From iTerm2

How do I switch from iTerm2 to Mel? Install Mel and open it: it runs your login shell with your ~/.zshrc (or ~/.bashrc), so your aliases, prompt, PATH and history work on day one. Mel doesn't import iTerm2's settings, so set the few things below by hand. Most take a minute.

Steps

1. Install Mel from the download page and open it. See Installation.
2. Check your shell. Mel uses your login shell ($SHELL) and loads the environment your startup files set, even when you open it from the Dock. Type echo $SHELL to see which one.
3. Pick a theme. iTerm2 colour presets don't carry over. Open Settings ▸ Appearance and pick one of Mel's eight themes, or follow the system's dark and light mode. Your programs' own colours are shown exactly as they print them.
4. Set the text size. Settings ▸ Appearance ▸ Font size for terminal text, and Zoom for the whole window. Mel uses its own monospace font.
5. Set the cursor. Settings ▸ Appearance ▸ Text cursor: bar, block or underline, blinking or not.
6. Rebuild your profiles as tab configs. An iTerm2 profile that opens in a folder and runs a command becomes a Mel tab config: a small .toml file that opens a tab with its panes, folders and start-up commands.
7. Check your keys. Most iTerm2 keys you use are the same in Mel. Change any in Settings ▸ Keyboard shortcuts.
8. Right-click paste. If you had iTerm2 paste on right-click, turn on Settings ▸ Features ▸ Right-click pastes.

iTerm2 keys in Mel

The rest are in Keyboard shortcuts.

What's different

• Blocks instead of one long scroll. Each command and its output is a block you can select, copy, filter and bookmark.
• The input stays at the bottom, with multi-line editing and ghost autocomplete from your history. See Input & prompt.
• Clickable paths. ⌘-click a path in the output to open it. See Files & links.
• An agent one key away. Press ⌘Enter to ask Mel's agent about what's in front of you. It can read your code, edit files and run commands, and asks before it changes anything. See Agent overview.
• Full-screen programs such as vim, htop, tmux, less and ssh get a real terminal.

What doesn't carry over

Mel has no settings importer, so these stay in iTerm2: colour presets, profiles, triggers, and key mappings you set there. Your shell config is untouched, so everything set in your dotfiles keeps working.

FAQ

Is Mel a good iTerm2 alternative for AI coding? Mel is a full terminal with an AI agent built in. You keep your shell and dotfiles, and gain blocks and an agent that works in your folder.

Can I keep using iTerm2 too? Yes. Mel runs the same shell with the same config, so both work side by side.

Does Mel work with tmux? Yes. tmux opens as a full-screen session in a Mel pane.

How do I migrate from iTerm2 to an agentic terminal without losing my setup? Your shell, aliases and history come along by themselves. Set the theme, text size and any custom keys in Mel's settings, and turn profiles into tab configs.