Alacritty: A GPU-Accelerated Terminal for Linux

Hello again everyone and welcome back to learn Linux TV. In today's video I want to talk about terminal emulators specifically my terminal emulator of choice elacrity. I decided to create this video because every now and then you guys ask me what my favorite terminal emulator happens to be. Well it's elacrity. And what I wanted to do in this video was not only show it off. I want to also show you how it works. If you're not familiar with elacrity the short version is this. It's a fast, minimal terminal emulator that stays out of your way and lets you get your work done. It uses GPU accelerated rendering which makes it feel very responsive even when dealing with lots of output. It's also crossplatform so it runs on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows, which is great if you work within a mixed environment. Basically, Elacard is a terminal for people that just want a terminal. Nothing more, nothing less. And in this video, you're going to see it in action. So, let's dive in right now. and we'll start by talking about what elacrity is, who it's for, and why you might consider choosing it over other terminal emulators. There's certainly no shortage of terminal emulators when it comes to Linux. Most distros ship with one by default and there's plenty of alternatives such as console tiles and many others. Some terminals even lean into novelty such as cool retro term which focuses more on appearance than productivity and it literally looks like a retro terminal. Where elacrity stands out is its simplicity. Many terminal emulators are very fullfeatured offering splits menus and extensive settings. And that's great if you actually use those features but if you don't they could feel like unnecessary complexity. Elacrity takes the opposite approach. It intentionally avoids feature bloat and focuses on being a fast, predictable terminal that stays out of your way. Now, it's worth pointing out that elacrity does not include things like tabs, window splits, or session management. And for me, that's not really a problem because I use T-Mox for all of that. T-Mox handles splits, sessions, tabs, and more. And it works the same whether I'm in a graphical terminal or I'm connected over SSH. And because I use T-Mox, I don't need my terminal emulator to provide those features. When it comes to elacrity's target audience, it's targeting intermediate to advanced users who spend a lot of time in the terminal and already have a workflow in place. It's especially well suited for home lab users, system administrators, and people working in DevOps. But if you only use a terminal occasionally, then you are probably not the target audience for elacrity. Now, even though elacrity is a bit barebones when it comes to features, that doesn't mean that there's nothing noteworthy to talk about. For example, elacrity includes GPU accelerated rendering, and using the GPU for a terminal emulator might seem unusual, but it does result in very smooth and responsive performance, especially when handling a lot of output, but it's not something that everyone will care about, but it is a nice bonus. Now, when it comes to configuration, elacrity needs a bit of manual work. There's no graphical settings panel. Everything is configured through a single config file. That could be a downside for some users, but the upside is portability. Once you've tuned your config, you could copy it to any system and get the same experience instantly. Now, at first glance, a minimalistic terminal with manual configuration might seem like a hard cell, but for users who value simplicity, portability, and focus, elacrity offers real advantages by doing less and doing it well. Now, if you want to try elacrity for yourself, setting it up is very straightforward. It's available for Linux, Mac OS, as well as Windows. So, even if you don't use Linux full-time, you can still use elacrity. On Windows and Mac OS, installation is simple. You just download the installer from the official site and run it just like you would with any other application. I'll have a download link in the description, but there's nothing unusual about the process when it comes to Mac OS or Windows. On Linux, things are usually just as easy. Most major distributions include elacrity in their default repositories, which means you can install it using your package manager, such as apt or dnf, just like you would with any other package. That said, most doesn't mean all. While distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora package elacrity, others don't. For example, when I tried installing it on Alma Linux 10, it wasn't available in the repositories. And in cases like that, you could build elacrity from source, and there's plenty of guides online that'll walk you through the process. Personally though, I tend to avoid compiling applications like this unless I really have to. Reason being, doing so often means pulling in extra libraries and dealing with more manual setup. And at that point, it could be easier to just choose a different terminal emulator. But if Lacardi is available for your DRO, it's lightweight, easy to install, and definitely worth trying out. Once you do get elacrity installed, you could use it as is, or you can customize it. Even though Elacrity doesn't expose settings through a graphical interface, its configuration file gives you a ton of control. That said, starting from scratch could feel overwhelming, especially if you're not used to editing config files. And to make this easier, what I'll do right now is walk you through creating a quick config file. Then you can add additional tweaks to your config file as you go along. And that's how most people end up using tools like this. Anyway, they start with an existing config and then they tweak it to fit their workflow. And you're welcome to do the same with mine. Before I show you that though, let's talk a bit about how Elacarity handles configuration in general. Whenever you launch elacrity, it'll look for a config file and if it finds one, it'll load it. However, by default, no config file is created. So, elacrity simply falls back to its built-in defaults. Anyway, on this computer, what I'll do is install elacrity. Since I'm running Debian on this particular computer, what I'll do is run sudo apt install and then elacrity just like this. It's a small package, so installation should finish fairly quickly. We'll get back to the video in just a moment. But first, I want to talk about something that Linux users are passionate about. Fashion. Just kidding. We don't care. That said, society has decided a long time ago that we have to wear clothes. And if we're going to do that anyway, they might as well be comfortable