Ghostty 1.4 Explained

Ghostty is an open-source (MIT) GPU-accelerated terminal emulator led by Mitchell Hashimoto. The short verdict on Ghostty 1.4, released on October 27, 2026: it covers 100% of the public Kitty graphics specification, adds scrollback compression and sizable speed and memory gains, but changes some defaults such as copy-on-select, so review your config before upgrading.

According to the official release notes, the release slipped about a month and 1.5 is planned for March 2027. It reached the top of Hacker News with over 1,000 points. This article is based on the official release notes (ghostty.org/docs/install/release-notes/1-4-0) and the official install page, and covers new features, performance numbers, breaking changes, requirements, usage, and how Ghostty differs from other terminals (as of October 2026).

Ghostty aims for speed, rich features, and platform-native UI at the same time. The core is written in Zig, and the UI is native to each OS: Swift/AppKit on macOS and GTK on Linux. Configuration lives in a single text file; there is no GUI settings screen.

Because the terminal engine is available as libghostty, other tools build on it, such as the Ghostty-based agent terminal cmux and tools like Corgi. Improvements to the terminal itself spill over to that ecosystem.

The headline items below all come from the official release notes.

The most practical additions are scrollback compression and ghostty +ssh. The former changes the feel for developers who stream large logs; the latter avoids the classic garbled-display problem on servers that lack your terminfo, without manual steps.

Terminal features added include DECSTR, DECBKM (mode 67), mode 2033 visibility reports, and CSI 19 t. Four localizations were added: Basque, Belarusian, Danish, and Serbian. GTK gains window renaming and global keybindings through the vicinae-hotkey-v1 protocol. macOS gains fuzzy search in the command palette, a Review Windows flow on quit, and the pid, tty, and name override AppleScript properties.

All numbers below are from the official release notes, with the test environment noted where given. Real-world results vary.

If you keep many tabs open, the drop in GPU memory for hidden tabs matters. If you run several agents that produce long output, the 70-90% reduction in scrollback memory is the one to watch. Keep in mind these are the project's own measurements, not third-party reproductions.

This is the section to check before upgrading. Defaults changed, so updating without touching your config alters behavior.

A config like the following keeps 1.3-era behavior while moving to the new names. Adjust values to taste.

The old scrollback-limit still works, so there is no rush, but moving to the new name is the safer choice for the future.

The biggest trap is the Linux requirement. The release notes state that Ubuntu 24.04 LTS does not meet the GTK 4.18 / libadwaita 1.7 requirement, so it has to stay on an older version. On Windows, note that the GUI is no longer on the roadmap.

Ghostty is free and open source. The official install page (ghostty.org/docs/install/binary) lists the following.

Linux distro packages are maintained by the distros, not the Ghostty project. For community binaries such as the Debian/Ubuntu .deb and AppImage, the official page warns of security and compatibility risks. Read any curl | bash script before running it.

To upgrade on macOS, use brew upgrade --cask ghostty with Homebrew, or replace the app with the new .dmg. On Linux, follow your package manager. On environments that miss the requirements, such as Ubuntu 24.04, wait until a 1.4 package is available or move to an environment that meets GTK 4.18. The 1.4 release notes suggest staying on an older version or using the Flatpak package as workarounds for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. The install page does not document Flatpak steps, so check the distributor’s instructions if you go that route.

Ghostty has no settings GUI; you work with the config file and CLI actions of the form ghostty +action. The main CLI items added or changed in 1.4 are below.

Arguments can change between versions, so check the actual syntax with something like ghostty +ssh --help. +toggle-quick-terminal and +new-tab suit calls from OS shortcuts or other tools.

A minimal everyday config looks like this. Comments are our own notes.

Check the official docs for the values middle-click-action accepts; the value above is only an example.

Here is a comparison within the range of commonly known facts. Features change quickly, so read the cells as hedged and check each project's current docs.

Ghostty's position is native-feeling UI per OS, text-file configuration, and speed. If you rely on terminal apps that use Kitty graphics, full coverage of the spec in 1.4 is a plus.

- Moving from iTerm2: If you use its detailed GUI settings, triggers, and tmux integration heavily, there is no need to move. If you want lighter settings, faster startup, or dotfiles-managed config, it is worth a try.
- Versus WezTerm: Choose WezTerm for flexible Lua customization and Windows support. Choose Ghostty if you skip Windows and prefer native look and simple config.
- Versus Kitty: Both handle Kitty graphics. The official notes say Ghostty now covers 100% of the public spec; Kitty offers the breadth of the original.
- Versus Alacritty: Alacritty has neither tabs nor splits and assumes tmux or similar. Ghostty has tabs and splits built in.
- Versus Warp: Warp centers on its own experience such as AI features and a block-based UI. Ghostty makes the conventional terminal fast and polished.
- Versus Windows Terminal: Ghostty has no Windows GUI, so it is not a candidate there.

If you need long-lived sessions and detaching like tmux, pair the terminal with a multiplexer such as herdr, Corgi, or tmux.

If you used copy-on-select on macOS, you will likely notice that selecting no longer copies right after updating. Adding copy-on-select = primary from the example above first is the safe move.

- Zig 0.17 is required
- GTK builds use the system EGL (pkg-config egl)
- New build option -Dinstalled-exe-path
- Because GTK 4.18 / libadwaita 1.7 are required, packages for older distros may stay on older versions

If you build from source, matching the Zig version is the first hurdle.

See also cmux, an agent terminal built on Ghostty, herdr for managing agents side by side, and Corgi from the same lineage. Thinking about the terminal and the management tools on top of it together makes the choices easier to sort.