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, Termux, Windows Terminal and Cmder.

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MSYS2 alternatives are mainly Terminal Emulators but may also be Shells or SSH Clients.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of MSYS2.
MSYS2 iconMSYS2
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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.

More about MSYS2
More about MSYS2
MSYS2 alternatives page was last updated Apr 30, 2022
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  1. PuTTY icon
    PuTTY icon

    PuTTY

     1418 likes
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    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.

    110 PuTTY alternatives
    PuTTY screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • ReactOS
    Tunnels interface
    PuTTY screenshot 2

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  SSH
    2.  Built-in SSH client
    3.  Telnet client
    4.  Host management
    5.  Graphical User Interface
    6.  Serial terminal
    7.  No registration required
    8.  Support for SFTP
    9.  Portable
    10.  Works Offline
    11.  Logging
    12.  Session Management
    13.  Tabbed interface
    14.  Xterm emulation
    15.  Download Accelerator
    PuTTY iconMSYS2 Icon

    PuTTY VS MSYS2

    Is PuTTY a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
    Comments about PuTTY as an Alternative to MSYS2
     
    nailor

    putty is ssh, while msys2 is a way to install loads of posix-related software on windows.

    Negative comment •Nov 17, 2017
    7
    Guest

    PuTTY is literally PART of MSYS2

    Negative comment •Jun 12, 2018
    3
    Guest

    Completely unrelated software

    Negative comment •Aug 10, 2018
    2
    MSYS2 Icon
    PuTTY icon

    • This alternative is disputed. PuTTY is a legitimate MSYS2 alternative, but it might have issues that some users think are important.

    • PuTTY is the most popular Windows & Linux alternative to MSYS2.

    • PuTTY is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to MSYS2.

    • PuTTY is Free and Open SourceMSYS2 is also Free and Open Source
    • PuTTY is LightweightMSYS2 is not according to our users
  2. ConEmu icon
    ConEmu icon

    ConEmu

     383 likes
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    Windows console emulator with tabs, which presents multiple consoles and simple GUI applications as one customizable GUI window with various features.

    56 ConEmu alternatives
    ConEmu screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    ConEmu screenshot 1
    Alpha transparency in ConEmu
    +2
    Windows 7 Jump list

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Tabbed interface
    2.  Shell integration
    3.  Quake-style
    4.  ANSI color support
    5.  Split-screen view
    6.  Multi-tabs
    7.  Portable
    8.  Multiple window layouts
    9.  Command line interface
    10.  Support environment variables
    11.  Remote Debugging
    12.  Kubernetes
    13.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    14.  Create SSH users
    ConEmu iconMSYS2 Icon

    ConEmu VS MSYS2

    Is ConEmu a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
  4. Termux icon
    Termux icon

    Termux

     93 likes
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    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.

    97 Termux alternatives
    htop running natively

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    • zsh
    • Bash

    Termux Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Support for scripting
    3.  Integrated into iOS
    4.  MD5 signature
    5.  No registration required
    6.  Ad-free
    Termux iconMSYS2 Icon

    Termux VS MSYS2

    Is Termux a good alternative to MSYS2?
     

    • Termux is the most popular Android & Android Tablet alternative to MSYS2.

    • Termux is Free and Open SourceMSYS2 is also Free and Open Source
  5. Windows Terminal icon
    Windows Terminal icon

    Windows Terminal

     76 likes
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    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...

    96 Windows Terminal alternatives
    White and dark theme showcase

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Windows Terminal screenshot 1
    Windows Terminal screenshot 2
    +3
    Windows Terminal screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Tabbed interface
    2.  Multiple shells
    3.  WSL integreation
    4.  Background transparency
    5.  Configured in JSON
    6.  Command line interface
    7.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    8.  Multiple window layouts
    9.  Multi-tabs
    10.  Emoji Text support
    11.  Support for scripting
    12.  Support for Themes
    13.  Dark Mode
    14.  Ad-free
    15.  SSH
    Windows Terminal iconMSYS2 Icon

    Windows Terminal VS MSYS2

    Is Windows Terminal a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
  6. Cmder icon
    Cmder icon

    Cmder

     236 likes
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    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...

