Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

mintty review

Free#32 of 40 in Terminal Emulators

A capable open-source Windows terminal for xterm workflows, with tabs and graphics support.

6.1/10Editor score
Visit mintty
mintty6.1 Visit mintty

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

mintty is an open-source terminal emulator for Windows users working with Cygwin, MSYS, MSYS2, Git for Windows, and WSL. Its focus is xterm-compatible terminal behavior in a native Windows desktop application, making it a practical fit for command-line workflows that depend on Unix-like environments on Windows. The feature set covers Unicode, 256-color and true-color rendering, virtual tabs, tabbar session switching, scrollback search, configurable fonts, themes, keyboard shortcuts, and options files. It also supports WSL sessions and command-line configuration.

For terminal presentation and session management, mintty goes beyond basic text input. Sixel, ReGIS, image, and Tektronix graphics support serve workflows that need richer terminal output, while logging and HTML or image screen export help preserve sessions or share terminal content. Its integrations with Cygwin, MSYS, MSYS2, Git for Windows, and WSL give it a clear ecosystem fit, particularly for developers and technical users already using one of those environments. The open-source model and free availability also make it suitable when a Windows-native terminal is needed without a paid tier.

The main trade-off is scope. mintty is Windows-only and does not provide native split panes; pane-oriented workflows depend on external terminal multiplexers. It also does not provide built-in networking, so SSH functionality comes through packages such as OpenSSH or inetutils rather than the emulator itself. Choose mintty for configurable xterm compatibility, tabs, search, logging, and terminal graphics across Cygwin, MSYS-family environments, Git for Windows, and WSL. Choose an alternative if native panes, built-in SSH, or support beyond Windows is central to the workflow.

mintty pros and cons

  • Where it wins
    • Xterm-compatible emulation with Unicode, 256-color, and true-color rendering
    • Virtual tabs, session switching, scrollback search, and configurable themes
    • Supports Cygwin, MSYS, MSYS2, Git for Windows, and WSL integrations
  • Where it doesn't
    • Windows-only support limits cross-platform use
    • No native split-pane functionality
    • SSH and networking require external packages such as OpenSSH or inetutils

mintty fact sheet, pricing and score →

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Last updated · How we research and update