Tabby vs xterm

Tabby is a free, open-source terminal app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It connects to local shells, serial devices, SSH servers, and Telnet hosts, and supports shell environments including PowerShell, WSL, Git-Bash, Cygwin, and CMD. Its SSH2 client has a connection manager, while the serial terminal offers connection profiles and input modes. SSH sessions support SFTP and Zmodem file transfers, X11 and port forwarding, jump hosts, and agent forwarding. Tabby can restore open tabs and split panes after you leave the app, and nested panes support simultaneous input. SSH secrets and configuration can be stored in an encrypted container; an optional password manager uses a master passphrase. Customization includes CSS themes, color schemes, shortcuts, and plugins. Other listed capabilities include GPU acceleration, session sync, scripting, portable mode, Explorer integration, and WinSCP integration. The app is described as forever-free FOSS. The page provides download and GitHub links but states no dedicated support terms.

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.