Mitchell Hashimoto: From Terraform to Ghostty | S02 E10

Today we welcome Mitchell Hashimoto, co-founder of HashiCorp and creator of Ghostty, a new terminal emulator built in Zig. In this episode, Mitchell shares the story behind Ghostty, how his curiosity about terminals evolved into a full-fledged project, and why Zig became his language of choice. We also dive into Ghostty’s unique features, the role of libghostty, and why Mitchell believes native-feeling apps are essential for developer experience. Plus, we explore his insights on computer science education, dynamic linking, and what really matters when learning to code. If you’re into terminals, low-level programming, or just love hearing how great software gets built, this one’s for you! Learn back-end development - https://www.boot.dev Listen on your favorite podcast player - https://www.backendbanter.fm Mitchell's X/Twitter: https://x.com/mitchellh Ghostty: https://ghostty.org/ Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro and Meeting Mitchell 01:06 - Mitchell’s Journey at HashiCorp 03:13 - What is Ghostty and Why Build It? 08:35 - Native Performance and Zig’s Advantage 15:25 - Why Mitchell Chose Zig Over Rust 31:15 - Ghostty’s Road to Package Repositories 52:00 - Future Plans for Ghostty 1:04:02 - Where to Find Mitchell and Ghostty Like & subscribe for the algo if you enjoyed the video!