and maybe even communicate what we're passionate about. And if you're watching this video, there's a good chance that passion is Linux. And that's why I put together a little shop with Linux themed shirts, mugs, stickers, bags, and more stuff that lets you quietly signal what you're into. And it's not just about telling the world that you run Arch. The swag is practical, lowkey, and celebrates the Linux community as a whole. Whether you're looking for a shirt to let everyone know what your favorite dro happens to be, a sleeve for your laptop, or a cheat sheet to guide you along during your Linux journey, chances are the Learn Linux TV shop has something just for you. There's no hyper trends, just things you could wear while scripting, debugging, or wondering why someone rebooted the production server at noon. So, check out the shop and support the channel. I would really appreciate that. And now, let's get back to the video. Anyway, here I have elacrity and what you're seeing is elacrity with no configuration at all. So, basically, elacrity is starting with its default settings. Anyway, one of the locations that elacrity checks for a config file is inside your home directory under the doconfig directory. So, what I'll do right now is create the directory where elacerte expects to find its config file. So, I'll type mkdir. I'll add the -p option to create the parent directory if it doesn't exist. We're going to create this in our doconfig folder. And underneath that, I'll create the elacrity directory. Next, what I'll do is change into that directory. And right now, we don't have any files in that directory, and that makes sense since I just created it. But what I'll do right now is create the config file. I'll use the touch command, and I'll create a file named elacrity.tml. Now, obviously, when I do this, the touch command is going to create an empty file. But what we'll do right now is populate that file with some valid configuration. We could use whatever text editor we want. It really doesn't matter. I'm just going to use Nano to keep it simple. And now I've opened the file. And what I'll do right now is paste in some sample configuration. Now I will have this config file linked below in the description if you want to copy and paste it as well. And this is a very simple config, but it does give us some added benefit. And what I'll do right now is explain exactly what's going on. And what we see right here is a configuration file with different sections. So we start with the font section and underneath that we're setting the font size. And that's pretty straightforward. We can adjust the font size accordingly. So you can make yours higher or lower depending on what you prefer. But next we have the general section. And in that section I'm importing another file. And this file right here is going to be a color scheme. Now, on your end, you'll have to adjust the path to fit wherever your home directory is. And also, you can find this color scheme in the description below, and we'll create that shortly, but for right now, let's move on. And in the window section, I'm adding some transparency. Now, in this video, you're not really going to notice the difference because I use transparency in post-prouction anyway, so it already looked transparent. But on your end, if you want the transparency without video effects, you can achieve that by changing this setting right here. Continuing, we have a section for window dimensions. And this basically allows you to configure how wide and tall the terminal window will be. So you could change these numbers accordingly, but these are the numbers that I use in my setup. And then at the bottom, we're adding some window padding. And all this does is add some padding between the terminal portion of the window and the window container itself. But anyway, like I mentioned, there's not a whole lot going on here, but it is a good example of a starter config that you can use. Anyway, I'll hold control and press O to open the save dialogue. I'll press enter to save the file and then I'll press Ctrl + X to exit the editor. Now, currently we only have one file right here. And what I want to do is add that color scheme. After all, we've configured elacrity to look for it, but we haven't created it yet. So, I'll open up the file in an editor. And now, I'll paste in the contents. And you'll also find this file linked in the description below as well. And again, this is just a color scheme. I'll just go ahead and save it. Crl O, enter, and then controll X. And now I've configured elacrity. And to be fair, there's not a whole lot going on with this configuration, but it is a good starter config to help you get started. Anyway, what I'll do right now is close out of the terminal. So, I'll relaunch it. And here it is. And you can see the difference immediately. The window is a different size. and also the text is larger. Anyway, you can check the documentation for additional tweaks or you can even browse GitHub or Reddit for example configs to see how other people are configuring it. But at the end of the day, Elacrity is a terminal emulator and a deliberately simple one. And because of that, there isn't a whole lot more I can say about it, and this review ends up being shorter than most. That said, elacrity is an excellent terminal emulator. It's definitely not for everyone, especially since it relies on manual configuration, but in my opinion, that's one of its biggest strengths. With elacrity, I only add the settings that I actually care about as I need them. Nothing is forced on me, and the terminal ends up behaving exactly the way I want it to. And the config file approach also makes it easy for me to reproduce my setup on other machines. Now, if you prefer a terminal emulator that comes fully loaded with features and graphical settings, elacrity is probably not the right choice. But there's a clear audience for a terminal that stays out of your way and puts you in control. As for myself, I very much fit that audience. And Elacarities works so well for me that I haven't felt the need to use anything else for a very long time. If you value simplicity and control as well, there's a good chance you'll feel the same way. And there you go. In today's video, we talked about elacrity, my favorite terminal emulator. It's a very minimalistic terminal, but that's what I love about it. I love a terminal that stays out of my way. Either way, what's your opinion about Elacarity? Or maybe you could tell me what your favorite terminal emulator is on your end. Let me know down in the comments below. I look forward to reading what you guys have to say. Anyway, with that said, thank you so much for checking out this video and I'll see you in the next one.

