Ghost in Shell vs Warp, iTerm2, Ghostty, Wave and Terminal.app
Which Mac terminal should a developer use in 2026? It depends on whether you want AI at all, and if so, who should own it. Here is the honest table.
| Ghost in Shell | Warp | iTerm2 | Ghostty | Wave | Terminal.app | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI at the prompt | Yes, inline | Yes | No | No | Widgets and chat | No |
| Choose your model | GPT, Claude, custom, local | Warp's cloud AI | n/a | n/a | Several providers | n/a |
| Fully local AI (Ollama) | Yes | No | n/a | n/a | Yes | n/a |
| Account required | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Real shell on a PTY | Yes | Own input editor over the shell | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Editable AI system prompts | Yes | No | n/a | n/a | No | n/a |
| Dashboard for AI coding agents | Yes, floating, cross-window | No | No | No | No | No |
| File tree and editor | Git-aware, search, pop-out | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Platforms | macOS | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS | macOS, Linux | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS |
| Price | Free beta | Free tier, paid plans | Free, open source | Free, open source | Free, open source | Free, built in |
| Signed and notarized | Not yet (beta) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Pick by what you need
You run Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI all day
Ghost in Shell. It is the only one with a panel that lists every agent across every window and raises itself when one is blocked on a permission prompt. How the agents panel works.
You want AI but not a vendor's AI
Ghost in Shell or Wave. Both let you bring a model, and both run local Ollama models. Ghost keeps the AI inside the prompt and shows you every system prompt; Wave puts AI in widgets and a chat pane beside the terminal.
You want the most polished bundled AI and do not mind an account
Warp. Its blocks and team features are mature. Read the Warp comparison for the trade-offs.
You want no AI, only a fast, faithful emulator
Ghostty for speed and native feel, iTerm2 for the deepest feature set. Both are excellent; Ghost's AI can be switched off entirely, but if you never want it, these are lighter.
What Ghost in Shell does not do yet
No Linux or Windows build, no signed app (right-click, Open on first launch), no split panes inside a tab, no team features. It is a free beta that ships frequently; see the changelog.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI terminal for Mac?
If you want to choose your own model, run local models and supervise AI coding agents, Ghost in Shell. If you want a bundled cloud AI and team features, Warp. If you want AI widgets beside the terminal, Wave.
Is Ghost in Shell open source?
It is a free beta distributed as a .dmg. Contributors are welcome: write to contributor@ghostinshell.co.
Which terminal is fastest?
Ghostty is generally regarded as the fastest native emulator. Ghost in Shell is an Electron app built on xterm.js and node-pty; it is responsive for everyday work but is not competing on raw throughput.