature discrepancies.
  • No Native 64-bit Support
    Historically, MinGW has focused on 32-bit toolchains, which may not offer the full benefits of modern 64-bit architectures. However, MinGW-w64 was developed to address this issue.
  • Fragmentation
    The existence of multiple variants such as MinGW and MinGW-w64 can cause confusion, leading developers to face challenges in choosing the right version for their needs.

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.

MinGW videos

MinGW или Cygwin

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to Install MinGW | GCC Toolset for C and C++ Programming | Setting Path variable on Windows 10
  • Tutorial - How to install | use gcc | MinGW compiler in windows | window 10

iTerm2 videos

Customizing iterm2 with ZSH and PowerLevel9k | Z shell Tutorial

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MinGW and iTerm2)
Terminal Tools
25 25%
75% 75
SSH
13 13%
87% 87
Server Management
16 16%
84% 84
Developer Tools
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 MinGW and iTerm2

MinGW Reviews

10 Termux Alternatives
MinGW is an application with all the functions of GNU that includes the runtime of MSVC and supports C99 functionality. This software is only supported and executed on 64bit Windows and similar platforms with Linux shell environment and provides its users the facility of different import types of files and libraries and move them to other software according to your specific...

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

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

MinGW mentions (1)

  • Is Mingw dead?
    Is osdn's mingw it a new project ? It's surprising how it provides gcc 4.8.2 and gcc 9.2.0. I guess the 4.8.2 is the last one provided by mingw.org, and 9.2.0 is the first of osdn's project? Is it maintained by the same developers? Source: about 4 years ago

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 MinGW and iTerm2, you can also consider the following products

MSYS2 - A Cygwin-derived software distro for Windows using Arch Linux's Pacman

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

Cygwin - Cygwin is a set of tools that provide Linux and POSIX functionality to Windows.

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

Termux - Terminal emulator and Linux environment for Android

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