# Kermit

15 Hacker News commenters recommended Kermit and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Long-running free file transfer protocol, praised for reliable transfers over poor connections and wide portability. Critics note weak defaults and a hard-to-learn ecosystem.

## Why people recommend it

- Faster than ZModem in places (2 comments): "Kermit gained support for 4K and 9K jumbo frames, sliding windows, etc., and was generally faster than ZModem" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49160454)) "every bit as fast as Zmodem" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49163707))
- Gets files through difficult connections (2 comments): "its reputation for being able to handle difficult connections. It got the file through on its first try." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49160249)) "Kermit came to the rescue" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49162493))
- Portable across many systems (2 comments): "such a treasure trove of software for obscure systems" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49163227)) "Kermit was an extraordinary monument to portability" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49160687))
- Still maintained with new releases (2 comments): "The first new Kermit release for Windows in TWENTY-TWO YEARS" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47637078)) "I'm amazed to see that Kermit is still alive and kicking." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49159919))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [ShadowCat](https://hackerapproved.com/p/shadowcat.md): 11 recommend
- [Zmodem](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zmodem.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Kermit", https://hackerapproved.com/p/c-kermit/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).