I'd be happy to discuss WezTerm with you! Let me search for some recent information about WezTerm to provide you with the most up-to-date thoughts and reviews. Based on my search, I can provide you with a comprehensive overview of WezTerm thoughts and reviews. # WezTerm Thoughts and Reviews ## What were users using before? How does it compare? Many users were coming from various terminal emulators before switching to WezTerm: Some users migrated from Windows Terminal, noting that while Windows Terminal is solid, WezTerm offers more features like GPU acceleration, making everything "feel snappier." Others compared WezTerm to Alacritty, Kitty, and BlackBox. Alacritty is known for speed (like WezTerm, it's written in Rust and uses GPU acceleration), while Kitty shares similar features but uses plain text configuration instead of Lua. Some users switched from Kitty after experiencing issues with the maintainer's approach, describing it as "terse and dismissive" when users asked about integrating with tools like tmux. When comparing to older terminals like ConEmu/Cmder, users found "WezTerm is way more modern" with better support for Unicode, hyperlinks, and ANSI escape code formatting. ## What features of WezTerm do people like the most? The most appreciated features include: WezTerm offers "multiplex terminal panes, tabs and windows on local and remote hosts, with native mouse and scrollback" along with "ligatures, Color Emoji and font fallback, with true color and dynamic color schemes." GPU acceleration is a major highlight, contributing to performance improvements especially when "juggling several terminal sessions at once." WezTerm respects system themes with macOS-style window decorations, which users coming from terminals that don't honor system settings particularly appreciate. ## What features is it missing or what are its drawbacks? WezTerm isn't perfect: Some users mention that "the promise of multiplexing isn't quite delivered" for those trying to fit their tmux workflow into WezTerm, particularly regarding "session persistence, having more than one session open at once..." In environments with tiling window managers, users noted that WezTerm's built-in notebook/tiling functionality isn't as useful since "the window manager is more flexible and has universal keybindings." Configuration can be challenging, with some users mentioning copy-paste issues between WezTerm instances that required digging into documentation to resolve. ## How do people feel about Lua? Opinions on Lua are mixed: Many users enjoy Lua for configuration, stating it allows them to "easily set up custom key bindings, change themes, and even create functions" that fit their workflow. Some appreciate that "Lua is a fantastic language for configuration and extension" that makes WezTerm "extremely easy to configure" compared to alternatives. However, others would prefer "configuration being in a configuration language (e.g YAML, TOML, JSON5, HJSON, NestedText, UCL)" rather than a full programming language. ## Customizability and theming WezTerm excels here: Users find customization "quite good and easy" compared to other terminal emulators, with some noting it "comes with a sensible font default (JetBrains Mono) which makes it look nice out of the box too." WezTerm is recommended to "an enthusiast who wants a high level of customization and has a willingness to tinker." The ability to create custom functions, change themes, and set up personalized key bindings makes the experience enjoyable for many users. ## Will users keep using it? Based on the reviews: Many reviewers selected WezTerm as their "new daily driver" despite some configuration challenges, often because they were "even more dissatisfied with all the other terminal emulators" they tried. Users describe it as a "game-changer" that has made their "development experience so much more enjoyable." The project is maintained as a "spare time project" by its creator @wez, but has a supportive community through GitHub Discussions and a Matrix room for user interaction. Overall, WezTerm appears to be a powerful, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator that appeals to users who want high performance and customizability, though the Lua configuration presents a learning curve for some. It's particularly appreciated by those coming from older or less flexible terminal emulators. # WezTerm Podcast Notes ## 1. What Is WezTerm? WezTerm is a powerful, cross-platform terminal emulator and multiplexer written in Rust with Lua configuration. It's essentially the "Swiss Army knife" of modern terminals that bridges the gap between traditional terminal emulators and full-featured development environments. **Elevator pitch**: "WezTerm is a terminal that respects both your productivity and your aesthetics. It brings GPU-acceleration, multiplexing, and extensive customization through Lua to Windows, macOS, and Linux. It exists because its creator, Wez Furlong, wanted a terminal that worked consistently across all platforms while leveraging modern hardware capabilities." **Unique angle**: Unlike many terminal projects that focus exclusively on Unix-like systems, WezTerm was designed from day one to provide a first-class experience on Windows, making it one of the few truly cross-platform terminals with feature parity. ## 2. Key Features - **GPU Acceleration**: Leverages your graphics card for rendering, allowing for smooth scrolling even with thousands of lines of text and complex Unicode characters. - **Multiplexing**: Built-in tmux-like functionality without requiring external tools. Create