kitty

Fast, feature-rich, GPU-based terminal emulator

About kitty

kitty is a cross-platform terminal emulator that offloads rendering to the GPU for speed, with support for tiling multiple windows and tabs, image display in the terminal, shell integration and remote control from scripts. Its extensible 'kittens' add features such as a Unicode input tool, an SSH helper and a theme chooser, all configured through a plain-text config file.

kitty website preview

Live preview of sw.kovidgoyal.net via the WordPress mShots service — it can take a few seconds to generate on a first visit.

kitty: strengths & things to check

Strengths

Completely free to use — this directory lists no paid plan for it.
Covers terminal, gpu, cross platform, ssh — see the focus areas listed in its key facts.
Has 6 close alternatives in the same category on this page, so switching or comparing is easy.

Things to check

Free tools can change their model or shut down — avoid locking critical work into it without an export path.
Current plan prices are not listed here (they change too often to print reliably) — confirm the exact price on the official site.
It is one of 1288 tools in the Developer Tools category here — compare it against the alternatives below before you commit.

Derived from this listing's own data (pricing model, focus areas and category) — not a hands-on review score.

kitty pricing

Pricing model	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Free access	Yes — fully free
Current plan prices	Listed on the official site — prices change, so this directory links out instead of printing a number that may already be stale.
Official site	sw.kovidgoyal.net

kitty key facts

Category: Developer Tools
Pricing: Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Focus areas: terminal, gpu, cross platform, ssh
Official site: sw.kovidgoyal.net

kitty FAQ

How much does kitty cost?

Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it. Current plans and prices are listed on the official site (sw.kovidgoyal.net).

What is kitty used for?

Fast, feature-rich, GPU-based terminal emulator Its focus areas in the Developer Tools category: terminal, gpu, cross platform, ssh.

Where can I try kitty?

On its official site, sw.kovidgoyal.net — the Visit Official Site button above goes straight there.

kitty vs alternatives

	kitty	Termora	Alacritty	Contour
Pricing	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.	Free — listed in this directory as a free tool, with no paid plan required to use it.
Focus areas	terminal, gpu, cross platform, ssh	terminal, ssh, sftp, cross platform	terminal, gpu, minimal	terminal, open source, gpu, emulator
Official site	sw.kovidgoyal.net	termora.app	alacritty.org	contour-terminal.org
Directory status	Listed	Listed	Listed	Listed

Side-by-side from each listing's own directory data. Full alternative cards are below.

About the Developer Tools category

Editors, platforms, and services developers rely on to build and ship software. The Developer Tools category on Tools Hub currently lists 1288 tools. Alongside kitty, it includes GitUp, gitg, Serie, gping.

FreeDeveloper Toolsterminalgpucross-platformssh

Alternatives to kitty

Tools in the same Developer Tools category that share focus areas with kitty — worth comparing before you commit:

Developer Tools

Termora

Terminal emulator and SSH client for Windows, macOS and Linux

Freeterminalsshsftpcross-platform

Developer Tools

Alacritty

Minimal GPU-accelerated terminal emulator

Freeterminalgpuminimal

Developer Tools

Contour

Modern terminal emulator with GPU rendering and profiles

Freeterminalopen-sourcegpuemulator

Developer Tools

electerm

Terminal, SSH, and file manager in one open-source app

Freeterminalsshsftpopen-source

Developer Tools

Ghostty

Fast GPU-accelerated terminal emulator

Freeterminalgpunative

Developer Tools

MobaXterm

All-in-one terminal for remote computing

Freemiumsshterminalxserver

More in Developer Tools

Comparing tools in the Developer Tools category? These related listings are worth a look: GitUp — Mac Git client with a live, interactive repository map; gitg — GNOME graphical interface for Git repositories; Serie — Rich git commit graph rendered in your terminal.