Ratty
Ranked 14 of 40 terminal emulators by recommenders
Free terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics, liked for its retro look and novelty beyond plain text. Critics doubt its practical uses and find the interaction awkward.
Free terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics, liked for its retro look and novelty beyond plain text. Critics doubt its practical uses and find the interaction awkward.
44 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 31
- criticize it
- 13
- approval share
- 70%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 31 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Retro, brutalist visual design
“I'm not sure why I'd use it, but I enjoyed the visual and loved the brutalist design of the website”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “It's like someone crossed an 80s Silicon Graphics workstation with a Vic-20.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “Brilliant. The dream lives on! This is the best form of paying respects.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” - Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics”
- Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics”
Long-awaited idea finally realized
“I have been waiting for a proper implementation of this since forever.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “one truly noble project emerges”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “i have been waiting for this.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” Fun to use
“You had me at spinning rat cursor”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “Damn this was really fun to use.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” Conveys more information in less space
“I like this. No reason the terminal should only support text.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “It's the ability to convey more information in less space.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Few practical use cases
“I'm struggling to see many use cases here other than 3d graphs. I really don't need a spinning 3d rat cursor.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “Can anyone explain why this is novel? It seems pretty basic?”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “It's a solution in search of a problem.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” Gimmicky and indulgent visuals
“Emojis in a terminal are a step too far for me. This is just... Indulgent.”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “no Rust needed, no 3D crap”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” Heavy on battery and resources
“Another terminal to murder your battery life”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “Friggin waste of resources”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” Awkward interaction and tab layout
“The 'tab' layout is pretty atrocious even as a one-shot run through of fitting most of the control areas”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics” “Interaction is absolutely not ideal.”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Ratty – A terminal emulator with inline 3D graphics”
Other terminal emulators people recommend
The four most recommended other terminal emulators, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghostty | 401 | 158 | 72% | 12 | 3 mo22 owners | Approved |
| Termux | 188 | 31 | 86% | 12 | 1 yr6 owners | Approved |
| iTerm2 | 95 | 69 | 58% | 12 | 10 yrs4 owners | — |
| Warp terminal | 84 | 86 | 49% | 11 | 1 yr5 owners | — |
| RattyThis page | 31 | 13 | 70% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
32 of the 46 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it shows that there are no performance issues this way”
“The 'tab' layout is pretty atrocious even as a one-shot run through of fitting most of the control areas”
“Interaction is absolutely not ideal.”
“it is the fantastic tool!”
“I'm not sure why I'd use it, but I enjoyed the visual and loved the brutalist design of the website”
“It's like someone crossed an 80s Silicon Graphics workstation with a Vic-20.”
“I have been waiting for a proper implementation of this since forever.”
“It's a solution in search of a problem.”
“This is so cool I'm sad I can't think of any use case for me”
“Outdated 80s UI paradigm: +100 points.”
“The actual important missing thing (and which ratty seems to also not include) is vsync.”
“visually pleasing to the eye”
“Friggin waste of resources”
“Then spend their tokens on abominations like this”
“It's the ability to convey more information in less space.”
“Another terminal to murder your battery life”
“Damn this was really fun to use.”
“i have been waiting for this.”
“one truly noble project emerges”
“You had me at spinning rat cursor”
“I think this could be a really cool approach.”
“Brilliant. The dream lives on! This is the best form of paying respects.”
“Can anyone explain why this is novel? It seems pretty basic?”
“We are one step closer to the terminal in the movie Hackers, and I am all for it.”
“no Rust needed, no 3D crap”
“I like this. No reason the terminal should only support text.”
“Checking 3d models in a directory inside my terminal to see what's what without opening an application and clicking 100 times.”
“I'm struggling to see many use cases here other than 3d graphs. I really don't need a spinning 3d rat cursor.”
“Emojis in a terminal are a step too far for me. This is just... Indulgent.”
“You actually made a compelling argument to put rust on my machine”
“this project just looks cool”
“It's one of those should be nonsense projects that somehow isn't.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.