alacritty

TLDR

Start Alacritty

$ alacritty

Open with specific working directory

$ alacritty --working-directory [/path/to/dir]

Execute a command

$ alacritty -e [htop]

Open with custom config

$ alacritty --config-file [~/.config/alacritty/custom.toml]

Set window title

$ alacritty --title "[My Terminal]"

SYNOPSIS

alacritty [-e command] [--working-directory dir] [--config-file file] [options]

alacritty is a modern, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator focused on simplicity and performance. It leverages OpenGL for rendering, providing smooth scrolling and low latency input handling.
Configuration is done through a TOML or YAML file (depending on version), supporting customization of colors, fonts, keybindings, and behavior. It aims to have sensible defaults while remaining configurable.

PARAMETERS

-e command

Execute command instead of default shell

--working-directory path

Set initial working directory

--config-file file

Use alternate configuration file

--title title

Set window title

--class class

Set window class (X11/Wayland)

-o options

Override config file options

--hold

Keep window open after command exits

-v, --version

Display version information

--print-events

Print all events for debugging

CAVEATS

Requires GPU with OpenGL 3.3+ support. No tabs or splits (use tmux/screen). Configuration format changed from YAML to TOML in version 0.13. Some features may require recent graphics drivers.

HISTORY

alacritty was created by Joe Wilm and first released in 2017. It was the first major GPU-accelerated terminal emulator, inspiring similar projects and becoming popular for its performance and minimal design.