# xterm.js 5 Hacker News commenters recommended xterm.js and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Recommended as a cross-platform web terminal emulator, used in the VS Code terminal, with no performance limits reported. Critics cite problems with large terminals and long scrollbacks. ## Why people recommend it - No performance limits in heavy sessions (2 comments): "I haven't seen any performance issues for Claude Code, even when I'm running like 20 in one browser tab" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48098042)) "I just have never hit a performance limit in the VS Code terminal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50269366)) - Good cross-platform terminal emulator (1 comments): "it's a very good cross-platform terminal emulator" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45804076)) - Wanted as standalone terminal component (1 comments): "I think that bare Xterm.js would be a nice addition to the list" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45802597)) ## What people warn about - Breaks with large terminals and scrollbacks (2 comments): "which can't handle when the terminals get large/too big" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46424565)) "xterm.js has tons of issues with long scrollbacks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47451645)) - Mobile copy/paste and Chrome issues (2 comments): "It seems like a big problem that xtermjs has is iOS copy/paste, so I fixed that today" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48327925)) "The terminal the game uses have some known issues on Chrome/Android" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46727687)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Ghostty](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ghostty.md): 401 recommend - [Termux](https://hackerapproved.com/p/termux.md): 188 recommend - [iTerm2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iterm2.md): 95 recommend - [Warp terminal](https://hackerapproved.com/p/warp-terminal.md): 84 recommend - [Kitty terminal emulator](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kitty.md): 79 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "xterm.js", https://hackerapproved.com/p/xterm-js/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).