Best Open-Source Terminal & CLI Tools
This ranking lists eight open-source terminal and CLI tools ordered by GitHub stars. Windows Terminal leads with 103,834 stars, followed closely by Neovim at 100,934 stars. All tools support multiple platforms except Windows Terminal, which is exclusive to Windows. Licenses vary, with MIT being the most common.
The selection includes utilities like Lazygit for Git workflows and Tabby for terminal emulation. Ripgrep and fd focus on file searching, while bat enhances file previews. GitHub CLI integrates Git with GitHub. Versions range from ripgrep’s 15.1.0 to Windows Terminal’s 1.24.11321.0.
| # | App | Stars | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Windows Terminal | 103.9k | MIT |
| 2 | Neovim | 101.1k | NOASSERTION |
| 3 | Lazygit | 80.3k | MIT |
| 4 | Tabby | 73.2k | MIT |
| 5 | ripgrep | 66.0k | Unlicense |
| 6 | bat | 59.7k | Apache-2.0 |
| 7 | GitHub CLI | 45.2k | MIT |
| 8 | fd | 43.7k | Apache-2.0 |
Windows Terminal combines the classic Windows console with a modern terminal application in one package. It provides developers with a unified interface for command-line tools and shells. The software supports multiple tabs, rich text, and customization options.
Neovim is a fork of Vim focused on improved extensibility and usability. It maintains compatibility with Vim while offering modern features like embedded terminal support and a built-in LSP client. The project emphasizes maintainability and encourages community contributions.
Lazygit provides a terminal-based interface for managing Git repositories. It simplifies common Git operations with an interactive UI.
Tabby is a modern terminal emulator designed for developers. It offers an improved user experience with enhanced features and aesthetics. The tool focuses on streamlining workflow in a contemporary development environment.
ripgrep is a command-line tool that recursively searches directories for text patterns using regular expressions. It automatically respects gitignore rules to exclude files and directories specified in version control.
Bat is a command-line tool that functions as an enhanced version of cat, offering syntax highlighting and Git integration. It provides improved readability for code and text files in terminal environments.
GitHub CLI is a command-line tool for interacting with GitHub repositories and workflows. It simplifies tasks like pull requests, issues, and repository management directly from the terminal. The tool integrates with GitHub's API for seamless development workflows.
A fast and user-friendly alternative to the 'find' command, designed for efficient file searching. It simplifies common file operations with a straightforward syntax.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the top pick in “Best Open-Source Terminal & CLI Tools”?
- Windows Terminal currently leads this list, which is ordered by GitHub stars among the 8 open-source options we track.
- Are these apps free?
- Yes. Every app on this list is free and open-source. Download links point to each project's official release.
- How is this ranking decided?
- The order reflects GitHub stars, a public measure of popularity. Data is pulled from official sources and last refreshed on Jul 6, 2026. We don't accept payment for placement.
How we rank:entries are ordered by GitHub stars, a public popularity signal. Versions, licenses and platform support are read from official release feeds. We don't accept payment for inclusion or position. Supported platforms reflect the latest release (Windows, Linux, macOS).