What Flick does with iTerm2
- A row per window, under its title. Hold ⌥, tap Tab and type part of a window's title, then let go to switch to it (window search).
- Tabs and split panes stay with their window. However many a window holds, it's one row.
- Titles that follow your work. iTerm2 can build titles from the running job, the folder you're in, the user and the host. When a window's title changes, Flick's row shows the new one.
iTerm2 tabs
iTerm2 uses the current tab's title as the window's title (iTerm2 docs), and Flick lists the window under that title. So a window with six tabs is one row, and a session in another tab is found only once its tab is in front. iTerm2 draws its tabs inside the window, the way a code editor does, so the window is one row however many tabs it holds. Terminal's tabs end up as one row too, for a different reason (why tabs show as one row).
After you switch to the window, press ⌘ and a tab's number, such as ⌘2 for the second tab. To find a session buried in a tab, iTerm2's own View › Open Quickly (⇧⌘O) searches every session by tab title, command, host, directory and more (iTerm2 docs). Flick gets you to the right app and window; Open Quickly is the better tool inside iTerm2. If you want a session to have a row of its own in Flick, open it in a new window instead of a tab.
Window titles
Flick searches the title, not the text in the window, so make the title show what you'd type.
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Choose what session titles show
In iTerm2's settings, open Profiles › General and use the Title menu. The items you turn on, such as Session Name, Job, PWD, User and Host, are combined into the session's title, which is also the tab's title unless you set one. Job (what's running) and PWD (the folder you're in) are the most useful to search; on a remote machine, PWD, User and Host rely on iTerm2's Shell Integration.
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Name a session, tab or window
Session › Edit Session changes the session's name, which starts as the profile's name. Window › Tab › Edit Tab Title sets a tab's title, and Window › Edit Window Title sets one for the window itself.
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Keep programs from renaming them
With Applications in terminal may change the title on, in Profiles › General, a program can change a session's or window's title. Turn it off if the titles you set keep being replaced.
Keys
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘1 to ⌘9 | In iTerm2, goes to that tab of the front window. |
| ⌥⌘1 to ⌥⌘9 | In iTerm2, goes to the window with that number. Show window number in title bar (Appearance › Windows) puts the number in each title. |
| ⇧⌘O | In iTerm2, Open Quickly: finds a session in any tab. |
The tab and window keys are iTerm2's defaults; change them under Keys › Navigation Shortcuts in its settings. Flick's own keys are in keyboard shortcuts.
Questions
Why does an iTerm2 row show only one tab's name?
iTerm2 uses the title of the tab in front as the window's title, and Flick lists the window. Switch tabs and the row's title follows. To give the window a name that stays, use Window › Edit Window Title.
Does Flick get in the way of ⌥ as Meta in iTerm2?
No. If you've set iTerm2's Left or Right Option Key (Profiles › Keys) to Esc+, so ⌥ works as Meta in your shell, those shortcuts keep working. While its list is closed, Flick takes only ⌥Tab and ⌥⇧Tab, ⌥` if you turn on the front app's windows for ⌥, and its search shortcut. If you need ⌥Tab in the shell, switch Flick to ⌘Tab.
An iTerm2 window isn't in the list. Why?
Check the filters first: ignored apps, Show only the active Space and the free version's 5 most recent windows all apply. Flick also leaves out some kinds of windows on purpose, such as floating panels. A window is missing goes through each one.
Sources
Checked on , against iTerm2's documentation. The current release is iTerm2 3.7.5, for macOS 13 or later.
- Profiles: General (Title, the tab title as the window title, Applications in terminal may change the title), iTerm2 documentation
- Session Title (Session Name, Job, PWD, Shell Integration), iTerm2 documentation
- Menu Items (Edit Session, Edit Tab Title, Edit Window Title, Open Quickly), iTerm2 documentation
- Keys (Navigation Shortcuts for tabs and windows), iTerm2 documentation
- Appearance (Show window number in title bar), iTerm2 documentation
- Profiles: Keys (Left and Right Option Key), iTerm2 documentation
- Downloads (current release and requirements), iTerm2
