The native terminal for macOS
The best terminal app for Mac, built for Apple Silicon.
A real macOS desktop app that runs your whole dev stack in one window — live output per service, a visual project switcher, and no Electron runtime to drain your MacBook's battery.
Projects, terminals, agents, a built-in browser — one click each
A recording of lpm booting a project and handing it to Claude Code — lpm is a macOS app, so the clickable demo runs on desktop.Click anything — it runs live in your browser.
lpm is a macOS app with a multi-pane terminal workspace. Open this page on your computer to try the interactive demo.
Get lpm for MacOr check your Macs from your iPhone
Done poking around? Get lpm for Mac and point it at your own projects.
Facts checked August 13, 2026 against iTerm2's official feature list and Warp's open-source announcement.
Why a Mac-focused terminal workspace feels different
lpm uses the macOS system webview instead of packaging an Electron runtime, with separate native builds for Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
No bundled Electron runtime
Hyper and Tabby package Electron with their apps. lpm uses the webview already provided by macOS, so its download does not include a separate Chromium runtime.
Terminal.app is general-purpose
Apple's built-in Terminal gives you a capable shell window. lpm adds the project sidebar, service controls, and live dashboard that a multi-service development stack needs.
iTerm2 manages sessions, not projects
iTerm2 offers tabs, profiles, and split panes. lpm adds project-aware service definitions, one-click stack controls, and live state for every repo in a visual sidebar.
A Mac-native terminal workspace, not another tab strip
Six reasons developers choose lpm as a terminal workspace for Mac.
Native Apple silicon and Intel builds
Ships separate native builds for Apple silicon and Intel Macs. No Rosetta on Apple silicon, no Electron, and no bundled Chromium runtime — the app uses the webview already provided by macOS.
Every service in one window
Watch your API, worker, database, and Next.js frontend stream live logs side by side in one native window. No more ten iTerm2 tabs guessing which one crashed.
Visual project switcher
Every project sits in a sidebar with live state. Click to jump to a running stack, or start a fresh one. No more cd ~/code/long/path, no more “which Terminal.app window was that?”.
One-command full-stack start
Define your services once, then start the entire stack with a single click. lpm can generate the config for you with AI the first time you open a project — Rails, Next.js, Go, Django, Flask, or Docker Compose.
Great git terminal on macOS
Pair lpm with your favorite shell — zsh, bash, or fish — and run every git workflow inside a pane that also shows your dev servers. Commit, push, and watch CI logs without leaving the window.
Dark mode, Finder-native feel
Respects the system theme, matches macOS window chrome, and opens folders straight in Finder. Feels like it was built on the Mac, because it was.
What changes when you stop fighting your terminal
Four outcomes you'll feel in the first hour.
Your app ships without a bundled browser runtime
lpm uses the webview already provided by macOS instead of packaging Electron and a separate Chromium runtime. Your terminals, services, and project controls still live in one desktop app.
Your stack boots in one click, not ten terminal commands
Open a project in the sidebar and hit Start. API, worker, database, frontend — all live, all visible, all in one native window.
Switching projects stops wiping your context
Jump to another repo and your first project keeps running in the background. Come back and it's still there — logs intact, servers up, terminal history preserved.
You stop losing services in a sea of tabs
Every running service has its own pane with a clear label. No guessing which iTerm2 tab has the migration running.
Workflows your terminal on Mac should actually make easy
Three everyday flows for Mac developers, reimagined around a native workspace.
Boot your full stack on a fresh MacBook in under a minute
Clone the repo, open the folder in lpm, and let AI generate the service config — Rails, Next.js, Go, Django, Flask, or Docker Compose. Hit Start and every service streams live output side by side — no Brewfile archaeology, no README spelunking.
Switch between client projects without losing state
Each project gets its own sidebar entry with live status. Pause the first while you jump to the second; both keep their servers, their terminal history, and their logs. When you switch back, nothing has to reboot.
Use your shell of choice alongside git and your services
lpm panes are real terminals — zsh, bash, or fish, with your dotfiles intact. Run git rebase -i in one pane, npm run dev in another, and rails console in a third, all in the same macOS window.
lpm vs iTerm2, Terminal.app, tmux, Hyper, and Warp
Every one of these renders text fast on Apple Silicon. These rows start with what the app itself costs and how it is built, then move to what it knows about the project you opened.
