In the previous article, we talked about Ghostty, a modern and lightweight terminal emulator. Now, let’s dive into how to customize it and make it your own, tweaking fonts, colors, transparency, and other settings to enhance your experience.

1. Installing Ghostty

Before we start customizing, let’s make sure Ghostty is installed on your system.

On macOS (via Homebrew)

If you’re on a Mac, the easiest way to install Ghostty is through Homebrew:

brew install ghostty

On Linux

Installation varies by distribution. Here are some common methods:

• Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install ghostty

• Fedora:

sudo dnf install ghostty

• Arch Linux (AUR):

yay -S ghostty

If your distro doesn’t have a pre-built package, check Ghostty’s official website for instructions on compiling from source.

2. Accessing the Configuration File

All Ghostty customizations are done in the configuration file located at:

~/.config/ghostty/config.toml

If the file doesn’t exist, create it manually:

touch ~/.config/ghostty/config.toml

3. Customizing Fonts

To set your terminal font, edit config.toml and add:

[font]
family = "FiraCode Nerd Font"
size = 12

If you want to experiment with other fonts, install a Nerd Font collection:

brew install --cask font-hack-nerd-font  # macOS

wget https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases/latest/download/FiraCode.zip
unzip FiraCode.zip -d ~/.local/share/fonts
fc-cache -fv

4. Changing Colors and Transparency

For a more personalized look, tweak your colors in config.toml:

[colors]
background = "#1e1e2e"
foreground = "#cdd6f4"
cursor = "#f38ba8"

[opacity]
background = 0.85  # Slightly transparent

If you prefer predefined themes, try Dracula, Gruvbox, or Catppuccin.
5. Enabling TrueColor and Improving Rendering

To ensure rich colors and smooth visuals, enable TrueColor and adjust the FPS:

[rendering]
truecolor = true
fps = 144  # Boost frame rate for smoother rendering

If you experience minor lag, tweak the rendering frame time:

[performance]
frame_time_ms = 4  # Lower values mean faster response

6. Adjusting Margins and Borders

For a cleaner layout, adjust padding and borders:

[window]
padding_x = 10
padding_y = 10
border_width = 2

This makes the terminal look more spacious.

7. Custom Keybindings

Ghostty supports custom shortcuts. You can, for example, create a shortcut to launch Neovim:

[keybindings]
"Ctrl+Shift+N" = "spawn nvim"

Now, hitting Ctrl+Shift+N will open Neovim instantly.

8. Floating Window Mode

To run Ghostty as a borderless floating window, add:

[window]
decorations = "none"
always_on_top = true

This is great for keeping a terminal always accessible on-screen.

9. Changing the Cursor

Customize your cursor style for better visibility:

[cursor]
shape = "underline"  # Options: block, beam, underline
blink = true

You can also assign custom colors to the cursor.

10. Improving Typing Responsiveness

If you notice slight input delay, reduce debounce time:

[input]
debounce_time_ms = 5  # Lower values make typing more responsive

This makes typing feel smoother and more immediate.

11. Setting a Default Shell

To launch Ghostty with a specific shell, add:

[default_shell]
command = "/bin/zsh"
args = ["-l"]

This ensures you always start in the right shell.

12. Switching Between Configuration Profiles

You can define multiple configuration profiles:

[profiles.default]
font_family = "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font"

[profiles.minimal]
font_family = "Hack"
background = "#000000"

To launch Ghostty with a specific profile, use:

ghostty --profile minimal

13. Applying Your Changes

After making changes to config.toml, restart Ghostty to apply them:

pkill ghostty  # Kill existing instances
ghostty &     # Restart Ghostty

Conclusion

With these tweaks, Ghostty will not only look better but also perform more efficiently. Play around with different color schemes, fonts, and transparency levels to create your perfect terminal setup!