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Terminals & multiplexers: star history compared

Most starred

105k

microsoft/terminal

Terminal emulators picked up a new generation of projects once GPU acceleration arrived. Alacritty and kitty kicked off that era, WezTerm quietly built a power-user following, and Ghostty's 2024 release turned years of private beta into an instant vertical line. On the multiplexer side, tmux's decade-long slow burn against Zellij's newer curve is a portrait of stability versus reinvention.

Ranked by current GitHub stars · growth = stars gained in the trailing 90 days · data updated Sep 2026

Terminals & multiplexers — star history
115k STARS11 YR 3 MOmicrosoft/terminal115kalacritty/alacritty67kghostty-org/ghostty37ktmux/tmux44kzellij-org/zellij28kkovidgoyal/kitty32kwez/wezterm23k

microsoft/terminal: 114,740 stars on September 16, 2026. alacritty/alacritty: 66,976 stars on September 16, 2026. ghostty-org/ghostty: 36,976 stars on September 16, 2026. tmux/tmux: 43,531 stars on September 16, 2026. zellij-org/zellij: 27,598 stars on September 15, 2026. kovidgoyal/kitty: 31,943 stars on September 15, 2026. wez/wezterm: 23,265 stars on September 15, 2026.

Star history for microsoft/terminal
DateStars
August 12, 201740
October 6, 2017162
November 24, 2017274
January 10, 2018363
March 3, 2018443
April 24, 2018534
June 6, 2018650
July 23, 2018753
September 6, 2018874
October 23, 2018990
December 17, 20181148
January 25, 20191317
March 7, 20191475
April 15, 20191661
May 25, 201941513
July 3, 201949314
August 11, 201951899
September 19, 201953853
October 28, 201955759
December 6, 201957609
January 14, 202059287
February 22, 202061040
April 1, 202062886
May 10, 202064979
June 18, 202068981
July 27, 202070889
September 5, 202072315
October 14, 202073508
November 22, 202074859
December 31, 202076101
February 16, 202177843
March 27, 202178971
May 5, 202180159
June 16, 202181619
July 25, 202182980
September 4, 202184183
October 14, 202185065
November 27, 202185942
January 5, 202287076
February 13, 202288721
March 25, 202289966
May 3, 202291043
June 11, 202292073
July 20, 202292744
August 28, 202293847
October 6, 202294590
November 14, 202295320
December 23, 202296126
January 31, 202396915
March 11, 202397643
April 27, 202398465
June 5, 202399171
July 14, 202399859
August 22, 2023100499
September 30, 2023101366
November 8, 2023102071
December 17, 2023102784
January 25, 2024103363
March 4, 2024104388
April 12, 2024105011
May 21, 2024105676
June 29, 2024106265
August 7, 2024106855
September 15, 2024107471
October 24, 2024108197
December 2, 2024108893
January 10, 2025109537
February 18, 2025110410
March 29, 2025111054
May 7, 2025111700
June 23, 2025112288
August 1, 2025112593
September 9, 2025113254
October 24, 2025113687
December 2, 2025113877
January 10, 2026114102
February 18, 2026114327
March 31, 2026114504
May 13, 2026114657
September 16, 2026114740
Star history for alacritty/alacritty
DateStars
February 21, 20161
February 7, 20174544
March 22, 20175149
May 4, 20175631
June 16, 20175938
July 30, 20176398
September 11, 20176817
October 24, 20177415
December 6, 20177991
January 19, 20188593
March 12, 20189773
April 25, 201810439
June 7, 201810899
July 20, 201811352
September 2, 201811986
October 15, 201812638
November 27, 201813350
January 9, 201913988
February 22, 201914580
April 6, 201915418
May 19, 201916529
July 1, 201917417
August 14, 201918237
September 26, 201918932
November 8, 201919672
December 21, 201920326
February 3, 202021044
March 17, 202022003
April 29, 202023109
June 11, 202024330
August 2, 202025531
September 15, 202026540
October 29, 202027565
December 11, 202030281
January 23, 202131381
March 7, 202132296
April 20, 202133121
June 5, 202134260
July 18, 202135081
September 1, 202136023
October 15, 202136718
December 1, 202137433
January 13, 202238645
February 25, 202239629
April 10, 202240568
May 23, 202241546
July 5, 202242350
August 17, 202243466
September 30, 202244559
November 12, 202245518
January 3, 202346474
February 15, 202347563
March 30, 202348632
May 12, 202349583
June 25, 202350458
August 7, 202351240
September 19, 202352009
November 1, 202352825
December 15, 202353656
January 27, 202454784
March 10, 202455911
April 22, 202456873
June 5, 202458094
July 18, 202459115
August 30, 202459950
October 12, 202460752
