Skip to content
All comparisons
lpm vs iTerm2

An iTerm2 alternative that manages projects, not just panes.

iTerm2 is the terminal emulator most Mac developers already have open, and it is very good at that job. lpm sits a layer above: it starts and stops your whole stack, shows live status per service, and duplicates a project when a second agent needs its own checkout. Honest side-by-side, including the rows where iTerm2 wins.

Download for macOS (Apple Silicon)Intel Mac? Get the x86-64 build
Developer ID signed · Notarized by AppleSafety, checksums & removal
View on GitHub
How it compares

iTerm2 and lpm, feature by feature

These tools overlap less than the search results suggest. Rows where iTerm2 wins are called out plainly — it is the better emulator, and lpm does not pretend otherwise.

  • Primary object
    lpm
    Project (services + agents)
    iTerm2
    Terminal window (tabs + split panes)
  • Per-project config
    lpm
    small file you can edit and commit
    iTerm2
    Profiles in app settings
  • Auto-detect stack on init
    lpm
    Yes
    iTerm2
    No
  • Start, stop, restart services
    lpm
    Yes
    iTerm2
    you run each command yourself
  • Live status per service on the tab
    lpm
    Yes
    iTerm2
    No
  • Run a subset of services (profiles)
    lpm
    Yes
    iTerm2
    profiles set the shell and appearance, not service sets
  • One-shot tasks (lint, migrate, seed)
    lpm
    buttons in the project
    iTerm2
    shell history and aliases
  • Duplicate a project for a parallel agent
    lpm
    worktrees or standalone copies, in a batch
    iTerm2
    No
  • Pre-built agent hooks (Claude Code, Codex, …)
    lpm
    Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode
    iTerm2
    No
  • Embedded browser
    lpm
    tabs beside terminals
    iTerm2
    No
  • Native SSH workspaces
    lpm
    remote projects + port forwarding
    iTerm2
    ssh in a shell, with shell integration
  • tmux control mode integration
    lpm
    No
    iTerm2
    Yes
  • Triggers, smart selection, scripting API
    lpm
    No
    iTerm2
    Yes
  • Years of terminal-emulator polish
    lpm
    terminal built for running services and agents
    iTerm2
    Yes
  • License
    lpm
    Open source, free
    iTerm2
    Open source, free
  • Platforms
    lpm
    macOS
    iTerm2
    macOS
Honest take

When each one is the right tool

Both are free, open source, and macOS-only. The split is whether your bottleneck is the terminal itself or everything you have to start inside it.

Pick lpm

Your friction is starting, stopping, and switching whole projects — not the emulator.

  • You start several services every morning and want one click instead of six tabs.
  • You want lpm to read your repo and generate a working config rather than writing one by hand.
  • You run AI coding agents and want a second checkout with its own ports, created as a worktree or a copy.
  • You want a crashed service to be visible on its tab instead of buried in scrollback.
  • You bounce between projects and want a visual switcher that remembers what each one runs.
Pick iTerm2

You want the most capable terminal emulator on macOS, and you want to configure it deeply.

  • You rely on triggers, smart selection, or the scripting API.
  • You drive tmux through control mode and want it rendered natively.
  • Your work is one repo with one or two processes, so project juggling isn't the bottleneck.
  • You have years of muscle memory in your iTerm2 setup and no reason to move it.
See it in action

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.

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
FAQ

lpm vs iTerm2 — the honest FAQ

  • Is lpm a replacement for iTerm2?
    For most people, no — and it doesn't need to be. iTerm2 is a terminal emulator; lpm is a project manager that happens to have a terminal inside it. If what you want is a better emulator — triggers, smart selection, tmux control mode, the Python API — iTerm2 is the more capable tool and lpm will not match it. If what you want is to stop hand-starting six services every morning, that is the gap lpm fills.
  • Can I keep using iTerm2 alongside lpm?
    Yes, and plenty of people do. Let lpm own the project layer — which project is active, what services are running, duplicating a checkout for a second agent — and keep iTerm2 as the terminal you reach for when you want a scratch shell. They don't conflict: lpm starts and stops ordinary native processes, exactly as you would by hand.
  • What does lpm do that iTerm2 can't?
    Three things, all above the terminal layer. It reads your repo and generates a working config, so starting the whole stack is one click instead of six tabs. It shows live status per service on each tab, so a crashed worker is visible without hunting for it. And it can duplicate a project — as a linked Git worktree or a standalone copy — so a second agent gets its own checkout and its own ports instead of fighting the first one.
  • I only ever work on one repo. Is lpm worth it?
    Honestly, the gains are smaller. lpm's value scales with how many services you start and how often you switch context. On a single repo with one process, iTerm2 plus a shell alias is a perfectly good setup and you should keep it. The moment you add a second agent working in parallel, or a stack of four services with a database, the project layer starts paying for itself.
  • Is lpm free like iTerm2?
    Yes. lpm is free and open source with no paid tier and no commercial license to buy, the same as iTerm2. The source is on GitHub if you want to read it before installing.

Keep reading

Best terminal for Mac

What a native macOS terminal looks like when it also runs your whole dev stack.

Best terminal for Claude Code & Codex

Run AI coding agents next to your services with status on every tab.

Keep iTerm2. Add the project layer.

lpm is free, macOS-native, and starts ordinary processes the same way you would by hand. Install it next to your current setup and see whether the project layer earns its place.

Download for macOS (Apple Silicon)Intel Mac? Get the x86-64 build
Developer ID signed · Notarized by AppleSafety, checksums & removal
View on GitHub