Alacritty is a blazing fast, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator for Linux — and in this guide, I’ll show you how to install and configure Alacritty step-by-step. If you’re looking to upgrade your Linux terminal setup, this tutorial walks through everything you need to know: what makes Alacritty different, how its configuration works, and how to customize it. Whether you’re new to Linux or refining your terminal environment, this complete Alacritty setup guide will get you up and running quickly. Subscribe for more Linux tutorials, open-source guides, and practical system administration content from Learn Linux TV! *🛍️ Support The Channel and Get Awesome Linux Swag!* Head on over to the Learn Linux TV Merch Shop and check out some great Linux-themed gear, including (but not limited to) T-shirts, drinkware, buttons, stickers and more! • "apt install coffee" T-Shirt ➜ https://learnlinux.link/apt-install-coffee • "sudo" T-Shirt ➜ https://learnlinux.link/sudo-shirt • Linux Commands Cheat Sheet ➜ https://learnlinux.link/linux-commands • "May Spontaneously Talk About Linux" T-Shirt ➜ https://learnlinux.link/talk-about-linux-shirt • "Dark Side of the Terminal" T-Shirt ➜ https://learnlinux.link/dark-side-shirt • Lots more ➜ https://merch.learnlinux.tv _Use coupon code "LINUXFAN" to get 10% off your entire order ➜ https://merch.learnlinux.tv_ *❤️ Consider becoming a Channel Member* Support Linux Learning and gain acess to exclusive perks, such as ad-free content and early access to select videos. Your support really helps!!! Join here ➜ https://learnlinux.link/member *🐧 Other Ways to Support Learn Linux TV* • Channel Membership ➜ https://learnlinux.link/member • Patreon ➜ https://learnlinux.link/patron • Spin up your very own Linux server ➜ https://learnlinux.link/digitalocean • Linux swag ➜ https://merch.learnlinux.tv • Check out Netdata ➜ https://learnlinux.link/netdata • Jay's Gear ➜ https://learnlinux.link/amazon _Note: Royalties and/or commission is earned from each of the above links_ *🔗 Video-specific Links* • Official Blog Post for this Video (code, etc) ➜ https://www.learnlinux.tv/?p=6500 • Check out Alacritty ➜ https://alacritty.org *🕐 Time Codes* 00:00 – Getting Started with Alacritty (Fast Terminal Setup Guide) 01:10 – What Is Alacritty? How Does it Differ From Terminal Emulators? 03:00 – How Alacritty Configuration Works 03:31 – How to Install Alacritty on Linux (Step-by-Step) 05:03 – Live Demo: Installing Alacritty on Linux 05:54 – Support Learn Linux TV (Linux Merch & Resources) 07:03 – Configuring Alacritty Like a Pro (Themes, Fonts & Tweaks) *🎓 Full Linux Courses* • Linux Crash Course ➜ https://linux.video/cc • tmux ➜ https://linux.video/tmux • vim ➜ https://linux.video/vim • Bash Scripting ➜ https://linux.video/bash • Proxmox VE ➜ https://linux.video/pve • Ansible (Udemy) ➜ https://learnlinux.link/ansible • Linux Essentials (Udemy) ➜ https://learnlinux.link/linux-essentials *🎓 More About Learn Linux TV* • Main site ➜ https://www.learnlinux.tv • Community Forums ➜ https://community.learnlinux.tv • Github Account ➜ https://github.com/LearnLinuxTV • Content Ethics ➜ https://www.learnlinux.tv/content-ethics • Request Paid Assistance ➜ https://www.learnlinux.tv/request-assistance ⚠️ Use Content Responsibly Learn Linux TV shares technical content intended to teach and help you, but it comes with no warranty. The channel is not liable for any damages from its use. Always ensure you have proper permissions, follow company policies, and comply with all applicable laws while working with infrastructure. #Linux #Alacritty #TerminalEmulator #OpenSource #LinuxTutorial