Why I Switched to Warp for My Terminal Needs

Like many developers, I used iTerm2 for all my terminal needs without ever questioning why. Someone recommended it to me when I started at Atomic Object, and I just followed their lead. I became accustomed to it and started enjoying the tool, customizing it to look just how I wanted, and I set default tabs pointed to my project’s different repos. I even wrote a post about using iTerm2’s Python API to write some pretty cool scripts. One day as I was pairing with my colleague John Ruble, I noticed he was using a different terminal that looked really cool. He told me it was a new terminal called Warp that’s built in Rust and to check it out.

I ended up on Warp’s website and decided to try it out. Here are a couple of Warp’s features that have sold me on the terminal.

Modern Day Editing Features

Warp offers a few very useful editing features that make using it much easier than a traditional terminal like iTerm. For one, you can click anywhere on your current command line to insert your cursor at that spot. This might seem trivial to some, but it has helped out quite a few times when I have a verbose command with a typo way back at the beginning of the line.

Another feature I enjoy is the GUI that comes along with tab completion. In the past, I’d find myself typing a letter of a command I want to run, hitting tab, getting the wrong autocomplete, and then having to backspace until I could get more specific. Now with Warp, I can hit tab and see previous commands I’ve run and suggestions based on common commands related to what I’ve typed. I love this feature. These are the two main features I appreciate about Warp, but it is full of many others that I haven’t had the time to play around with yet. I encourage you to download it and look around for yourself!

Look and Feel

On top of the unique features Warp offers, I think it looks and feels amazing. When I saw John using it, it immediately stuck out to me because it looks really clean. So far, my favorite theme (there are many options) is Dracula. It also does a great job of pairing inputs with their outputs and highlighting them as you go back up your terminal history. This can make deciphering long outputs much easier on your eyes. On top of how it looks though, it also feels quick and snappy. If I had to guess, I’d say this has to do with it being written in Rust, but it just feels great to use.

The “Dracula” theme

One of the things I like most about programming is trying out new tools to make development feel smoother, and Warp does just that. If any of these features sound appealing to you, check Warp out! You can always go back to your previous terminal if you don’t like it as much as I do!