    38 Cmder alternatives
    Cmder screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • clink
    • ConEmu
    • Windows Command Prompt
    • PowerShell
    Vim
    Split View

    Properties

    1.  Customizable
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  Tabbed interface
    2.  Command line/bash
    3.  Portable
    4.  Support for Themes
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  ANSI color support
    7.  No registration required
    8.  Autocompletion
    9.  Windows Explorer Extension
    10.  Command line interface
    11.  Built-in SSH client
    Cmder iconMSYS2 Icon

    Cmder VS MSYS2

    Is Cmder a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
    Comments about Cmder as an Alternative to MSYS2
     
    Guest

    cmder is only the frontend to prompt command

    Negative comment •Jul 20, 2020
    1
    MSYS2 Icon
    Cmder icon
    • Cmder is Free and Open SourceMSYS2 is also Free and Open Source
    • Cmder is Customizable and LightweightMSYS2 is not according to our users
  7. PowerShell icon
    PowerShell icon

    PowerShell

     187 likes
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    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.

    65 PowerShell alternatives
    PowerShell screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  Support for scripting
    2.  PowerShell Scripting
    3.  Optimized for Windows
    4.  Autocompletion
    PowerShell iconMSYS2 Icon

    PowerShell VS MSYS2

    Is PowerShell a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
    Comments about PowerShell as an Alternative to MSYS2
     
    Guest

    PowerShell doesn't provide all tools offered msys2+mingw.

    Negative comment •Jul 20, 2020
    1
    MSYS2 Icon
    PowerShell icon

    • PowerShell is the most popular Mac alternative to MSYS2.

    • PowerShell is Free and Open SourceMSYS2 is also Free and Open Source
  9. Cygwin icon
    Cygwin icon

    Cygwin

     223 likes
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    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.

    29 Cygwin alternatives
    Cygwin terminals running on Windows 7

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Cygwin Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Linux on Windows
    3.  SSH
    4.  POSIX-compatible
    5.  ANSI color support
    Cygwin iconMSYS2 Icon

    Cygwin VS MSYS2

    Is Cygwin a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
  10. MobaXterm icon
    MobaXterm icon

    MobaXterm

     217 likes
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    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.

    106 MobaXterm alternatives
    MobaXterm tabbed terminal

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Graphical SFTP browser
    Multi-execution
    +7
    Remote Unix desktop (XDMCP)

    Properties

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  X server
    2.  Support for SFTP
    3.  SSH
    4.  Tabbed interface
    5.  Embedded Xserver
    6.  Portable
    7.  RDP Functionality
    8.  Multiple Terminal
    9.  Support for Multiple protocols
    10.  Built-in File Manager
    11.  Windows Explorer Extension
    12.  Secure Copy (SCP)
    13.  Support for FTP
    MobaXterm iconMSYS2 Icon

    MobaXterm VS MSYS2

    Is MobaXterm a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
  11. Alacritty icon
    Alacritty icon

    Alacritty

     56 likes
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    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.

    76 Alacritty alternatives
    Alacritty screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Alacritty screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  GPU Support
    2.  No input delay
    3.  Portable
    4.  Command line interface
    5.  Support for scripting
    6.  Support for Themes
    Alacritty iconMSYS2 Icon

    Alacritty VS MSYS2

    Is Alacritty a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
  12. KiTTY icon
    KiTTY icon

    KiTTY

     183 likes
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    KiTTY is an opensource terminal emulator, forked from PuTTY , that adds many extra features to the original software.

    88 KiTTY alternatives
    transparency settings

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    send to tray

    Top KiTTY Features

    1.  SSH
    2.  Session Management
    3.  Portable
    4.  Auto-login
    5.  Ssh tunnel
    6.  Multiple Browser Tabs
    7.  Command line interface
    8.  VPS
    9.  Auto-saving
    10.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    11.  Built-in editor
    KiTTY iconMSYS2 Icon

    KiTTY VS MSYS2

    Is KiTTY a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
  13. MinGW icon
    MinGW icon

    MinGW

     127 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...

    27 MinGW alternatives
    Installation Manager

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD

    MinGW Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  C++
    3.  Cross Compiler
    4.  Native application compiler
    5.  C support
    6.  GNU/linux-libre
    MinGW iconMSYS2 Icon

    MinGW VS MSYS2

    Is MinGW a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
  14. BusyBox icon
    BusyBox icon

    BusyBox

     45 likes
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    BusyBox is a single binary that provides several stripped-down Unix tools in a single executable. It runs in a variety of POSIX environments such as Linux, Android, FreeBSD and others. It was specifically created for embedded operating systems with very limited resources.

    8 BusyBox alternatives
    BusyBox screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD

    BusyBox Features

    1.  Command line interface
    BusyBox iconMSYS2 Icon

    BusyBox VS MSYS2

    Is BusyBox a good alternative to MSYS2?
     
12 of 42 MSYS2 alternatives