iTerm2

What it is

iTerm2 is a mature, feature-rich terminal emulator for macOS — the long-standing favorite replacement for the built-in Terminal. It does the basics well and then keeps going: split panes, saved profiles, searchable scrollback, a built-in paste history, triggers that react to output, and deep configuration for nearly everything.

Strengths

• Extremely capable: split panes, profiles, hotkey window, and far more, all built in.
• Battle-tested and stable, with years of refinement and a large user base.
• Deeply configurable, so power users can shape it precisely to their workflow.
• Strong scrollback, search, and clipboard features that pay off in long sessions.

Trade-offs

• macOS only — no help if you also work on Linux or Windows.
• The huge settings surface can overwhelm newcomers.
• Rendering is fast but not built around the GPU-first approach of newer terminals.
• All those features mean more to learn before you use it to the fullest.

When to use it

Choose iTerm2 on macOS when you want a deep, dependable terminal with every feature on tap — especially if you rely on split panes, profiles, or output triggers and don't mind tuning settings to taste.

Vibe coding fit

For vibe coding, iTerm2's splits and profiles let you keep an agent running in one pane, logs in another, and a scratch shell in a third — all in one window. Saved profiles make it easy to jump between projects with the right environment. The depth rewards anyone who lives in the terminal and wants it tailored exactly to their loop.

# Split panes via the menu or shortcuts, then drive shells normally
⌘D   # split vertically
⌘⇧D  # split horizontally
⌘⌥→  # move focus between panes