Productivity For Programmers #1: iTerm 2

Hi everyone, this is Robert with Productivity for Programmers and today I’m going to tell you about iTerm2.

iTerm 2 is a terminal replacement for the Mac that offers several features that make the built-in terminal obsolete.

Let’s dive right in. The first thing I’ll show you how to do is split your workspace into several panes. By pressing Cmd + D I can turn my screen into two separate components that will allow me to, for example, have different areas for writing code and writing the accompanying tests. By hitting Cmd + Shift + D, I can also make a horizontal split.

In a future video, we will cover vim and tmux, which both have good replacements for this kind of screen splitting, but for now this is a simple way to maximize how much is on the screen.

The next trick is autocompletion. If you have typed some long command and need to rewrite a word, like a filename, you can type Cmd + ; and see a list of suggested completions.

A very similar idea is Cmd + Shift + H, which gives you the option to choose text from your 20 latests copies.

This takes us right into one of the most seemingly trivial but as you’ll see incredibly time saving features. Since most of the time, highlighting text implies you will want to copy it into your clipboard, iTerm 2 makes this the default behavior. Here, I’ve copied some text just by highlighting it with my mouse without needing to press Cmd + C.

Sometimes, you will need to paste not contiguous text, but a rectangular block, like an excerpt from a console in your favorite programming language. In this case, hold Alt + Cmd and drag your mouse. Again, the selection will automatically be copied to your clipboard.

If you’ve just taken a break for lunch and have several window splits open, it can be easy to lose track of your cursor. The simple Cmd + / will show you a quick highlight of your cursor.

The final trick I’ll show you is the magical Cmd + Alt + B. On the bottom you’ll see a timeline opened up. This allows me to scroll back in time if there are things I once had on the screen that I need but can no longer access, for example, if you time out of a remote SSH session. You can even copy parts of the screen as if they were still present.

At this point, you’re probably wondering how to install iTerm 2. Visit iterm2.com and you’ll see a Downloads section. There’s also a helpful list of features and full documentation.

I hope you enjoyed this video about iTerm 2, I’m Robert with Productivity for Programmers and I’ll see you again soon.