Windows Terminal is excellent at what it does. Yaw extends what a terminal can be.
Windows Terminal is Microsoft's modern terminal app. It is free, open-source, fast, and ships with Windows 11. For many developers, it is the default and it works well. So when does it make sense to switch?
The short answer: when you need your terminal to do more than run shells.
| Feature | Yaw | Windows Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows only |
| Tabs | Yes | Yes |
| Split panes | Yes | Yes |
| SSH connection manager | Built-in | No |
| Database connections | 6 types built-in | No |
| AI assistant | 9 providers (BYOK) | No |
| Command palette | Yes | Yes |
| Broadcast mode | Yes | No |
| Built-in file editor | Yes | No |
| Git Change Search | Yes | No |
| Rendering | WebGL | DirectX GPU |
| Configuration | GUI settings | JSON file |
Windows Terminal is a solid, no-nonsense terminal. It supports multiple shell profiles (PowerShell, CMD, WSL, Git Bash), has tabs and split panes, renders with DirectX for smooth performance, and is deeply integrated with Windows. It is fast, reliable, and familiar.
For developers who just need a terminal to run commands, Windows Terminal is hard to argue against. It is already on your machine and it does its job.
Windows Terminal does not manage SSH connections. You type ssh user@host manually or maintain an SSH config file. Yaw has a built-in connection manager where you save, organize, and tag connections. Open a connection from the command palette or the connection list. Credentials are encrypted with AES-256-GCM and stored locally.
Need to check a table in PostgreSQL or run a quick query against MySQL? With Windows Terminal, you install a CLI client or open a separate database app. Yaw connects to PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, and Redis directly. No extra tools needed.
Yaw has an AI assistant that can see your terminal output. Ask it to explain an error, suggest a command, or help debug. It supports 9 providers including Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and local models through Ollama. Bring your own API key — nothing is proxied.
Type a command once and execute it across all open panes simultaneously. Useful when you need to run the same update or check across multiple servers.
If you work on both Windows and macOS (or Linux), yaw gives you the same terminal experience everywhere. Windows Terminal is Windows-only.
Windows Terminal renders with DirectX and is very fast. Yaw uses WebGL through xterm.js, which is slightly slower in raw rendering benchmarks but fast enough for everyday use. If you are tailing logs at thousands of lines per second, Windows Terminal will handle it more smoothly. For normal development work, you will not notice a difference.
Stick with Windows Terminal if you want a fast, minimal terminal that stays out of your way. You do not manage many SSH connections or databases, and you do not need an AI assistant.
Switch to yaw if you manage servers and databases as part of your work, want a built-in file editor and AI integrated into your terminal, or work across Windows and macOS. Yaw replaces your terminal, SSH client, and database GUI with one app.
Try yaw on Windows
Free, no account required. Install from PowerShell:
irm https://yaw.sh/install-win.ps1 | iex