Compare · Classic Mac terminal
Zentty vs iTerm2
A mature Mac power terminal, and a terminal for agent-era work.
Overview
iTerm2 has earned its place as the default power terminal for many Mac developers. Zentty is not trying to match every long-tail terminal feature. It focuses on a newer problem: agents running in the background across real panes, and the need to know when one needs you.
What each tool is
Zentty is a native macOS terminal, written in Swift and AppKit and built on libghostty. It runs your agents in real shells across worklanes and surfaces the moment an agent needs you: running, idle, needs input, needs approval, done. No telemetry. No editor, file tree, git diff UI, or cloud runtime. It stays a terminal.
iTerm2 is a long-running macOS terminal emulator with deep customization, profiles, split panes, search, shell integration, triggers, and power-user features.
Who each tool is best for
Zentty is best for Mac developers who run CLI agents like Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, or OpenCode in parallel and want to stay in flow while those agents work in other panes and worklanes.
iTerm2 is best for Mac developers who want a mature, highly configurable terminal with years of power-user features and a workflow they may already have tuned.
Capability comparison
| Dimension | Zentty | iTerm2 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Native Mac terminal with worklanes and agent attention | Deep Mac terminal emulator |
| Maturity | Newer, narrower, agent-era workflow | Long-running, feature-rich Mac terminal |
| Worklanes | Yes — durable columns of panes | No — tabs, windows, and splits |
| Agent attention | Running / idle / needs input / needs approval / done | Varies by tool |
| Built-in editor | No — keep your editor | Varies by tool |
| Cloud runtime | No — local only | Varies by tool |
| Configuration depth | Lightweight defaults | Deep preferences and profiles |
How to choose
- You want a terminal built around background agent attention.
- You want worklanes instead of tab piles.
- You prefer a simpler native app with fewer knobs.
- You rely on mature iTerm2 power features.
- You already have profiles, triggers, and shell integration set up.
- You want the safest default Mac terminal choice.
Common questions
For many local workflows, yes. If you rely on iTerm2-specific profiles, triggers, or integrations, keep iTerm2 around.
Because many Mac developers deciding on a terminal still start from iTerm2. Zentty is for the subset whose terminal workflow now includes long-running CLI agents.
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Sources
Last reviewed: 2026-05-23
Run your agents in real panes, and see which one needs you.
Free Native macOS No telemetry