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Rio

Hardware-accelerated terminal written in Rust, with tabs, splits and image protocol support.

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About Rio

Rio is an open-source terminal emulator written in Rust by Raphael Amorim, built on the WGPU graphics library so it can render with Metal, Vulkan, DirectX or OpenGL and, experimentally, in the browser. It aims to be fast and modern while staying approachable, with tabs, split panels, multiple windows, a vi mode, hints for opening links, an adaptive theme that follows the system, and support for the Kitty graphics and keyboard protocols, the iTerm2 image protocol and Sixel. A configuration file in TOML controls fonts, colours, key bindings and even RetroArch shaders for a retro CRT look. Rio runs on macOS, Windows 10 or later and Linux, with packages for many distributions. It is free and MIT licensed. It is a younger project than Alacritty or kitty, so expect occasional rough edges and a smaller community.

Best for: People who want a fast Rust terminal with tabs, splits and image support on any OS.

Pros and cons

What works

  • GPU rendering across macOS, Windows and Linux
  • Supports Kitty, iTerm2 and Sixel image protocols
  • Tabs and split panels built in

Why people leave

  • Younger project with a smaller community
  • Config file only
  • Some features still marked as in development

Top Rio alternatives

See all 4
  1. 1Alacritty logo
    Alacritty

    More established Rust terminal, simpler and very stable.

    66.5
  2. 2WezTerm logo
    WezTerm

    Rust terminal with a built-in multiplexer and Lua scripting.

    62.6
  3. 3Ghostty logo
    Ghostty

    Fast and native on macOS and Linux with polished defaults.

    59.6
  4. 4kitty logo
    kitty

    Mature GPU terminal with layouts and its own graphics protocol.

    57.2

Why people left Rio

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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Reviews

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Rio: common questions

Is Rio free?

Yes. Rio is free, open-source software.

Is Rio open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at raphamorim/rio.

What platforms does Rio run on?

Rio is available for macOS, Windows and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to Rio?

The highest-ranked Rio alternatives right now are Alacritty, WezTerm and Ghostty. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 4 Rio alternatives