Terminalemulators

Terminal emulators are software programs that reproduce the functionality of traditional text terminals within modern graphical or hybrid environments. They provide a text input/output interface that lets users run shells and text-based programs, display command output, and interact with applications that expect a terminal.

Technically, a terminal emulator creates a pseudo-terminal (pty) and launches a subprocess such as a shell (bash, zsh, fish, PowerShell). The emulator interprets escape sequences from the running program to control cursor movement, colors, text attributes, and other display features. It relies on terminal capability databases (terminfo or termcap) to translate between the program's expectations and the host environment. Contemporary emulators support Unicode, color palettes, multiple tabs or splits, search, hyperlinks, and sometimes graphical features like background transparency or GPU-accelerated rendering.

Common examples include xterm, GNOME Terminal, Konsole, and iTerm2, as well as Terminal.app on macOS, Windows Terminal on Windows, and newer cross-platform entrants such as Alacritty and Kitty. Although a terminal emulator provides the user interface, it is not a shell itself; it runs a shell or other text-based program and forwards input to it while displaying its output.

Origins lie in teletype devices and VT100-compatible terminals; early Unix workstations used terminal emulators in X11 environments. Over time, emulators introduced color support, advanced cursor control, and scripting. Modern terminals emphasize performance, accessibility, and features such as true color, pty multiplexing via tools like tmux or screen, and integration with development environments and editors.