November 25, 202461514
January 7, 202562360
February 19, 202563014
April 3, 202563621
May 25, 202564424
July 8, 202564796
August 20, 202565208
October 2, 202565609
November 19, 202565890
January 2, 202666189
February 14, 202666457
April 1, 202666712
May 19, 202666892
September 16, 202666976
Star history for ghostty-org/ghostty
DateStars
December 26, 20242283
January 2, 202517651
January 9, 202520474
January 16, 202521980
January 23, 202522930
January 30, 202523469
February 7, 202524134
February 14, 202524602
February 21, 202525047
February 28, 202525430
March 9, 202525837
March 16, 202526145
March 23, 202526477
March 30, 202526767
April 7, 202527056
April 14, 202527284
April 21, 202527522
April 28, 202527771
May 5, 202528004
May 13, 202528248
May 20, 202528464
May 27, 202528646
June 3, 202528785
June 10, 202528940
June 18, 202529118
June 25, 202529488
July 2, 202529701
July 9, 202529904
July 16, 202530050
July 24, 202530208
August 1, 202530407
August 8, 202530565
August 16, 202530753
August 23, 202530998
August 30, 202531149
September 6, 202531267
September 13, 202531497
September 21, 202531736
September 28, 202531932
October 5, 202532055
October 16, 202532180
October 23, 202532286
October 30, 202532387
November 7, 202532541
November 14, 202532639
November 21, 202532733
November 28, 202532819
December 5, 202532943
December 13, 202533104
December 20, 202533238
December 28, 202533460
January 5, 202633665
January 12, 202633876
January 19, 202634022
January 26, 202634191
February 2, 202634377
February 10, 202634618
February 17, 202634783
February 24, 202634966
March 3, 202635164
March 10, 202635332
March 18, 202635647
March 25, 202635839
April 1, 202635948
April 8, 202636105
April 15, 202636246
April 23, 202636354
April 30, 202636466
May 7, 202636605
May 14, 202636686
May 23, 202636745
May 30, 202636795
June 6, 202636826
June 18, 202636842
June 26, 202636854
July 6, 202636866
July 27, 202636873
August 26, 202636883
September 7, 202636934
September 16, 202636976
Star history for tmux/tmux
DateStars
June 3, 20151
July 23, 20152729
September 11, 20152990
November 1, 20153373
December 21, 20153748
February 11, 20164011
April 2, 20164300
May 23, 20164577
July 13, 20164953
September 2, 20165259
November 1, 20165688
December 23, 20166011
February 11, 20176320
April 2, 20176681
May 23, 20177052
July 12, 20177577
September 1, 20178141
October 21, 20178744
December 11, 20179341
January 30, 20189850
March 22, 201810373
May 12, 201810879
July 2, 201811363
August 21, 201811787
October 10, 201812281
November 30, 201812797
January 19, 201913274
March 11, 201913832
April 30, 201914515
June 20, 201915169
August 19, 201915790
October 9, 201916285
November 28, 201916843
January 18, 202017428
March 8, 202017972
April 27, 202018721
June 17, 202019443
August 6, 202019980
September 27, 202020465
November 16, 202021010
January 6, 202121579
February 25, 202122101
April 18, 202122696
June 10, 202123336
July 31, 202123837
September 22, 202124436
November 20, 202124854
January 10, 202225360
March 1, 202225775
April 21, 202226359
June 20, 202227137
August 10, 202227726
September 29, 202228321
November 19, 202228875
January 8, 202329378
February 28, 202329959
April 19, 202330546
June 8, 202331380
July 29, 202331946
September 17, 202332534
November 7, 202333062
December 27, 202333617
February 16, 202434401
April 6, 202435107
May 27, 202435773
July 16, 202436382
September 5, 202436985
October 25, 202437888
December 14, 202438517
February 3, 202539140
April 4, 202539917
May 25, 202540442
July 14, 202540849
September 3, 202541275
October 27, 202541591
December 18, 202541955
February 6, 202642434
March 29, 202643042
May 18, 202643370
September 16, 202643531
Star history for zellij-org/zellij
DateStars
November 1, 202027
December 25, 2020194
February 21, 2021384
April 23, 20212010
May 20, 20212764
June 14, 20213071
July 9, 20213170
August 2, 20213416
August 29, 20213546
September 22, 20213714
November 5, 20213854
November 30, 20214035
December 27, 20214244
January 20, 20224455
February 13, 20224701
March 10, 20225593
April 3, 20225814
April 27, 20226110
May 21, 20226385
June 14, 20226694
July 9, 20226902
August 2, 20227185
August 26, 20227946
September 19, 20228179
October 13, 20228448
November 7, 20228783
December 1, 20229067
December 25, 20229247
January 18, 20239517
February 11, 20239918
March 13, 202310727
