Freedom251 › Terminal Emulators
Terminology
What Terminology is
Terminology is a free Linux terminal emulator designed for Enlightenment that also runs in other graphical environments. It supports common terminal work, including 256-color output, and aims to emulate Xterm closely. You can manage several shell sessions in tabs or divide a window into resizable horizontal and vertical panes, including nested panes. Settings cover themes, backgrounds, fonts, sizing, colors, and keyboard shortcuts.
Terminology can show images, SVG, PDF, and PostScript files inline. Its tycat command previews images and PDFs in the terminal, and can preview ODF documents when LibreOffice is installed. The terminal detects file paths, URLs, and email addresses; URLs and email addresses are clickable, and URLs open in the default browser. Downloads display a progress bar. The project says compressed scrollback stays in RAM rather than being written to disk. Terminology is open source, with source tarballs as its canonical releases; distributions and individuals provide operating-system packages. The download page lists version 1.14.0. Its documentation highlights developers and system administrators as users who may find its features especially useful.
Who it suits
Terminology suits Linux users who want a configurable terminal for work across multiple shell sessions, particularly developers and system administrators. It may also suit people who want inline previews and pane-based layouts in a terminal designed for Enlightenment but usable in other graphical environments.
What it does well
- Free, open-source terminal emulator.
- Tabs and resizable, nestable horizontal or vertical panes.
- Themes, backgrounds, fonts, sizing, colors, and shortcut settings.
- Inline previews for images, SVG, PDF, and PostScript.
- Detects file paths, URLs, and email addresses.
- Compressed scrollback is kept in RAM, according to the project.
What to know first
- Available platform listed is Linux.
- ODF previews require LibreOffice to be installed.
- Operating-system packages are provided by distributions and individuals.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Terminology | Open source terminal emulator · source releases; operating system packages are made by distributions and individuals | Free |
As enlightenment.org lists them, read 11 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Open the Terminology documentation site.
- Get the source release from the project's download page.
- Use a package provided by your distribution or an individual, if available.
- Configure themes, backgrounds, fonts, sizing, colors, or keyboard shortcuts in Settings.
- Start shell sessions in tabs or arrange them in resizable panes.
Verdict
Choose Terminology if you use Linux and want a free terminal with flexible session layouts, customization, and inline media previews. Look elsewhere if you need a listed platform beyond Linux or want ODF previews without LibreOffice.
Questions
How much does Terminology cost?
Terminology is free; its listed plan is free.
Which platform does Terminology support?
The listed platform is Linux. It is designed for Enlightenment and also works in other graphical environments.
Is Terminology open source?
Yes. The project describes Enlightenment and its libraries as open source under BSD 2-clause, LGPL, or GPL licenses.
How are Terminology releases distributed?
The project publishes source code tarballs as canonical releases. Operating-system packages are made by distributions and individuals.
What files can it preview?
It can display images, SVG, PDF, and PostScript inline. ODF previews require LibreOffice to be installed.
Where can users get support?
The project directs users to public IRC channels, mailing lists, and its Gitea bug tracker.
Facts from Terminology's own pages
- Configuration
- Settings include themes, fonts, background images, and keyboard shortcuts. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Customization
- Settings let users customize themes, backgrounds, fonts, sizing, colors and keyboard shortcuts. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Data handling
- The project says scrollback is kept in RAM rather than written to disk and is compressed while in memory. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Distribution
- The project publishes source code tarballs as canonical releases and leaves operating system packages to distributions and individuals. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Distribution packaging
- The project provides source tarballs as canonical releases and leaves operating system packages to distributions and individuals. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · enlightenment.org, 22 Sept 2026
- GPU acceleration
- Yes · enlightenment.org, 22 Sept 2026
- Inline previews
- The tycat command can preview images and PDF files in the terminal, and ODF documents when LibreOffice is installed. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The product documentation describes features as especially helpful for developers and system administrators. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Latest listed release
- The download page lists Terminology 1.14.0. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Licensing
- The project describes Enlightenment and its libraries as open source under BSD 2-clause, LGPL, or GPL licenses. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Links
- URLs and email addresses are clickable, and URLs open in the default web browser. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Links and downloads
- It detects file paths, URLs and email addresses, and shows a progress bar for downloads. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Maker history
- The Enlightenment project began in the 1990s as a window manager launched by Carsten Haitzler. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Media previews
- Terminology can display images, SVG, PDF and PostScript files inline, and can preview ODF documents when LibreOffice is installed. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Multiple sessions
- Users can organize shell sessions in tabs and split a window into resizable vertical or horizontal panes. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Platforms
- The maker describes Terminology for Linux, BSD and UNIX systems. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Product
- Terminology is a terminal emulator designed for Enlightenment that also works in other graphical environments. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Release
- The download page lists Terminology version 1.14.0 as the latest source code release. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Scrollback
- Scrollback is compressed and kept in RAM rather than written to disk, according to the maker. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Security history
- A 2018 release fixed a remote code execution issue caused by special escape codes, which the maker said could be disabled in Settings. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Split panes
- Yes · enlightenment.org, 22 Sept 2026
- Support
- The project directs users to public IRC channels, mailing lists, and its Gitea bug tracker for discussion and bug reports. · enlightenment.org, 11 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- Linux · enlightenment.org, 22 Sept 2026
Where Terminology stands on Freedom251
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