What is Ghostty?
Ghostty is a fast, feature-rich, and cross-platform terminal emulator that uses platform-native UI and GPU acceleration. Created by Mitchell Hashimoto (founder of HashiCorp), Ghostty differentiates itself by providing speed, features, and native experience without forcing you to choose between them.
โก Key Features of Ghostty
๐ฎ GPU Acceleration
Uses OpenGL on Linux and Metal on macOS for hardware-accelerated rendering. Maintains 60fps under heavy load with superior performance.
๐ฅ๏ธ Native UI
True platform-native experience. SwiftUI on macOS, GTK on Linux. Real windowing, menu bars, and native settings panels.
๐ Standards Compliant
One of the most compliant terminal emulators available. Comprehensive xterm compatibility with modern terminal innovations.
๐ง Rich Features
Multi-window support, tabbing, splits, ligatures, and extensive customization options without sacrificing performance.
๐ Performance Benchmarks
- 4x faster than iTerm and Kitty for large text rendering
- 2x faster than Terminal.app for IO operations
- Competitive with Alacritty while offering much richer features
- 60fps rendering maintained under heavy load
- Low jitter IO with dedicated IO thread
apt upgrade keeps you on the latest version.
๐ฆ Installation from deb.griffo.io
Step 1: Add Repository
sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
sudo apt updateinstall -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
apt update๐ Free forever alternative. Ghostty is also in the always-free mirror at deb-free.griffo.io โ no account, no subscription, at most 2 months behind upstream, and security fixes published immediately. Add that repository instead of the one above:
sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb-free.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb-free.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb-free.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
sudo apt updateinstall -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb-free.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb-free.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb-free.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
apt updateStep 2: Install Ghostty
# Install latest Ghostty
sudo apt install ghostty
# Verify installation
ghostty --version# Install latest Ghostty
apt install ghostty
# Verify installation
ghostty --version๐ฏ Basic Usage Examples
Launch Ghostty:
# Start Ghostty terminal
ghostty
# Launch with specific configuration
ghostty --config-file ~/.config/ghostty/config
# Open new window
ghostty --new-windowConfiguration Example:
# Create config directory
mkdir -p ~/.config/ghostty
# Basic configuration (~/.config/ghostty/config)
font-family = "JetBrains Mono"
font-size = 12
theme = "dark"
window-padding-x = 10
window-padding-y = 10๐ Why Choose deb.griffo.io?
- โ Immediate Access: Get Ghostty 1.3.1+ right now, no waiting for official packaging
- โ Latest Features: Access newest performance improvements and features
- โ Automatic Updates: Packages updated within hours of upstream releases
- โ Proper Dependencies: Correctly packaged with GTK and graphics dependencies
- โ Multi-Distribution: Works on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, 25.10 and 26.04 LTS
- โ No Compilation: Pre-built binaries, no need to compile from source
๐ฆ Package Build Repository
The Ubuntu packages are automatically built and maintained in this GitHub repository:
- ๐ป ghostty-debian - Latest release builds
๐ Related Packages
Also available from deb.griffo.io:
- Zig Programming Language - Ghostty is written in Zig
- Yazi File Manager - Perfect companion for terminal workflows
- fzf Fuzzy Finder - Enhanced terminal navigation
๐ Support This Project
If this repository saves you time and effort, please consider supporting it!