| Capability | lpm | iTerm2 | Terminal.app | tmux | Hyper | Warp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native Apple Silicon build, no Electron runtime | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Visual project switcher with live state | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Built-in project-aware full-stack start | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Built-in service definitions with live output | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| AI writes the project setup from your stack | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Claude Code and Codex side by side, each in its own copy | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Project setup you edit inside the app | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
lpm
- YesNative Apple Silicon build, no Electron runtime
- YesFree
- YesOpen source
- YesVisual project switcher with live state
- YesBuilt-in project-aware full-stack start
- YesBuilt-in service definitions with live output
- YesAI writes the project setup from your stack
- YesClaude Code and Codex side by side, each in its own copy
- YesProject setup you edit inside the app
iTerm2
- YesNative Apple Silicon build, no Electron runtime
- YesFree
- YesOpen source
- NoVisual project switcher with live state
- NoBuilt-in project-aware full-stack start
- NoBuilt-in service definitions with live output
- NoAI writes the project setup from your stack
- NoClaude Code and Codex side by side, each in its own copy
- NoProject setup you edit inside the app
Terminal.app
- YesNative Apple Silicon build, no Electron runtime
- YesFree
- NoOpen source
- NoVisual project switcher with live state
- NoBuilt-in project-aware full-stack start
- NoBuilt-in service definitions with live output
- NoAI writes the project setup from your stack
- NoClaude Code and Codex side by side, each in its own copy
- NoProject setup you edit inside the app
tmux
- YesNative Apple Silicon build, no Electron runtime
- YesFree
- YesOpen source
- NoVisual project switcher with live state
- NoBuilt-in project-aware full-stack start
- NoBuilt-in service definitions with live output
- NoAI writes the project setup from your stack
- NoClaude Code and Codex side by side, each in its own copy
- NoProject setup you edit inside the app
Hyper
- NoNative Apple Silicon build, no Electron runtime
- YesFree
- YesOpen source
- NoVisual project switcher with live state
- NoBuilt-in project-aware full-stack start
- NoBuilt-in service definitions with live output
- NoAI writes the project setup from your stack
- NoClaude Code and Codex side by side, each in its own copy
- NoProject setup you edit inside the app
Warp
- YesNative Apple Silicon build, no Electron runtime
- YesFree
- YesOpen source
- NoVisual project switcher with live state
- NoBuilt-in project-aware full-stack start
- NoBuilt-in service definitions with live output
- NoAI writes the project setup from your stack
- NoClaude Code and Codex side by side, each in its own copy
- NoProject setup you edit inside the app
What Mac developers ask before switching terminals
Does lpm run natively on Apple silicon Macs?
Yes. lpm provides separate native downloads for Apple silicon and Intel Macs, so the Apple silicon build does not require Rosetta. The app uses the macOS system webview rather than bundling Electron or Chromium.Is lpm a free terminal for Mac?
Yes. lpm is free to download from lpm.cx and the source is public on GitHub. There is no paid tier gating the terminal, the project switcher, or the dev stack features.Is lpm a good git terminal for Mac?
Yes, and the output looks the way you expect it to. Panes are real macOS terminal sessions with GPU-accelerated rendering, 256-color and 24-bit color escapes drawn as sent, and Unicode 11 character widths, so colored diffs, prompt themes, and full-screen tools like lazygit or tig render the way they do in iTerm2. URLs and file paths in the output are clickable. You run git in one pane and your dev servers in another, inside the same native window.Is lpm a good iTerm2 alternative on Mac?
If you picked iTerm2 for tabs and split panes, lpm gives you those plus a visual project sidebar, a one-click full-stack start, and live output per service. If you only need a raw terminal with no project awareness, iTerm2 is still a fine choice — lpm is the step up for developers juggling multiple services and projects. There is a side-by-side comparison of lpm and iTerm2 if you want the details.How do I download lpm for macOS?
Go to lpm.cx, download the .dmg, open it, and drag lpm to your Applications folder. The app supports macOS 12 and later on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. On first launch, point it at any project folder and lpm can generate its service config for you with AI.Is lpm a good terminal for beginners on Mac?
Yes. Beginners get a visual sidebar, one-click Start and Stop buttons, and an AI-generated service config for common frameworks like Rails, Next.js, Django, and Flask. You never have to memorize which command starts which server — lpm surfaces them as labelled buttons while still giving you a full macOS terminal underneath when you want one.
Keep reading
Mac terminal for developers
Run your whole stack — services, logs, and agents — in one native Mac app.
Git terminal for Mac
Branch, rebase, and ship while your dev servers stream in the same window.
Terminal with a project sidebar
What replaces the tab row: one persistent row per project, holding its terminals and running state.
lpm vs iTerm2
Side by side with the Mac terminal you already have open — including where iTerm2 still wins.
Download the best terminal for Mac.
Free, native, Apple Silicon ready.
Native builds for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Drag to Applications and you're in. Works on every Mac running macOS 12 or later.