April 6, 202311157
April 30, 202311538
May 24, 202311840
June 17, 202312201
July 12, 202312831
August 5, 202313183
August 29, 202313459
September 22, 202313756
October 16, 202314036
November 10, 202314367
December 4, 202314750
December 28, 202315075
January 21, 202415438
February 14, 202416010
March 10, 202416627
April 3, 202416970
April 27, 202417582
May 21, 202418177
June 15, 202418966
July 14, 202419508
August 7, 202419967
August 31, 202420318
September 24, 202420749
October 18, 202421208
November 12, 202421707
December 6, 202422146
December 30, 202422489
January 23, 202522788
February 16, 202523138
March 13, 202523482
April 6, 202523820
April 30, 202524091
May 24, 202524370
June 18, 202524559
July 12, 202524892
August 5, 202525136
August 29, 202525443
September 22, 202525699
October 22, 202525875
November 20, 202526048
December 14, 202526197
January 7, 202626376
January 31, 202626583
February 24, 202626867
March 21, 202627084
April 14, 202627330
May 10, 202627454
June 4, 202627542
September 15, 202627598
Star history for kovidgoyal/kitty
DateStars
December 6, 20162
February 19, 2017694
May 4, 2017767
July 18, 2017862
September 10, 2017968
October 23, 20171082
December 5, 20171401
January 17, 20181622
February 28, 20182149
April 12, 20182522
June 1, 20183170
July 15, 20183428
August 26, 20183692
October 7, 20184915
November 18, 20185224
December 31, 20185485
February 11, 20195794
March 25, 20196204
May 6, 20196562
June 17, 20196879
July 28, 20197141
September 8, 20197529
October 20, 20197775
December 1, 20198099
January 12, 20208339
February 23, 20208657
April 5, 20208943
May 17, 20209265
June 28, 20209529
August 9, 20209787
September 30, 202010104
November 11, 202010502
December 23, 202010804
February 3, 202111169
March 17, 202111477
April 28, 202111830
June 12, 202112201
July 24, 202112515
September 7, 202112833
October 20, 202113076
December 8, 202113560
January 19, 202214092
March 2, 202214618
April 13, 202215141
May 25, 202215612
July 6, 202216014
August 17, 202216572
September 28, 202217032
November 9, 202217497
December 21, 202217916
February 9, 202318699
March 23, 202319190
May 4, 202319633
June 15, 202320040
July 27, 202320563
September 7, 202320985
October 19, 202321343
November 30, 202321789
January 11, 202422229
February 22, 202422702
April 3, 202423205
May 15, 202423676
June 26, 202424273
August 7, 202424961
September 18, 202425589
October 30, 202426201
December 11, 202426799
January 22, 202527942
March 5, 202528463
April 16, 202529084
June 5, 202529629
July 18, 202529943
August 29, 202530323
October 16, 202530662
November 27, 202530954
January 8, 202631252
February 19, 202631543
April 2, 202631733
May 18, 202631858
September 15, 202631943
Star history for wez/wezterm
DateStars
February 8, 20181
April 10, 201934
October 9, 201974
December 22, 2019128
February 24, 2020173
April 20, 2020220
June 24, 2020358
August 26, 2020404
October 16, 2020462
November 21, 2020534
January 3, 2021642
February 2, 2021701
March 8, 2021770
April 9, 20211521
May 7, 20211784
June 10, 20211895
July 14, 20211997
August 13, 20212135
September 14, 20212297
October 16, 20212424
November 21, 20212533
December 19, 20212835
January 16, 20223136
February 13, 20223311
March 13, 20223578
April 10, 20224004
May 8, 20224325
June 5, 20224514
July 3, 20224864
July 31, 20225230
September 3, 20225658
October 1, 20225920
October 29, 20226183
November 26, 20226480
December 24, 20226693
January 21, 20237002
February 18, 20237424
March 18, 20237768
April 15, 20238259
May 13, 20238637
June 10, 20239038
July 8, 20239404
August 5, 20239796
September 2, 202310120
September 30, 202310488
October 28, 202310829
November 25, 202311249
December 23, 202311643
January 20, 202412152
February 17, 202412621
March 22, 202413323
April 19, 202413749
May 17, 202414183
June 14, 202414784
July 12, 202415147
August 9, 202415698
September 6, 202416758
October 4, 202417249
November 1, 202417831
November 29, 202418322
December 27, 202418781
January 24, 202519267
February 21, 202519627
March 21, 202520000
April 18, 202520300
May 16, 202520692
June 13, 202520953
July 11, 202521179
August 8, 202521415
September 5, 202521615
October 8, 202521899
November 11, 202522062
December 10, 202522215
January 7, 202622426
February 4, 202622659
March 4, 202622887
April 2, 202623033
May 2, 202623140
June 6, 202623204
September 15, 202623265

