Alacritty - GPU-Accelerated Terminal
Ultimate Alacritty reference for performance, configuration, and Vi mode productivity
Alacritty is a blazingly fast, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator written in Rust. Designed with performance and simplicity in mind, Alacritty focuses on doing one thing exceptionally well: providing the fastest possible terminal experience. Unlike feature-heavy terminals, Alacritty delegates window management, tabs, and multiplexing to external tools, allowing it to achieve unparalleled speed and efficiency. This comprehensive cheat sheet covers essential shortcuts, configuration options, and Vi mode features to maximize your productivity with Alacritty.
Getting Started
Installation
# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install --cask alacritty
# macOS (MacPorts)
sudo port install alacritty
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install alacritty
# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install alacritty
# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S alacritty
# From source (Rust required)
git clone https://github.com/alacritty/alacritty.git
cd alacritty
cargo build --release
Configuration Setup
# Create config directory
mkdir -p ~/.config/alacritty
# Create configuration file
touch ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml
# Alternative config locations
# macOS: ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml
# Linux: ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml
# Windows: %APPDATA%\alacritty\alacritty.toml
Default Keyboard Shortcuts
Basic Operations
# Copy/Paste
Ctrl+Shift+C # Copy selection
Ctrl+Shift+V # Paste from clipboard
Ctrl+Shift+X # Copy and clear selection
# Clear screen
Ctrl+L # Clear screen (shell command)
# Font size adjustment
Ctrl+Plus # Increase font size
Ctrl+Minus # Decrease font size
Ctrl+0 # Reset font size to default
Scrolling
# Page scrolling
Shift+PageUp # Scroll page up
Shift+PageDown # Scroll page down
# Line scrolling
Shift+Up # Scroll line up
Shift+Down # Scroll line down
# Scroll to extremes
Shift+Home # Scroll to top
Shift+End # Scroll to bottom
Vi Mode
# Toggle Vi mode
Ctrl+Shift+Space # Enter/exit Vi mode
# Navigation in Vi mode
h, j, k, l # Left, down, up, right
w, b # Word forward/backward
0, $ # Line start/end
g, G # Buffer start/end
Ctrl+F, Ctrl+B # Page forward/backward
Ctrl+U, Ctrl+D # Half page up/down
# Selection in Vi mode
v # Start normal selection
V # Start line selection
Ctrl+V # Start block selection
y # Copy selection
Escape # Clear selection
# Search in Vi mode
/ # Search forward
? # Search backward
n # Next search result
N # Previous search result
Configuration
Basic Configuration (alacritty.toml)
# Window settings
[window]
opacity = 0.9
decorations = "full"
startup_mode = "Windowed"
dynamic_title = true
# Font configuration
[font]
size = 14.0
[font.normal]
family = "JetBrains Mono"
style = "Regular"
[font.bold]
family = "JetBrains Mono"
style = "Bold"
[font.italic]
family = "JetBrains Mono"
style = "Italic"
# Colors (example: One Dark theme)
[colors.primary]
background = "#1e2127"
foreground = "#abb2bf"
[colors.normal]
black = "#1e2127"
red = "#e06c75"
green = "#98c379"
yellow = "#d19a66"
blue = "#61afef"
magenta = "#c678dd"
cyan = "#56b6c2"
white = "#abb2bf"
[colors.bright]
black = "#5c6370"
red = "#e06c75"
green = "#98c379"
yellow = "#d19a66"
blue = "#61afef"
magenta = "#c678dd"
cyan = "#56b6c2"
white = "#ffffff"
# Cursor settings
[cursor]
style = "Block"
unfocused_hollow = true
# Scrolling
[scrolling]
history = 10000
multiplier = 3
# Bell
[bell]
animation = "EaseOutExpo"
duration = 0
Advanced Configuration
# Environment variables
[env]
TERM = "alacritty"
WINIT_X11_SCALE_FACTOR = "1.0"
# Shell configuration
[shell]
program = "/bin/zsh"
args = ["--login"]
# Working directory
working_directory = "/home/user"
# Live config reload
live_config_reload = true
# Alt as Esc
alt_send_esc = true
# Mouse settings
[mouse]
hide_when_typing = true
[mouse.double_click]
threshold = 300
[mouse.triple_click]
threshold = 300
# Selection
[selection]
semantic_escape_chars = ",│`|:\"' ()[]\\{\\}<>"
save_to_clipboard = true
# Debug settings
[debug]
