xterm
What xterm is
xterm is a free terminal emulator for the X Window System, with DEC VT102 and VT220 emulation, selected features from VT320, VT420 and VT520, and Tektronix 4014 emulation. It supports SSH, scripting and ISO/ANSI colors. Separate windows can run on remote machines and display locally over the X protocol. When the operating system supports terminal resizing, xterm can notify programs in its window when the size changes.
The listed platforms are Linux, macOS and Windows. xterm works with different flavors of the Athena widgets, and its manual page covers command-line options, X resources and other configurable settings. The official page links to source and archive downloads. Related components provide support for encodings beyond ISO-8859-1 and UTF-8, X resources, and TrueType fonts. The FAQ documents known limitations, including color behavior that can fall back to monochrome. The program began as a collective effort maintained by the X Consortium; Thomas E. Dickey has worked on it since early 1996.
Who it suits
xterm suits people who need an X Window System terminal emulator with traditional DEC and Tektronix emulation. Its remote display, SSH support and configurable options may also suit users working with remote machines.
What it does well
- Free plan listed as free
- Emulates several DEC terminal standards and Tektronix 4014
- Remote windows can display locally over X protocol
- Supports SSH and scripting
- Source and archive downloads are available
What to know first
- Split panes are not supported
- FAQ notes color issues, including monochrome fallback
- Resizing notifications depend on operating-system support
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | No paid plans or usage limits stated | Free |
As invisible-island.net lists them, read 9 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Visit the official xterm website.
- Use the site's source or archive download links.
- Consult the manual page for command-line options, X resources, and configuration.
Verdict
xterm offers broad terminal emulation, remote display and configuration options across the listed desktop platforms. Readers should account for its documented color limitations and lack of split panes.
Questions
How much does xterm cost?
The Free plan costs nothing.
Which platforms does xterm support?
It is listed for Linux, macOS, and Windows. The FAQ also discusses its use in implementations of X11 and names several other platforms.
Does xterm support SSH?
Yes. SSH support is listed.
Can xterm display remote sessions locally?
Separate xterm windows can run on remote machines and display locally using the X protocol.
Is xterm open source?
The official page links to source and archive downloads.
Who maintains xterm?
Thomas E. Dickey has worked on xterm since early 1996. The program originated as a collective effort maintained by the X Consortium.
Facts from xterm's own pages
- Build availability
- The official page links to source and archive downloads. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Colors
- The current version implements ISO/ANSI colors using background color erase. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- The FAQ points to the manual page for command-line options, X resources and other configurable options. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · invisible-island.net, 20 Sept 2026
- Known limitations
- The FAQ documents known bugs or limitations in modern xterm, including color-related behavior and cases where colors may fall back to monochrome. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Maintainer
- The FAQ says Thomas E. Dickey has worked on xterm since early 1996, while describing the original program as a collective effort maintained by the X Consortium. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Platform support
- The FAQ says xterm runs in all implementations of X11 and mentions MacOS, NetBSD, OpenBSD, QNX, Cygwin and Minix among platforms used since 2000. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- xterm is a terminal emulator for the X Window System. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Related components
- The site says luit adds support for encodings other than ISO-8859-1 and UTF-8, X Toolkit provides X resource support, and Xft provides TrueType font support. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Remote use
- Separate xterm windows can run on remote machines and display locally using the X protocol. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Scripting API
- Yes · invisible-island.net, 20 Sept 2026
- Split panes
- No · invisible-island.net, 20 Sept 2026
- SSH support
- Yes · invisible-island.net, 20 Sept 2026
- Support
- The maintainer says users should report bugs to [email protected] and notes that he also responds through several bug-tracking systems. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- linux,macos,windows · invisible-island.net, 20 Sept 2026
- Terminal emulation
- It provides DEC VT102 and VT220 emulation, selected features from VT320, VT420 and VT520, and Tektronix 4014 emulation. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Terminal resizing
- When the operating system supports terminal resizing capabilities, xterm can notify programs in its window when it is resized. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
- Widgets
- xterm works with different flavors of the Athena widgets. · invisible-island.net, 9 Oct 2026
Where xterm stands on Freedom251
- Terminal apps#16 of 41
- Terminal Emulators#28 of 40