MSYS2 AlternativesTerminal Emulators and other similar apps like MSYS2

MSYS2 is described as 'Independent rewrite of MSYS, based on modern Cygwin (POSIX compatibility layer) and MinGW-w64 with the aim of better interoperability with native Windows software' and is a terminal emulator in the development category. There are more than 25 alternatives to MSYS2 for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, BSD, Mac and Android apps. The best MSYS2 alternative is PuTTY, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like MSYS2 are ConEmu, Cmder, PowerShell and Windows Terminal.

MSYS2 alternatives are mainly Terminal Emulators but may also be Shells or SSH Clients. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of MSYS2.

MSYS2

Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator

MSYS2 is an independent rewrite of MSYS, based on modern Cygwin (POSIX compatibility layer) and MinGW-w64 with the aim of...

More about MSYS2

MSYS2 alternatives page was last updated

PuTTY
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
SSH Client
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
ReactOS
108 PuTTY alternatives
PuTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application. It supports several network protocols, including SCP, SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connection. It can also connect to a serial port.
- - PuTTY is the most popular Windows & Linux alternative to MSYS2.
- - PuTTY is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to MSYS2.
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PuTTY Features
1. LightweightPuTTY consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
SSH
Built-in SSH client
Telnet client
Host management
Graphical User Interface
Serial terminal
Support for SFTP
Logging
Session Management
Xterm emulation
Comments about PuTTY as a Alternative to MSYS2
This alternative is disputed. PuTTY is still a legitimate MSYS2 alternative, but it might have issues that some users think are important.
nailor
putty is ssh, while msys2 is a way to install loads of posix-related software on windows.
Negative comment •
6

Guest
PuTTY is literally PART of MSYS2
Negative comment •
2

Guest
Completely unrelated software
Negative comment •
1
ConEmu
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Windows
52 ConEmu alternatives
Windows console emulator with tabs, which presents multiple consoles and simple GUI applications as one customizable GUI window with various features.
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ConEmu Features
1. PortableConEmu can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. Command line interfaceConEmu either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Tabbed interface
Shell integration
Quake-style
ANSI color support
Customizable
Split-screen view
Multi-tabs
Multiple window layouts
Remote Debugging
Kubernetes
Cmder
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Windows
clink
ConEmu
Windows Command Prompt
PowerShell
37 Cmder alternatives
Cmder is an open-source replacement for the Windows command-line. It relies on ConEmu , extending it with the power of clink and some great looking defaults including a Monokai color scheme and custom prompt...
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Cmder Features
1. LightweightCmder consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. PortableCmder can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Support for ThemesYou can use themes and templates to change the look and feel of Cmder.
4. Windows Explorer ExtensionCmder can extend Windows Explorer in various ways, for example add context menu options, etc..
5. Command line interfaceCmder either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
6. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsCmder can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
Customizable
Command line/bash
Tabbed interface
ANSI color support
Built-in SSH client
Comments about Cmder as a Alternative to MSYS2
pros, cons and recent comments
Guest
cmder is only the frontend to prompt command
Negative comment •
1
PowerShell
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Shell
Mac
Windows
Linux
61 PowerShell alternatives
PowerShell (including Windows PowerShell and PowerShell Core) is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language built on the .NET Framework.
- - PowerShell is the most popular Mac alternative to MSYS2.
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PowerShell Features
1. Support for scriptingPowerShell supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
2. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsPowerShell can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
PowerShell Scripting
Optimized for Windows
Comments about PowerShell as a Alternative to MSYS2
pros, cons and recent comments
Guest
PowerShell doesn't provide all tools offered msys2+mingw.
Negative comment •
1
Windows Terminal
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Windows
91 Windows Terminal alternatives
Windows Terminal is a new, modern, feature-rich, productive terminal application for command-line users. It includes many of the features most frequently requested by the Windows command-line community including support for tabs, rich text, globalization, configurability...
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Windows Terminal Features
1. Command line interfaceWindows Terminal either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
2. Support for scriptingWindows Terminal supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
3. Support for ThemesYou can use themes and templates to change the look and feel of Windows Terminal.
4. Dark ModeWindows Terminal supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
Tabbed interface
Multiple shells
WSL integreation
Background transparency
Configured in JSON
Customizable
Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
Multiple window layouts
Emoji Text support
Multi-tabs
MobaXterm
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
Terminal Emulator
SSH Client
Windows
100 MobaXterm alternatives
MobaXterm is an enhanced terminal app that brings the advanced features of a Unix-like command-line to Windows. It takes the power of Cygwin and wraps it in a sleek, visual interface that's super easy to use, lightweight and portable.
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MobaXterm Features
1. PortableMobaXterm can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsMobaXterm can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
3. Windows Explorer ExtensionMobaXterm can extend Windows Explorer in various ways, for example add context menu options, etc..
Support for SFTP
SSH
X server
Tabbed interface
Embedded Xserver
RDP Functionality
Multiple Terminal
Support for Multiple protocols
Built-in SSH client
Built-in File Manager
Termux
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Shell
Android
Android Tablet
F-Droid
zsh
Bash
91 Termux alternatives
Ready to go. Termux works directly with no rooting or setup required. At first start a minimal base system is installed automatically - you decide what to do next.
- - Termux is the most popular Android & Android Tablet alternative to MSYS2.
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Termux Features
1. Support for scriptingTermux supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
2. Command line interfaceTermux either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
MD5 signature
Integrated into iOS
KiTTY
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
SSH Client
Windows
85 KiTTY alternatives
KiTTY is an opensource terminal emulator, forked from PuTTY , that adds many extra features to the original software.
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KiTTY Features
1. PortableKiTTY can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. Command line interfaceKiTTY either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
SSH
Session Management
Auto-login
Ssh tunnel
Multiple Browser Tabs
VPS
Auto-saving
Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
Built-in editor
Cygwin
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Shell
Windows
31 Cygwin alternatives
Cygwin is a 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.
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Cygwin Features
1. Command line interfaceCygwin either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Linux on Windows
SSH
POSIX-compatible
ANSI color support
Runtime environment
Alacritty
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
72 Alacritty alternatives
Alacritty is a blazing fast, GPU accelerated terminal emulator. It’s written in Rust and uses OpenGL for rendering to be the fastest terminal emulator available. Alacritty is available on GitHub in source form.
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Alacritty Features
1. LightweightAlacritty consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Command line interfaceAlacritty either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
3. Support for scriptingAlacritty supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
4. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsAlacritty can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
5. PortableAlacritty can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
6. Support for ThemesYou can use themes and templates to change the look and feel of Alacritty.
GPU Support
Optimal performance
No input delay
MinGW
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Windows
Linux
BSD
24 MinGW alternatives
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...
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MinGW Features
1. PortableMinGW can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
C++
Cross Compiler
C support
GNU/linux-libre
Native application compiler
Windows Subsystem for Linux
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Compatibility Layer Tool
Virtualization Tool
Windows
24 Windows Subsystem for Linux alternatives
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, alongside your traditional Windows desktop and modern store apps.
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Windows Subsystem for Linux Features
1. Command line interfaceWindows Subsystem for Linux either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
2. LightweightWindows Subsystem for Linux consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Linux on Windows