Spacemacs vs iTerm2

Spacemacs combines the Emacs platform (with the full power of the Emacs plugin ecosystem) and the Vi keybindings (via EViL), all in the same box.

At the heart of Spacemacs, the configuration layers group packages configuration into semantic units that can be toggled on and off. The architecture is simple but powerful, allowing the user to easily manage configuration dependencies between hundreds of packages.

Spacemacs is the biggest community-driven Emacs starter-kit.

Documentation is mandatory for each new configuration layer and can be accessed directly within the editor in Org format.

Emacs runs on Gnu/Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.

Stuff like version control, file management, good default theme are all configured out of the box.

Space-lead key bindings are organized in mnemonic namespaces. For instance, buffer actions are under SPC b, file actions are under SPC f, project actions are under SPC p, search actions are under SPC s, and so on. Keybindings are consistent across the whole distribution thanks to a set of conventions.

There's no need to reach for the mouse again since Spacemacs can be fully controlled with keyboard.

Evil package is a first class citizen and Spacemacs embraces it from day one. Evil package allows Vim users to be productive very quickly while still allowing regular Emacs users to use Spacemacs.

Files can be edited in Spacemacs remotely.

Allows for great organization applications that can be saved in future-proof format, plain text, can be integrated with org, LaTeX, markdown, HTML, Literate Programming and be committed to source control.

Spacemacs has some great features for taking notes, tracking to-do lists, and tracking time.

LaTeX allows for auto-completion, syncing, and more.

Has great daemon support, which can mitigate the issue of slow startup.

Sometimes you only have terminal access, over ssh or something.

Syntax highlighting and org-babel extensions.

The community surrounding Spacemacs is very active and there is a welcoming gitter chat for users to ask questions.

Spacemacs got its name from the fact that it is uses the space bar as a default leader key. The key was chosen because it is easy to press and to hopefully lower the risk of RSI.

New functionalities and fixes are added to Spacemacs every day, while release cycles are short.

Elixir layer which uses the Alchemist package is the best way to edit Elixir code out there.

Other than being able to customize the various shortcuts, iTerm2 also lets you customize the colorscheme, font, transparency, etc.

iTerm has autocomplete features built in. It remembers your past commands and when you are writing something on the terminal, simply pressing Control-; it will show you a drop down menu of suggestions from which to choose.

Unlike most terminal emulators, iTerm2 comes with a pretty complete set of features. It has built-in search, autocompletion, tabbed navigation, Growl support and even a built-in clipboard manager for various API keys and such.

It's possible to choose a font and adjust vertical and horizontal spacing.

You can Ctrl+Click on a file path to open said file in a text editor.

Has support for mouse actions like clicking, dragging, selecting, etc.

Issues resolved fast by quality contributors.

iTerm2 is completely free and open source. It's released under the GPLv2 license.

Easy to split panes to either horizontal or vertical sections. Makes it easy to observe multiple console windows.

If an application has terminal integration, there is high probability it allows iTerm2 to be selected.

Wanna SSH your server from multiple tabs, here you go.

iTerm2 can store up to 4M of history of commands you already used. This, coupled with the built-in search features makes it possible to type a command only once and then search for it through the history for subsequent uses.

It's a perfect base to add Oh My Zsh on top of it and enjoy a lot of themes and a really pleasant look and feel.

The great mouse and clipboard support that are built-in go really well with tmux.

Using the Preferences Menu you can set up hotkeys to map virtually any action you can think of to a single key or a combination of them. This is extremely helpful as it allows you to use shortcuts to edit commands you are typing in the terminal and while most terminal emulators have shortcuts for this sort of thing, few of them let you define your own.

Many people say they use Kitty or Alacritty because they are GPU-rendered. That was true a long time ago. But iTerm2 has been GPU rendered for years now. It's so fast and smooth that you soon forget you are in a terminal.

It's super-clean and during use it gets completely out of the way, it's a beautiful canvas for your terminal work, a pure joy that never gets old.

Can be configured to work as a drop down terminal like Quake.

Very handy to use multi-tab.