# Migrate to Warp from macOS Terminal

Switching to Warp from the default macOS Terminal app? Here's a quick reference for matching your existing setup and discovering what Warp adds beyond the basics.

Warp gives Terminal.app users everything they already have — shell, theme, font, prompt — plus split panes, tabs, blocks, and Agent Mode for an AI-assisted workflow. This page walks through both an agent-driven migration and the manual GUI steps.

## What transfers automatically

Warp doesn’t ship a Terminal.app importer, but it can do most of the work for you agentically. Most Terminal.app users run near-default settings, so the migration usually takes only a few minutes either way.

## Use Warp’s agent to migrate your settings (recommended)

The fastest way to bring over a Terminal.app theme is to ask Warp’s agent to translate it directly. Warp ships a [`settings.toml` file](/terminal/settings/) and a bundled `modify-settings` skill that lets the agent read your Terminal.app preferences and write equivalent values into Warp’s settings, including creating a matching [custom theme](/terminal/appearance/custom-themes/).

1.  In Warp, open a new tab and switch to [Agent Mode](/agent-platform/local-agents/overview/) with `⌘+I`.
    
2.  Paste a prompt like:
    
    > Read my Terminal.app preferences with `defaults read com.apple.Terminal` and port the active profile (theme, font, window size) into my Warp `settings.toml` using the `modify-settings` skill. Create a matching custom theme. Show me a diff before applying.
    
3.  Review the proposed diff and approve. Warp hot-reloads `settings.toml`.
    

If you’d rather configure each setting manually through the Settings UI, the steps below cover the most common cases.

## What to reconfigure manually

### Shell

Warp auto-detects your login shell on first launch. macOS has shipped with `zsh` as the default since Catalina (2019); if you changed your shell with `chsh`, Warp picks that up too.

To change it later, go to **Settings** > **Features** > **Session** and pick a shell from **Startup shell for new sessions**.

### Theme and colors

Terminal.app ships with a handful of profiles (Basic, Pro, Homebrew, Ocean, etc.). Match them in Warp:

1.  Open **Settings** > **Appearance** > **Themes**.
2.  Pick a preset theme. Warp’s built-in library includes many themes similar to Terminal.app’s defaults.
3.  For exact color matches, [create a custom theme](/terminal/appearance/custom-themes/) using the ANSI color values you can inspect in Terminal.app’s **Settings** > **Profiles** > **Text** tab.

### Font

1.  In **Settings** > **Appearance** > **Text, fonts, & cursor**, pick your font family and size to match what you use in Terminal.app.

### Window size and transparency

Configure in **Settings** > **Appearance** > **Size, opacity, & blurring**. See [size, opacity, and blurring](/terminal/appearance/size-opacity-blurring/).

### Prompt

Terminal.app uses whatever prompt your shell’s PS1 (or zsh’s PROMPT) defines. In Warp, choose:

1.  [**Warp prompt**](/terminal/appearance/prompt/#warp-prompt) - Warp’s native prompt with drag-and-drop chips for git branch, directory, and more.
2.  [**Shell prompt (PS1)**](/terminal/appearance/prompt/#custom-prompt) - keeps your existing shell prompt exactly as it appears in Terminal.app.

Configure in **Settings** > **Appearance** > **Prompt**.

## Warp-native equivalents

Most Terminal.app features have a Warp equivalent with additional capabilities on top:

| From Terminal.app | In Warp |
| --- | --- |
| Profiles | [Tab configs](/terminal/windows/tab-configs/) for layouts and startup commands; [themes](/terminal/appearance/themes/) for appearance (Warp has no single profile object) |
| Window groups / arrangements | [Tab configs](/terminal/windows/tab-configs/) |
| Tabs | [Tabs](/terminal/windows/tabs/), [vertical tabs](/terminal/windows/vertical-tabs/) |
| Split panes | [Split panes](/terminal/windows/split-panes/) (Terminal.app doesn’t support) |
| Copy-on-select | **Settings** > **Features** > **Session** |
| Inspector | [Command inspector](/terminal/editor/command-inspector/) (exit code, duration, working directory) |

Beyond matching Terminal.app, Warp adds [Agent Mode](/agent-platform/local-agents/overview/) for natural-language commands, [blocks](/terminal/blocks/) for structured command output, and [Warp Drive](/knowledge-and-collaboration/warp-drive/) for shared workflows. New to Warp? Start with the [Warp quickstart](/quickstart/).