In the world of terminal emulators, two names stand out: Warp and iTerm2. Both are powerful tools that developers rely on for their needs. However, the recent emergence of Warp has sparked interest in the developer community due to its unique features and capabilities. I’ve been using iTerm2 for many years but made the change early this month. So what made me change my mind regarding iTerm2?

Modern Editing Features

One of the standout features of Warp is its modern editing capabilities. Unlike traditional terminals like iTerm2, Warp allows you to click anywhere on your current command line to insert your cursor at that spot. This feature might seem trivial, but it proved to be super useful to me.

GUI for Tab Completion

Tab completion is a common feature in terminal emulators, but Warp takes it a step further by providing a graphical user interface (GUI) for tab completion. This means that when you hit tab in Warp, you can see previous commands you’ve run and suggestions based on common commands related to what you’ve typed. This feature makes command completion more intuitive, who really wants to remember all their git commands?

Visual Appeal and User Experience

Personally, I like the look and feel of Warp and many developers have praised it. Moreover, Warp pairs inputs with their outputs and highlights them as you navigate your terminal history. Warp calls these pairs “blocks”.

Speed and Efficiency

Built with Rust, Warp is optimized for speed and efficiency. Unlike iTerm2, which uses some swift but mostly object-oriented C, Warp decided to go with Rust due to it’s performance. This makes Warp a faster and more efficient terminal that can handle your commands swiftly and effectively. Overall CPU and memory consumption has been about a third of what iTerm2 uses on my machine.

AI Capabilities

Perhaps one of the most innovative features of Warp is its integrated AI capabilities. Powered by OpenAI APIs (ChatGPT?), Warp’s AI can convert natural language into executable shell commands. This means you can ask Warp AI to debug errors, write scripts, or guide you through the next steps. This feature is not available in iTerm2 and can significantly enhance your productivity and efficiency.

Conclusion

While iTerm2 is a robust and reliable terminal emulator that many developers trust and use daily, Warp offers a host of unique features that make it a compelling alternative. With its modern editing features, GUI for tab completion, visual appeal, speed, and integrated AI, Warp is not just a terminal; it’s a tool that can enhance your terminal experience and help you code more efficiently.

Whether you’re a web developer, a software engineer, or just playing around, consider giving Warp a try. You might find that it’s the terminal you’ve been waiting for.