Kitty is a fast, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator for Linux with built-in tabs, tiling layouts, advanced font handling, themes, and extensive keyboard customization. The quickest way to get a current upstream build is Kitty’s official binary installer; distribution packages are also convenient, but the project notes that some distro versions can lag behind upstream. After installation, most customization happens in kitty.conf.
For a current upstream release, open your existing terminal and run the installer published by the Kitty project:
curl -L https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/installer.sh | sh /dev/stdinOn Linux, this installs Kitty under ~/.local/kitty.app. The installer only changes files inside that directory, and running it again updates the installation. See the official Kitty installation guide for manual downloads, nightly builds, uninstall instructions, and desktop integration.
If you want kitty and kitten available as normal commands, create symlinks in a directory that is already on your PATH:
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
ln -sf ~/.local/kitty.app/bin/kitty ~/.local/kitty.app/bin/kitten ~/.local/bin/Using your distribution’s package manager is simpler to maintain alongside the rest of the system. These package names are available in the major repositories checked for this update:
| Distribution | Command |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu / Debian | sudo apt update && sudo apt install kitty |
| Fedora | sudo dnf install kitty |
| Arch Linux | sudo pacman -S kitty |
| openSUSE | sudo zypper install kitty |
Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and Arch all publish Kitty packages in their official repositories. If a feature in the current Kitty documentation is missing from your distro build, compare your installed version with upstream before troubleshooting; older stable distributions can intentionally ship older releases.
Launch Kitty, then press Ctrl + Shift + F2. Kitty opens its configuration file in your editor and creates a commented sample configuration if the file does not yet exist. The usual per-user path is ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf. You can also create and edit it manually:
mkdir -p ~/.config/kitty
nano ~/.config/kitty/kitty.confA simple starting configuration looks like this:
font_size 13.0
foreground #e6edf3
background #0d1117
window_padding_width 8font_size is measured in points, and window_padding_width controls the blank space between terminal text and the window border. Kitty normally reloads configuration changes automatically; if you want to force a reload, press Ctrl + Shift + F5. The full set of options is documented in the official kitty.conf reference.
kitty.conf can change text size and terminal colors without a graphical settings window.For fonts, the current recommended method is Kitty’s interactive font picker. Run:
kitten choose-fontsIt previews installed monospace fonts and can write the appropriate font configuration for you. The official font guide also explains manual font_family syntax, variable fonts, and font features.
For color schemes, run:
kitten themesThis opens an interactive theme browser with live previews. When you select a theme, Kitty stores the theme configuration in your Kitty config directory and reloads it. The official themes documentation explains custom themes and automatic light/dark switching.
First, run kitty --version. If your shell says the command is not found after using the upstream installer, try ~/.local/kitty.app/bin/kitty; if that works, the issue is your PATH or missing symlink rather than Kitty itself. With a distro package, refresh your package metadata and confirm the kitty package is installed for your current system. If Kitty launches but a new configuration causes unexpected behavior, temporarily move ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf aside and start Kitty with its built-in defaults, then reintroduce your changes in small groups.
Kitty also manages multiple terminal panes without a separate multiplexer. Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to create another Kitty window inside the current tab, Ctrl + Shift + L to cycle layouts, and Ctrl + Shift + T to open a new tab. These shortcuts are customizable in kitty.conf, so once installation and appearance are set, you can tailor Kitty to your shell and development workflow without changing the rest of your Linux desktop.
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