Split panes
Divide one tab into as many panes as you need. Each runs its own shell, and ⌘D or ⇧⌘D adds another instantly.
Free & open source · v3.7.3
iTerm2 for Mac.Terminal, Upgraded.
Split panes, a drop-down hotkey window and native tmux tabs. iTerm2 replaces the stock macOS Terminal and costs you nothing.
$0Free forever, no tiers
18.1KGitHub stars
310K+Homebrew installs a year
13+Minimum macOS
Why Mac developers switch to iTerm2
iTerm2 is the successor to the original iTerm and the terminal most people install first on a new Mac. It keeps everything Terminal does, then adds the tools you reach for every hour.
Hotkey window
Bind one system-wide key and a terminal slides down from the top of your screen, even over full-screen apps. Press it again and it tucks away.
Native tmux integration
Run tmux -CC and tmux windows turn into real Mac tabs and windows. Your sessions survive SSH drops, crashes and app upgrades.
Profiles that switch themselves
Save fonts, colors and startup commands as profiles. iTerm2 swaps them by host, user, folder or running job, so SSH into production and the background turns red.
Status bar and Open Quickly
Show git branch, CPU, memory and current folder under each session. Press ⇧⌘O to jump to any tab by title, host or command.
Safe by design
Shells live in long-running server processes, so a crash or update never kills your work. The code is public under GPL-2.0 and each release lists a signed SHA-256 hash.
Terminal installation
Advanced users can install iTerm2 on Mac with a single Homebrew command.
brew install --cask iterm2
How to open Terminal on Mac
- 1Press ⌘ + Space to open Spotlight.
- 2Type Terminal into the search field.
- 3Hit Return and a Terminal window appears.
Installation via Terminal command
- 1Click Copy on the command above.
- 2Paste it into Terminal with ⌘V and press Return.
- 3Homebrew drops iTerm.app into Applications, ready to launch.
No Homebrew? Install it from brew.sh, or grab the ZIP straight from the developer.
Download ZIPHow iTerm2 fits your day
Three habits that make iTerm 2 feel faster than any terminal you used before.
Summon it from anywhere
Set a hotkey under Settings > Keys > Hotkey. One press drops your terminal over whatever app sits in front.
Split and work side by side
Hit ⌘D to open a server log next to your editor. Move between panes with ⌘[ and ⌘].
Rewind what you missed
Press ⌥⌘B for Instant Replay and scrub back through the screen with timestamps. That error that flashed past is still there.
iTerm2 vs the built-in Terminal
Apple's Terminal covers the basics. Here is what iTerm2 adds on top.
| Feature | iTerm2 | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Separate shells in split panes | ||
| System-wide hotkey window | ||
| tmux windows as native tabs | ||
| Inline images and GIFs | ||
| Instant Replay of past output | ||
| Regex triggers and Python API | ||
| Profiles that switch by host |
What iTerm2 users say
Developers, sysadmins and students who live in the terminal every day.
Moved to iTerm2 in my first week as a backend dev and never went back. Split panes plus the hotkey window cover most of my day.
Hannah P.
The tmux -CC mode feels like magic. Remote sessions show up as normal Mac tabs and survive when my VPN drops.
Omar S.
The settings window is huge and took me an evening to tune. Once done, my iTerm2 Mac setup feels like home. I wish the defaults looked a bit nicer out of the box.
Lucas B.
I kept typing item2 into Spotlight for a month. Typos aside, this is the best terminal on macOS and it costs nothing.
Mei T.
Automatic profile switching stopped me from running a migration on production. A red background is impossible to ignore.
Rafael G.
Used the original iTerm years ago and iTerm 2 is a different beast now. Instant Replay caught an error that flashed past in under a second.
Priya N.
brew install --cask iterm2 is the first command I run on every new Mac. Fast, stable on my M3 and it updates itself.
Jonas W.
Shell integration is underrated. Cmd-click a file path and it opens. Drag a file onto a remote session and it uploads over SCP.
Chloe D.
A status bar with my git branch and a CPU graph keeps me out of htop. Small detail, big quality of life gain on my iterm setup.
Ethan R.
iTerm2 questions, answered
Is iTerm2 free?
Yes. iTerm2 is 100% free with no paid tier or trial. The source code sits on GitHub under the GPL-2.0 license and the developer accepts optional donations.
What macOS version does iTerm2 need?
iTerm2 3.7.3 runs on macOS 13 Ventura or newer. Older Macs on macOS 12.4 can grab iTerm2 3.6.11 from the older releases list on the official downloads page.
What is the difference between iTerm and iTerm2?
iTerm2 is the successor to the original iTerm. The old app stopped getting updates long ago, while iTerm2 ships regular releases. Searches for iterm 2 or item2 all lead to the same app.
How do I install iTerm2 using Terminal?
With Homebrew set up, run brew install --cask iterm2. Homebrew fetches the latest stable build and places iTerm.app in your Applications folder.
Does iTerm2 run on Apple Silicon Macs?
Yes. iTerm2 runs natively on every Apple Silicon chip from M1 onward and on Intel Macs too. You never need Rosetta.
Is iTerm2 safe to use?
Yes. The project is open source and each release on the official downloads page lists a SHA-256 hash with a PGP signature you can verify. Updates arrive through a signed channel.
How do I make iTerm2 my default terminal on Mac?
Open iTerm2, click the iTerm2 menu and choose Make iTerm2 Default Term. Links and scripts that open a shell will launch iTerm2 from then on.
How do I update iTerm2?
Choose iTerm2 > Check for Updates from the menu bar. Homebrew users can run brew upgrade --cask iterm2 instead.
Give your Mac a better terminal
Download iTerm2 free, keep your shell and dotfiles, and get split panes and tmux tabs in under a minute.