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How to use xterm on Mac OS?

I'm quite new to Mac OS and I want to use xterm on it.

I found from

that starting xterm is not much an issue on Mac, but I just can't. Maybe my latest Mac is too new to have xterm?

Anyway, how to use xterm on Mac OS?

xpt
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  • You've done some of your own searching, which is good. But what have you done on your Mac to try? I have an M1 Mac, and I installed XQuartz which automatically started an xterm (which I didn't want, had to turn that off). So, it definitely works on new Macs and latest macOS. – jimtut Jan 19 '21 at 14:45
  • Wow, what part of “you did your own searching, which is good” is condescending? Or was it the asking to show your work which you didn’t like? That part is very standard here - this community is for helping people, but showing the work you’ve done is part of it too. I’m only on a phone right now, when I’m on my Mac I can share some screenshots. – jimtut Jan 20 '21 at 02:39

2 Answers2

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XQuartz is good, it provides both server and client, xterm, in a single package.

It has however not been updated since 2016, and there is better / recommended options out there. I wish I had known earlier so that I can spend my energy on the right place. So I'm writing it out for the next person here.

I only found that out after following the lead of my second question on Mac -- Standard (Linux/GNU) toolset for Mac. If you come from the Linux world, then the next thing you'd find out is that, in Mac OS many tools are not what we used to. and the answer to both these two questions is,

The MacPorts Project
https://www.macports.org/install.php

Install the xorg-server port from MacPorts (recommended).

xpt
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0

My M1-based Mac w/ Big Sur 11.1 did not come with XQuartz. I had to install it manually, and even though it's an Intel package, it runs fine in M1. It should run even finer in non-M1 too!

On my Mac, xterm is installed in /usr/X11/bin/xterm. I didn't manually install it. It could have been installed when XQuartz was. If I look inside the XQuartz package, most of the files were last updated late Oct, 2016. This match the modified timestamp on the xterm executable (Oct 7, 2016), so it's quite possible that XQuartz installed xterm too.

The 2nd time that I launched XQuartz, I got an xterm launched too. I didn't want this (I just want X running silently until I launch a real X app myself), so I found the solution here: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/53734/how-do-i-prevent-x11-opening-an-xterm-when-it-starts

But, when you run an xterm, it does behave correctly:

enter image description here

Please update your question with more details so someone can help you in more detail. Specifically, you should include anything you think is helpful, like:

  • macOS version
  • XQuartz version, and a picture of it running (like its "About" screen from the menu XQuartz -> About)
  • A picture of your Terminal (or copy/paste of the commands and output) when you try to run /usr/X11/bin/xterm
  • Maybe some other things, like your shell (probably bash or zsh) and your PATH (echo $PATH)
Spiff
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jimtut
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    This is a Mac newbie question, and the answer, in summary, can just be as simple as "install XQuartz, it provides both server and client, xterm", period, as simple as that. I personally prefer such simple answer, instead of dragging on to the details that I don't need to care. But thanks for your effort though, but now I have found a better option, which I wish I had known earlier. – xpt Jan 24 '21 at 04:45