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wtf is kitty?

kovidgoyal/kitty — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-20

★ 32,789PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TL;DR

A fast, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator for power users who live in the command line, built with Python, C, and Go using OpenGL for smooth, high-performance rendering.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((kitty))
    What it does
      Terminal emulator
      GPU-based rendering
      Cross-platform
    Tech stack
      Python
      C
      Go
      OpenGL
    Use cases
      Daily terminal
      Fast text rendering
      Image display in terminal
    Audience
      Developers
      Power users
      Command-line enthusiasts

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Replace a slow terminal emulator with a GPU-accelerated one that renders text faster and handles large outputs without lag.

REASON 2

Use kitty as your daily terminal on macOS, Linux, or Windows for a feature-rich command-line experience.

What's in the stack?

PythonCGoOpenGL

How it stacks up

kovidgoyal/kittymicrosoft/graphragopenbmb/chatdev
Stars32,78932,74633,009
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Setup difficultyeasymoderatemoderate
Complexity2/54/54/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Install via the official installer or package manager, no GPU configuration required, it uses your existing graphics card automatically.

License information is not mentioned in the explanation.

Wtf does this do

Kitty is a terminal emulator, the application that displays a command-line interface on your screen where you type and run commands. It is built for people who spend most of their working time in the terminal and want that experience to be fast and capable. The description highlights that kitty is cross-platform, fast, feature-rich, and GPU-based, meaning it uses your computer's graphics card for rendering. The topics list shows it is built using Python, C, and Go, and uses OpenGL for graphics rendering. The README was not available in the provided data, so further detail about its specific features, configuration options, or supported workflows is not possible from the available data alone.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
I just installed kovidgoyal/kitty. Walk me through the basic configuration file so I can set my font, theme, and key bindings.
Prompt 2
How do I use kitty's built-in multiplexing to split my terminal into panes and tabs without installing tmux?
Prompt 3
I want kitty to display images inline in the terminal. Show me how to enable the kitty graphics protocol and test it with a sample image.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is kitty?

A fast, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator for power users who live in the command line, built with Python, C, and Go using OpenGL for smooth, high-performance rendering.

What language is kitty written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, C, Go.

What license does kitty use?

License information is not mentioned in the explanation.

How hard is kitty to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is kitty for?

Mainly developer.

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