As iOS developers, we don’t use the terminal that much so when we use it we don’t expect a lot from the classic one (terminal.app)

That was my case as well until I started using it a lot more cause of my University classes and also working on open source projects like Cocoapods. I knew that I needed a better option, but I didn’t know where to start and that’s why I write this piece. It includes my thoughts on the new terminal setup & a tutorial on how to get started and customize yours.

Another reason that made me want to change my terminal was a screenshot of @mennenia’s terminal. I really enjoyed her setup and the colors of the themes.

Download iTerm 2

Before customizing the terminal we need to download a better alternative from the classic one. Many developers prefer iTerm2. It has a lot of advantages and you can download ithere

Setting up the Hotkey

For easy access to the terminal, you need to set up a hotkey for it. This is one of the reasons I love iTerm2.

1. Go to Preferences (CMD+) and to the “keys” tab
2. Click on the “Show/Hide iTerm2 with a system-wide hotkey”
3. Choose the key that you prefer (I use alt+space)
4. Another thing you can do is change the opacity of the background (I prefer the opacity at 100%)

Try it!

Fish

Working on different projects at my University I need my shell to do a ton more than it actually does right. Searching the internet and asking a couple of developers I found Fish.

Fish suggests things/ previous commands as you type. Also, you can autocomplete using the right arrow.

I highly suggest downloading Fish using homebrewbrew install Fish. If you don’t have homebrew I recommend you download it and learn more about it. If you don’t like it you can find more installation info about Fishhere.

Customized Themes

Last but not least I wanted a new terminal setup because my previous one was not so pretty haha.

Fish has an “oh my” version which allows for easy theming. Check it out here
First I followed Maxim’s setup and I chose the agnoster theme. Because it helped me read better the lines and I was impressed by the customization.

Another thing you can do is to download iTerm2 Profiles and themes fromhere. I decided to go for the n0tch2k because I like that it has some bright pastel colors.

After a couple of months using the n0tch2k theme, I decided to make thetoothpaste theme made by Cat Noone available to iTerm2. I already using it on Xcode and I was super impressed.

Fonts

Now that you’re done with the theming of your terminal, it’s time to pick a “powerline” font that you like. I followed Maxim’s advice and I went for the HACK font. You can find and download all the fonts fromhere

Conclusion

It was so fun writing this post and sharing my process behind how I changed the terminal and how it helped me learn more about Fish among other things.

Enjoy what you read? Spread the love by liking and sharing this piece. Have thoughts or questions? Reach out to me onTwitter or in the comments below. This post was originally published onMedium.