What is Rio used for?

Rio is a hardware-accelerated GPU terminal emulator that runs on desktops and browsers, available for macOS, Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD. It is a good fit for developers seeking a modern terminal emulator, users wanting a GPU-accelerated terminal experience and cross-platform terminal use across major operating systems.

Yes. Rio is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at raphamorim/rio and is written mainly in Rust.

Yes. Rio is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Yes. Rio can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Rio an alternative to?

Rio is an open-source alternative to Warp. Other open-source alternatives to Warp include Alacritty, Ghostty and kitty.

Is Rio actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Rio was on 11 October 2026, and the latest release is v0.5.28, published on 17 September 2026. The project has 7.6k stars on GitHub.

Rio: open-source alternative to Warp

About Rio

Rio is a terminal emulator that uses hardware acceleration via the GPU. It is designed to run on desktop operating systems and in web browsers. The project is open source and has a community of developers using it.

The terminal is distributed for macOS, Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD. macOS builds are universal binaries supporting Apple Silicon and Intel. Windows offers MSI and portable executables. Linux packages are available for several distributions, and FreeBSD has a port.

Key features

Hardware-accelerated GPU rendering
Runs on desktops and browsers
Open source
Available for macOS, Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD
Universal binary for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel)
MSI installer and portable executables for Windows

Good fit for

Developers seeking a modern terminal emulator
Users wanting a GPU-accelerated terminal experience
Cross-platform terminal use across major operating systems

Built with: Rust tools
Tags: terminal; gpu; emulator; open-source; cross-platform

Rio: questions and answers

What is Rio used for?: Rio is a hardware-accelerated GPU terminal emulator that runs on desktops and browsers, available for macOS, Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD. It is a good fit for developers seeking a modern terminal emulator, users wanting a GPU-accelerated terminal experience and cross-platform terminal use across major operating systems.
Is Rio open source?: Yes. Rio is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at raphamorim/rio and is written mainly in Rust.
Is Rio free?: Yes. Rio is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Rio?: Yes. Rio can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Rio an alternative to?: Rio is an open-source alternative to Warp. Other open-source alternatives to Warp include Alacritty, Ghostty and kitty.
Is Rio actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Rio was on 11 October 2026, and the latest release is v0.5.28, published on 17 September 2026. The project has 7.6k stars on GitHub.