render_timer = false
persistent_logging = false
log_level = "Warn"
print_events = false
Custom Key Bindings
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "N"
mods = "Control|Shift"
action = "SpawnNewInstance"
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "F"
mods = "Control|Shift"
action = "SearchForward"
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "B"
mods = "Control|Shift"
action = "SearchBackward"
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "C"
mods = "Control|Shift"
mode = "Vi"
action = "ClearSelection"
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "I"
mode = "Vi"
action = "ScrollToBottom"
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "I"
mode = "Vi"
action = "ToggleViMode"
# Custom commands
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "T"
mods = "Control|Shift"
command = \\{ program = "tmux", args = ["new-window"] \\}
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "Return"
mods = "Control|Shift"
command = \\{ program = "alacritty", args = ["--working-directory", "/tmp"] \\}
Vi Mode Features
Entering Vi Mode
# Default binding
Ctrl+Shift+Space # Toggle Vi mode
# Custom binding example
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "Space"
mods = "Control"
action = "ToggleViMode"
Navigation Commands
# Character movement
h # Move left
j # Move down
k # Move up
l # Move right
# Word movement
w # Next word start
e # Next word end
b # Previous word start
ge # Previous word end
# Line movement
0 # Line start
^ # First non-blank character
$ # Line end
g_ # Last non-blank character
# Screen movement
H # Top of screen
M # Middle of screen
L # Bottom of screen
# Buffer movement
gg # Buffer start
G # Buffer end
Ctrl+F # Page forward
Ctrl+B # Page backward
Ctrl+U # Half page up
Ctrl+D # Half page down
Selection Commands
# Selection modes
v # Normal selection
V # Line selection
Ctrl+V # Block selection
Alt+V # Semantic selection
# Selection operations
y # Copy selection
Escape # Clear selection
Enter # Open selection (URLs, files)
# Select text objects
iw # Inner word
aw # A word (including spaces)
i" # Inside quotes
a" # Around quotes
i( # Inside parentheses
a( # Around parentheses
Search Commands
# Search operations
/ # Search forward
? # Search backward
n # Next match
N # Previous match
# Search modifiers
/pattern\c # Case insensitive search
/\<word\> # Whole word search
Color Schemes
Popular Color Schemes
# Dracula theme
[colors.primary]
background = "#282a36"
foreground = "#f8f8f2"
[colors.normal]
black = "#000000"
red = "#ff5555"
green = "#50fa7b"
yellow = "#f1fa8c"
blue = "#bd93f9"
magenta = "#ff79c6"
cyan = "#8be9fd"
white = "#bfbfbf"
# Solarized Dark
[colors.primary]
background = "#002b36"
foreground = "#839496"
[colors.normal]
black = "#073642"
red = "#dc322f"
green = "#859900"
yellow = "#b58900"
blue = "#268bd2"
magenta = "#d33682"
cyan = "#2aa198"
white = "#eee8d5"
# Monokai
[colors.primary]
background = "#272822"
foreground = "#f8f8f2"
[colors.normal]
black = "#272822"
red = "#f92672"
green = "#a6e22e"
yellow = "#f4bf75"
blue = "#66d9ef"
magenta = "#ae81ff"
cyan = "#a1efe4"
white = "#f8f8f2"
Dynamic Color Switching
# Using alacritty-colorscheme tool
cargo install alacritty-colorscheme
# Apply theme
alacritty-colorscheme -a dracula
# List available themes
alacritty-colorscheme -l
# Toggle between themes
alacritty-colorscheme -t
Performance Optimization
GPU Acceleration
# Renderer settings
[renderer]
backend = "glsl3" # or "gles2" for older systems
# Performance settings
[window]
dynamic_padding = false
[scrolling]
faux_multiplier = 3
# Disable unnecessary features for performance
[debug]
render_timer = false
Memory Management
# Scrollback buffer
[scrolling]
history = 5000 # Reduce for lower memory usage
# Font settings for performance
[font]
use_thin_strokes = true # macOS only
Integration with External Tools
Tmux Integration
# Tmux-aware key bindings
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "H"
mods = "Control"
chars = "\u0002h" # Tmux prefix + h
[[keyboard.bindings]]
key = "J"
mods = "Control"
chars = "\u0002j" # Tmux prefix + j
# Tmux configuration for Alacritty
# In ~/.tmux.conf
set -g default-terminal "alacritty"
