A Windows Terminal alternative you can try beside it
Windows Terminal is a good default, and it ships with Windows 11. Najm is for people who want Ghostty's core and a plain text config on Windows. The two install side by side, so trying Najm costs you nothing.
Where they differ
| Najm | Windows Terminal | |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal core | Ghostty's | Microsoft's own |
| Configuration | Plain key/value file, also a Settings window | JSON file and a Settings UI |
| Publisher | Independent project, self-signed | Microsoft, trusted by Windows |
If you need a publisher Windows already trusts, stay with Windows Terminal. Najm's self-signed certificate means SmartScreen warns you on first install.
Translate your settings
Najm does not import settings.json and never reads it. Copy the lines you use into %LOCALAPPDATA%\najm\config.ghostty:
| Windows Terminal | Najm | Notes |
|---|---|---|
commandline | command | |
startingDirectory | working-directory | |
font.face | font-family | |
font.size | font-size | |
colorScheme | theme | Bundled names come from najm +list-themes |
opacity | background-opacity | Divide by 100: 50 becomes 0.5 |
padding | window-padding-x, window-padding-y | |
copyOnSelect | copy-on-select | |
cursorShape | cursor-style | |
historySize | scrollback-limit | Najm counts bytes, not lines |
initialCols, initialRows | window-width, window-height | Set both or neither |
backgroundImage | background-image |
Make it feel familiar
Windows Terminal pastes with Ctrl+V. This line does the same in Najm, including copied files and images:
keybind = performable:ctrl+v=paste_from_clipboard