Ghostty

Ghostty is a fast, feature-rich, and cross-platform terminal emulator that uses platform-native UI and GPU acceleration. It differentiates itself by being fast, feature-rich, and native — without forcing you to choose between the three.

Quick Start

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install --cask ghostty

Configuration file location

macOS: ~/.config/ghostty/config OR ~/Library/Application Support/com.mitchellh.ghostty/config

Linux: ~/.config/ghostty/config

Example minimal config

cat > ~/.config/ghostty/config << 'EOF' theme = Catppuccin Frappe font-family = JetBrains Mono font-size = 14 keybind = ctrl+shift+t=new_tab keybind = ctrl+shift+n=new_window EOF

Installation

macOS - Official DMG from https://ghostty.org/download or:

brew install --cask ghostty

Arch Linux

pacman -S ghostty

NixOS

environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.ghostty ];

Alpine Linux

apk add ghostty

openSUSE

zypper install ghostty

Snap

snap install ghostty --classic

Void Linux

xbps-install ghostty

Build from source (any platform)

See docs/006-docs-install-build.md

Documentation

Comprehensive documentation in docs/ . Consult docs/000-index.md for detailed navigation.

By Topic

Topic Files Description

Introduction 001-003 Project overview and documentation index

Installation 004-007 Install methods: prebuilt, binaries, source, packaging

Features 008-010 Core features, themes, shell integration

Configuration 011-015 Config syntax, keybindings, full option reference

VT Sequences Overview 016 Terminal API introduction

VT Concepts 017-020 Screen, cursor, colors, sequences fundamentals

VT Control Characters 021-025 BEL, BS, CR, LF, TAB

VT ESC Sequences 026-034 Index, keypad modes, cursor save/restore, reset

VT CSI Sequences 035-062 Cursor movement, scrolling, editing, margins

VT OSC Sequences 063-076 Colors, titles, clipboard, notifications

VT Reference 077-078 Full sequence reference, external protocols

By Keyword

Keyword File

configuration 011-docs-config.md

config-syntax 011-docs-config.md

config-reference 015-docs-config-reference.md

font-family 015-docs-config-reference.md

font-size 015-docs-config-reference.md

font-features 015-docs-config-reference.md

theme 009-docs-features-theme.md

color-schemes 009-docs-features-theme.md , 017-docs-vt-concepts-colors.md

light-dark-mode 009-docs-features-theme.md

keybindings 012-docs-config-keybind.md

keybind-actions 014-docs-config-keybind-reference.md

key-sequences 013-docs-config-keybind-sequence.md

shell-integration 010-docs-features-shell-integration.md

bash 010-docs-features-shell-integration.md

zsh 010-docs-features-shell-integration.md

fish 010-docs-features-shell-integration.md

installation 005-docs-install-binary.md

homebrew 005-docs-install-binary.md

build-from-source 006-docs-install-build.md

prerelease 004-docs-install-pre.md

gpu-acceleration 002-docs-about.md , 008-docs-features.md

cross-platform 002-docs-about.md , 008-docs-features.md

native-ui 002-docs-about.md

libghostty 002-docs-about.md

zig 002-docs-about.md

terminal-features 008-docs-features.md

cursor-movement 035-062 (CSI sequences)

cursor-style 057-docs-vt-csi-decscusr.md

cursor-positioning 041-docs-vt-csi-cup.md

scrolling 055-docs-vt-csi-sd.md , 056-docs-vt-csi-su.md

scroll-region 059-docs-vt-csi-decstbm.md

scroll-margins 058-docs-vt-csi-decslrm.md

clipboard 069-docs-vt-osc-52.md

window-title 065-docs-vt-osc-0.md , 066-docs-vt-osc-2.md

dynamic-colors 070-docs-vt-osc-1x.md , 073-docs-vt-osc-11x.md

color-palette 071-docs-vt-osc-4.md , 074-docs-vt-osc-104.md

desktop-notification 076-docs-vt-osc-9.md

escape-sequences 018-docs-vt-concepts-sequences.md

control-sequences 016-docs-vt.md , 018-docs-vt-concepts-sequences.md

terminal-colors 017-docs-vt-concepts-colors.md

terminal-cursor 019-docs-vt-concepts-cursor.md

screen-buffer 020-docs-vt-concepts-screen.md

erase-display 048-docs-vt-csi-ed.md

erase-line 049-docs-vt-csi-el.md

mouse-reporting 034-docs-vt-csi-xtshiftescape.md

vt-reference 078-docs-vt-reference.md

external-protocols 077-docs-vt-external.md

background-opacity 015-docs-config-reference.md

splits 015-docs-config-reference.md

tabs 008-docs-features.md

quick-terminal 008-docs-features.md

kitty-graphics 008-docs-features.md

packaging 007-docs-install-package.md

sponsor 079-docs-sponsor.md

conemu 068-docs-vt-osc-conemu.md

working-directory 067-docs-vt-osc-7.md

pointer-shape 063-docs-vt-osc-22.md

Learning Path

• Foundation - Read 001-003 for project intro, then 004-007 for installation

• Core Configuration - Learn features (008-010 : theming, shell integration), then master config (011-015 )

• Terminal API Fundamentals - VT intro (016 ), concepts (017-020 : screen, cursor, colors, sequences)

• Control Sequences - Control chars (021-025 ), ESC (026-034 ), CSI (035-062 ), OSC (063-076 )

• Reference - Complete VT reference (077-078 )

Common Tasks

Install Ghostty

-> docs/005-docs-install-binary.md (macOS, Linux packages, Homebrew, Nix)

Configure Ghostty

-> docs/011-docs-config.md (config file location, syntax, reloading)

Set a Theme

-> docs/009-docs-features-theme.md (built-in themes, light/dark mode, custom themes)

Customize Keybindings

-> docs/012-docs-config-keybind.md (trigger syntax, modifiers, actions)

Set Up Shell Integration

-> docs/010-docs-features-shell-integration.md (bash/zsh/fish/elvish, prompt navigation, working directory)

Customize Fonts

-> docs/015-docs-config-reference.md (font-family, font-size, font-features, ligatures)

Configure Background Opacity / Blur

-> docs/015-docs-config-reference.md (background-opacity, background-blur)

Use VT Escape Sequences

-> docs/018-docs-vt-concepts-sequences.md (sequence types, syntax, CSI/OSC/ESC formats)

Look Up All Config Options

-> docs/015-docs-config-reference.md (comprehensive option reference)

Look Up All Keybind Actions

-> docs/014-docs-config-keybind-reference.md (complete action reference)