The Linux command line is a very powerful tool that allows the execution of all kinds of commands and tasks from the console, instructions that allow a correct administration of the machine. Although the operating systems have their own terminals, there are many other emulators that can be installed on the machine. Among the most popular ones we can find Terminator, Guake Terminal, Tilix Terminal, Hyper, Tilda, XTERM, eDEX-UI, Kitty, Cool Retro Terminal, Alacritty, Konsole, GNOME Terminal, Yakuake or Simple Terminal, to name a few examples. But today we want to talk about another one that has been standing out for some time now. This is Tabby, a terminal emulator that offers a high level of customisation.
What is Tabby?
As we have already mentioned, Tabby is a terminal emulator that is highly configurable, open source and available for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Among some of its most notable features we find:
- Integrated SSH client and connection manager
- Integrated serial terminal
- Theming and colour schemes
- Fully configurable shortcuts
- Split panels
- Remember your tabs
- PowerShell (and PS Core), WSL, Git-Bash, Cygwin, Cmder and CMD support
- Direct file transfer to/from SSH sessions via Zmodem
- Full Unicode support, including double-wide characters
- Proper shell experience on Windows, including tab completion (via Clink)
- Integrated encrypted container for SSH configuration and secrets
In addition, it is possible to customise its appearance through the use of CSS style files, as well as the possibility of adding new functionalities through the use of plugins developed in JavaScript.
Benefits of Tabby
All the features mentioned above may be more than enough reasons to start using Tabby, but we can always highlight some other benefits that may be the push you need to give it a try. Let’s look at the most important ones.
It’s open source
As mentioned above, Tabby is an open source software which means that there are many users who collaborate to evolve the software and make it even better, as well as to solve any security problems that may exist.
Use of plugins
The use of plugins is another of the benefits of using Tabby. Through these plugins, new functionalities can be added to the Tabby terminal, which can be of great help to system administrators.
Highly customisable
There are many things that can be easily configured, e.g. colour theme, size, window frame behaviour, tab location, cursor style, hotkeys, etc. This way, the user can configure it the way he/she feels best with the tool.
Excellent interface
It has a very user-friendly interface. In addition, when you start the programme, it opens the terminals of the last session, which saves time. In addition, it has the option of using a tab for each session we have open.
But it’s not all good things. One of its main drawbacks is its high consumption of resources, something that is being worked on to make it as light as possible.
You can find more information on Tabby’s official website, or access the project on Github.
