Cygwin Alternatives

Cygwin is described as 'Unix-like environment and command-line interface for Microsoft Windows. Cygwin provides native integration of Windows-based applications, data, and other system resources with applications, software tools, and data of the Unix-like environment' and is a very popular app in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Cygwin for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD and Android apps. The best Cygwin alternative is Windows Subsystem for Linux, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Cygwin are MSYS2, MinGW, WindTerm and BusyBox.

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Cygwin alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a new Windows 10 feature that enables you to run native Linux command-line tools directly on Windows.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
    • Windows Subsystem for Linux is the most popular Windows alternative to Cygwin.

    • Windows Subsystem for Linux is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Cygwin.

    • Windows Subsystem for Linux is Free and Open SourceCygwin is also Free and Open Source
    • Windows Subsystem for Linux is LightweightCygwin is not according to our users
  2. MSYS2 icon
     47 likes
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    MSYS2 is an independent rewrite of MSYS, based on modern Cygwin (POSIX compatibility layer) and MinGW-w64 with the aim of better interoperability with native Windows software.

    18 MSYS2 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    3
    10
    Comments about MSYS2 as an Alternative to Cygwin
    Guest
    Positive
    2

    Forked from Cygwin with a nice package manager

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    2

    It's fundamentally the same thing

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Because it's based on MSYS (which is based on modern CygWin and MinGW-w64), also it has a nice package manager.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Cygwin Icon
    MSYS2 icon
    • Almost everyone thinks MSYS2 is a great Cygwin alternative.

    • MSYS2 is Free and Open SourceCygwin is also Free and Open Source
  3. MinGW icon
     128 likes
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    MinGW ("Minimalistic GNU for Windows") is a port of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and GNU Binutils. It provides a complete Open Source programming toolset which is suitable for the development of native MS-Windows (x86) applications, which do not depend on any...

    22 MinGW alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
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    1
    6
    Comments about MinGW as an Alternative to Cygwin
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    more integrated with Windows

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Cygwin Icon
    MinGW icon
    • Almost everyone thinks MinGW is a great Cygwin alternative.

    • MinGW is the most popular Linux alternative to Cygwin.

    • MinGW is Free and Open SourceCygwin is also Free and Open Source
  4. WindTerm icon
     21 likes
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    A professional SSH/Telnet/Serial/Shell/Sftp client for DevOps.

    63 WindTerm alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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    1
    Comments about WindTerm as an Alternative to Cygwin
    Nuncio Bitis
    Negative
    0

    WindTerm is a terminal. Cygwin is a Linux environment for Windows.

    Cygwin Icon
    WindTerm icon
    • WindTerm is the most popular Mac alternative to Cygwin.

    • WindTerm is Free and Open SourceCygwin is also Free and Open Source
    • WindTerm is LightweightCygwin is not according to our users
  5. BusyBox icon
     45 likes
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    Single compact binary offering essential Unix utilities for embedded, rescue, and custom Linux builds, supporting Android, FreeBSD, and devices with limited memory and storage. Includes networking, shell, and file handling tools for streamlined deployment.

    9 BusyBox alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • FreeBSD
    • Android Tablet
     
    • BusyBox is the most popular Android & Android Tablet alternative to Cygwin.

    • BusyBox is Free and Open SourceCygwin is also Free and Open Source
  6. Babun icon
     20 likes
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    Would you like to use a linux-like console on a Windows host without a lot of fuzz? Try out babun!

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Git
    • Cygwin
    • zsh
     
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    1
    8
    Comments about Babun as an Alternative to Cygwin
    yphastos
    Positive
    1

    Much easier setup than Cygwin, with most of what you'll need.

    Cygwin Icon
    Babun icon
    • Most users think Babun is a great Cygwin alternative.

    • Babun is Free and Open SourceCygwin is also Free and Open Source
  7. MinC icon
     1 like
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    MinC has a tiny kernel emulation (285Kb) which runs on Windows. The rest of the software was taken verbatim from OpenBSD, version 6.1. This means that by installing MinC, you run OpenBSD on your Windows machine at native speed.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  8.  2 likes
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    MSYS is a collection of GNU utilities such as bash, make, gawk and grep to allow building of applications and programs which depend on traditionally UNIX tools to be present.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  9. Termux Monet icon
     1 like
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    A terminal emulator application for Android 8+ OS extendible by variety of packages, with Monet support and experimental features.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Android
     
  10.  28 likes
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    Gow (Gnu On Windows) is the lightweight alternative to Cygwin. It uses a convenient Windows installer that installs about 130 extremely useful

    24 gow alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  11. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Cooperative Linux (short-named coLinux) is the first working free and open source method for optimally running Linux on Microsoft Windows natively.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  12. TCC/LE icon
     16 likes
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    TCC/LE is a complete CMD replacement, and is compatible with your existing Windows command prompt and CMD batch files, while adding thousands of new features.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
12 of 28 Cygwin alternatives