How each series was read

  • microsoft/terminal

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • alacritty/alacritty

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • ghostty-org/ghostty

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • tmux/tmux

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • zellij-org/zellij

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • kovidgoyal/kitty

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • wez/wezterm

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

Ranking

7 repositories

Terminals & multiplexers ranked by current total GitHub stars
#RepositoryStars+90dFirst starHealth
1microsoft/terminal104,903~502017debt charts
2alacritty/alacritty65,733~502016debt charts
3ghostty-org/ghostty61,176~1342024debt charts
4tmux/tmux49,277~882015debt charts
5zellij-org/zellij35,423~402020debt charts
6kovidgoyal/kitty34,910~542016debt charts
7wez/wezterm28,910~612018debt charts

Repository health compared

Live analysis · unavailable data stays labelled

Popularity is only one axis. Compare technical scale, maintenance cadence, ownership resilience and change pressure against the same completed analysis that sits behind each report.

Reach

Popularity and real-world adoption

Signalmicrosoft/terminalalacritty/alacrittyghostty-org/ghosttytmux/tmuxzellij-org/zellijkovidgoyal/kittywez/wezterm
GitHub starsCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Best result in this row: 104,90365,73361,17649,27735,42334,91028,910
Stars gained · trailing 90dChange in the newest 90 days covered by each cached series.+50+50Best result in this row: +134+88+40+54+61
ForksCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Largest package audienceLargest resolved registry total; sources are shown explicitly.No resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved package
Repository ageElapsed years since the GitHub creation timestamp.9.1 years11 years4.5 years11 years6.0 years9.9 years8.6 years

Codebase

Size and technical center of gravity

Signalmicrosoft/terminalalacritty/alacrittyghostty-org/ghosttytmux/tmuxzellij-org/zellijkovidgoyal/kittywez/wezterm
Dominant languageLargest share of analyzed code lines at current HEAD.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Code linesAnalyzed source lines at current HEAD, excluding blanks and comments.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Languages representedLanguages with non-zero files or line counts.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Maintenance

Commit volume and recent operating cadence

Signalmicrosoft/terminalalacritty/alacrittyghostty-org/ghosttytmux/tmuxzellij-org/zellijkovidgoyal/kittywez/wezterm
Repository commitsFull repository commit total reported by the analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Commits · trailing 90dCommit count in the newest 90 days covered by the repository analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Ownership

How broadly maintenance responsibility is distributed

Signalmicrosoft/terminalalacritty/alacrittyghostty-org/ghosttytmux/tmuxzellij-org/zellijkovidgoyal/kittywez/wezterm
Bus factorFewest analyzed contributors carrying at least half the commits.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Top contributor concentrationShare of attributed commits carried by the most active contributor.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Change signals

Debt markers and fix pressure in frequently changed files

Signalmicrosoft/terminalalacritty/alacrittyghostty-org/ghosttytmux/tmuxzellij-org/zellijkovidgoyal/kittywez/wezterm
Fix-labelled share · frequently changed filesFix-labelled commits divided by commits across the analyzed high-frequency file set.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Recent TODO/FIXME movementLatest cumulative marker count and its change over the trailing 90 days.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Head to head

open in the builder

Frequently asked

Which of these terminals & multiplexers has the most GitHub stars?

microsoft/terminal is the most-starred of the terminals & multiplexers gitdebt compares, with 104,903 GitHub stars as of Sep 2026. It earned its first star in 2017.

Which of these terminals & multiplexers is growing the fastest?

ghostty-org/ghostty added the most stars over the last 90 days of its cached history — about 134 new stars, compared with about 50 for the category leader microsoft/terminal. 90-day figures are approximate for older repos, whose history is downsampled.

How is this comparison computed?

The table ranks public repository metadata by current total stars. Each curve is that repository's stored star series — read either from GitHub's stargazer list or rebuilt from historical star data — drawn on shared axes, with trailing 90-day growth estimated from it. The legend under the chart names each series' own source and coverage date. Repo-health charts come independently from each repository's commit history.

Related categories

all categories

Fastest-growing repos across all of gitdebt