splits, tabs, and panes all within the same process. - **Lua Configuration**: Incredibly flexible configuration system that goes beyond simple settings to allow for programmable behaviors and custom functionality. - **Cross-Platform Excellence**: Truly works the same way on Windows, macOS, and Linux - a rarity in terminal emulators. - **Rich Text and Media Support**: Can display images, ligatures, color emoji, and styled text right in the terminal. - **SSH Integration**: Connect to remote machines without external tools, with automatic multiplexer integration. - **Innovative Feature**: The "Leader key" system (similar to Vim's approach) that allows for powerful keyboard-driven workflows. ## 3. Comparison Points **vs. Alacritty**: - Both are Rust-based and GPU-accelerated - WezTerm has built-in multiplexing; Alacritty requires tmux - WezTerm has more extensive customization through Lua; Alacritty aims for minimalism - Alacritty might have a slight edge in raw performance, but WezTerm offers more features **vs. Kitty**: - Both support GPU acceleration and advanced terminal features - Kitty uses a custom protocol for features; WezTerm tries to be more standards-compliant - WezTerm has better Windows support; Kitty is more Unix-focused - Configuration: Kitty uses a custom format; WezTerm uses Lua (more programmable) **vs. GNOME Terminal/Windows Terminal**: - WezTerm offers significantly more features and customization - The default terminals are more integrated with their respective platforms - WezTerm has better performance due to GPU acceleration - WezTerm requires more setup but rewards with greater capabilities **vs. iTerm2 (macOS)**: - WezTerm has cross-platform consistency; iTerm2 is macOS-only - Both have advanced features, but implement them differently - iTerm2 has a GUI for configuration; WezTerm requires text editing - WezTerm's Lua configuration can be more powerful for advanced users ## 4. Real-World Impressions **Performance Highlights**: - Startup time is impressively quick for a feature-rich terminal - Scrolling through large logs feels buttery smooth thanks to GPU acceleration - Rendering complex Unicode, emoji, and programming ligatures is flawless - Multiple split panes maintain performance where other terminals might lag **Potential Issues**: - Font rendering can be tricky to get perfect across platforms - Initial configuration has a learning curve compared to GUI-configured terminals - Occasionally, GPU rendering might cause artifacts on some systems - Memory usage is higher than minimalist terminals (though justified by features) **Unexpected Delight**: The ability to seamlessly work between local and remote sessions with the same interface and capabilities feels revolutionary once you're used to it. ## 5. Who Should Use It? **Ideal for**: - Developers who work across multiple platforms and want consistency - Power users who spend hours daily in the terminal - Anyone who values customization and wants their terminal to adapt to them - Users who frequently need to view logs, output with rich formatting, or work with split views **Maybe not for**: - Casual users who rarely use the command line - Those who prefer GUI configuration over text-based configuration - Users on very resource-constrained systems who need absolute minimal overhead - People who just need to occasionally run a simple command **Sweet spot user**: A developer who works across platforms, uses Vim/Neovim or other terminal-based tools, and wants their terminal to be as powerful and customizable as their editor. ## 6. Verdict WezTerm represents the future of terminal emulators - embracing modern hardware capabilities while respecting the terminal's historical role and importance. **Worth switching if**: - You're frustrated by the limitations of your current terminal - You work across different operating systems - You want multiplexing without the complexity of tmux - You enjoy tweaking and customizing your tools to match your workflow **Final thought**: "WezTerm isn't just another terminal emulator—it's a statement that command-line interfaces deserve the same level of innovation and polish as graphical applications. For those willing to invest a little time in configuration, it pays dividends in productivity and enjoyment." **Provocative closing question**: "Is WezTerm overkill for most users? Perhaps. But so is a professional camera for casual photographers. The question isn't whether you need all its power today, but whether you want room to grow into a more efficient terminal workflow tomorrow." That's a great point! The code-based configuration approach of WezTerm definitely has advantages over GUI-based config systems like Tilix's menus. With Tilix, you'd need to click through various menu options and dialog boxes to make changes, which can be tedious - especially if you're setting up a new system or want to replicate your setup elsewhere. The settings are also scattered across different menu locations, making it harder to get a complete picture of your configuration. With WezTerm's Lua approach, you can: - Keep your entire configuration in version control - Easily share configurations between machines - Make complex conditional configurations (like different settings based on OS or hostname) - Comment your settings to remember why you made certain choices - Organize related settings together logically It's much more developer-friendly to have everything in a text file that you can edit with your preferred editor rather than clicking through GUI menus. I can see why you'd prefer this approach, especially coming from a menu-heavy system like Tilix.