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SPECIFICTION
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xterm

invisible-island.net

Free plan WindowsmacOSLinux
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Spec score 7.9 #26 of 41 in Terminal apps

What it is

xterm is a free terminal emulator for the X Window System, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It emulates DEC VT102 and VT220 terminals, selected features from VT320, VT420, and VT520, and Tektronix 4014 graphics. Separate xterm windows can run on remote machines and display locally over the X protocol; SSH support is also listed. The current version implements ISO/ANSI colors using background color erase. If the operating system supports terminal resizing, xterm can notify programs running in its window when its size changes. It works with different flavors of the Athena widgets and includes scripting support. The official page links to source and archive downloads, while the FAQ points to a manual page covering command-line options, X resources, and other configuration settings. Related components add support for encodings beyond ISO-8859-1 and UTF-8, X resource support, and TrueType fonts. The FAQ documents known limitations, including color behavior that can revert to monochrome. The maintainer has worked on xterm since early 1996; its origins are described as a collective effort maintained by the X Consortium.

Spec sheet

Purpose
xterm is a terminal emulator for the X Window System.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Free plan
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · invisible-island.net
Support
The maintainer says users should report bugs to [email protected] and notes that he also responds through several bug-tracking systems.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Build availability
The official page links to source and archive downloads.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Colors
The current version implements ISO/ANSI colors using background color erase.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Documentation
The FAQ points to the manual page for command-line options, X resources and other configurable options.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Known limitations
The FAQ documents known bugs or limitations in modern xterm, including color-related behavior and cases where colors may fall back to monochrome.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Maintainer
The FAQ says Thomas E. Dickey has worked on xterm since early 1996, while describing the original program as a collective effort maintained by the X Consortium.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Platform support
The FAQ says xterm runs in all implementations of X11 and mentions MacOS, NetBSD, OpenBSD, QNX, Cygwin and Minix among platforms used since 2000.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Related components
The site says luit adds support for encodings other than ISO-8859-1 and UTF-8, X Toolkit provides X resource support, and Xft provides TrueType font support.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Remote use
Separate xterm windows can run on remote machines and display locally using the X protocol.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Scripting API
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · invisible-island.net
Split panes
NoRead 20 Sep 2026 · invisible-island.net
SSH support
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · invisible-island.net
Supported platforms
linux,macos,windowsRead 20 Sep 2026 · invisible-island.net
Terminal emulation
It provides DEC VT102 and VT220 emulation, selected features from VT320, VT420 and VT520, and Tektronix 4014 emulation.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Terminal resizing
When the operating system supports terminal resizing capabilities, xterm can notify programs in its window when it is resized.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net
Widgets
xterm works with different flavors of the Athena widgets.Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net

Plans and prices

Free Free No paid plans or usage limits stated Read 9 Oct 2026 · invisible-island.net

Every xterm plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free, with no paid plans stated
  • DEC and Tektronix emulation
  • Remote display through the X protocol
  • SSH support listed
  • Scripting support

Limits

  • No split-pane support
  • Color behavior can fall back to monochrome
  • Terminal resize notifications depend on operating-system support

Who it suits

xterm suits users of the X Window System who need a terminal emulator with legacy terminal modes, remote display, and configurable options. Its source and archive downloads are available for those seeking the free software.

Verdict

xterm offers established terminal emulation and remote X display, with configuration documented in its manual page. Its documented color limitations and lack of split panes may matter to users choosing a terminal.

Where Specifiction places it

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