set -ga terminal-overrides ",alacritty:Tc"
Shell Integration
# Zsh integration
# In ~/.zshrc
if [[ "$TERM" == "alacritty" ]]; then
# Alacritty-specific settings
export TERM_PROGRAM="alacritty"
fi
# Fish integration
# In ~/.config/fish/config.fish
if test "$TERM" = "alacritty"
# Alacritty-specific settings
set -x TERM_PROGRAM alacritty
end
Window Manager Integration
# i3 window manager
# In ~/.config/i3/config
bindsym $mod+Return exec alacritty
bindsym $mod+Shift+Return exec alacritty --working-directory /tmp
# Sway window manager
# In ~/.config/sway/config
bindsym $mod+Return exec alacritty
bindsym $mod+Shift+Return exec alacritty --working-directory /tmp
Command Line Options
Basic Usage
# Start Alacritty
alacritty
# Specify config file
alacritty --config-file /path/to/config.toml
# Set working directory
alacritty --working-directory /path/to/dir
# Execute command
alacritty -e vim file.txt
# Set title
alacritty --title "My Terminal"
# Set class (X11)
alacritty --class MyClass
# Fullscreen
alacritty --option window.startup_mode=Fullscreen
Advanced Options
# Override config options
alacritty --option font.size=16
alacritty --option colors.primary.background="#000000"
# Multiple overrides
alacritty \
--option font.size=14 \
--option window.opacity=0.8 \
--option colors.primary.background="#1e1e1e"
# Print available options
alacritty --print-events
# Version information
alacritty --version
# Help
alacritty --help
Troubleshooting
Common Issues
# Font rendering issues
# Try different font families
[font.normal]
family = "DejaVu Sans Mono" # Fallback font
# Performance issues
# Disable GPU acceleration
[renderer]
backend = "gles2"
# Color issues
# Check terminal capabilities
echo $TERM
infocmp alacritty
# Key binding conflicts
# Test with minimal config
alacritty --config-file /dev/null
Debug Mode
# Enable debug logging
[debug]
log_level = "Debug"
persistent_logging = true
print_events = true
# Log file locations
# Linux: ~/.cache/alacritty/alacritty.log
# macOS: ~/Library/Caches/alacritty/alacritty.log
# Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\alacritty\alacritty.log
Configuration Validation
# Test configuration
alacritty --config-file ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml --print-events
# Validate TOML syntax
# Use online TOML validators or:
python3 -c "import toml; toml.load('~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml')"
Tips and Best Practices
Performance Tips
# Optimal settings for performance
[scrolling]
history = 5000 # Reasonable scrollback
multiplier = 3 # Smooth scrolling
[font]
size = 12.0 # Smaller fonts are faster
[window]
dynamic_padding = false # Disable for performance
Workflow Integration
# Use with terminal multiplexers
# Tmux for session management
# Screen for simple multiplexing
# Combine with window managers
# i3, sway, or dwm for tiling
# Use Alacritty as default terminal
# Shell configuration
# Optimize shell startup time
# Use fast prompts (starship, pure)
Customization Tips
# Theme switching script
#!/bin/bash
THEME_DIR="~/.config/alacritty/themes"
CURRENT_THEME=$(readlink ~/.config/alacritty/current-theme.toml)
case "$1" in
"dark")
ln -sf "$THEME_DIR/dark.toml" ~/.config/alacritty/current-theme.toml
;;
"light")
ln -sf "$THEME_DIR/light.toml" ~/.config/alacritty/current-theme.toml
;;
esac
# Include in main config
import = ["~/.config/alacritty/current-theme.toml"]
Security Considerations
# Secure configuration
# Set appropriate file permissions
chmod 600 ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml
# Avoid storing sensitive data in config
# Use environment variables instead
# Regular updates
# Keep Alacritty updated for security patches
Alacritty's focus on performance and simplicity makes it an excellent choice for users who prioritize speed and efficiency over built-in features. Its GPU acceleration, extensive customization options, and Vi mode provide a powerful foundation for a highly optimized terminal workflow. By leveraging external tools for window management and multiplexing, Alacritty achieves its goal of being the fastest terminal emulator available while maintaining the flexibility needed for professional development work.