How iTerm2’s scores are calculated

The full audit trail, recomputed from the verdict data at build time through the same code that produced the leaderboard: verdict × quality × story weight per cell, cells sum to dimension scores, dimensions blend into the PA Score. Every number on the product page is reproducible from this page alone; for why the formula looks like this, see the methodology.

verdict factors: full ×1.0 · partial ×0.6 · disputed ×0.3 · none ×0.0 · n/a excluded from both sides · cell points = weight × quality × factor · cell max = weight × 10

PA Score19/100

Agent-ready 17.1 × 0.30 = 5.13

API quality 0.0 × 0.20 = 0.00

Openness 14.4 × 0.20 = 2.88

Built-in AI 34.7 × 0.15 = 5.21

Automation 37.5 × 0.15 = 5.63

(5.13 + 0.00 + 2.88 + 5.21 + 5.63) ÷ (0.30 + 0.20 + 0.20 + 0.15 + 0.15) = 18.84 ÷ 1.00 = 18.8

Scores are stored to 1 decimal; the product page’s pills round to whole numbers for display. Each dimension below shows the stories, verdicts, and cited evidence behind its number.

Agent-ready17.1/100×0.30 of the PA blend

Outside-in: can YOUR agent reach and drive this product — API, MCP, CLI, headless runs, agent docs.

Point an agent at llms.txt or agent-oriented docsweight 2

2 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 20 max

[probe] https://iterm2.com/llms.txt“PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/llms.txt”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md“PROBE docs-md: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”

Run the product headlessly / in CI for automationweight 2

2 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 20 max

no evidence cited — the verdict rests on absence of evidence, re-checked on refresh

Plug MCP servers into this product so it can use their toolsweight 3

3 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 30 max

no evidence cited — the verdict rests on absence of evidence, re-checked on refresh

Connect an agent via an official MCP serverweight 3

3 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 30 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/ai-plugin.html“This is an optional component you can install to enable generative AI features in iTerm2.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Built-in LLM chat window that can optionally interact with terminal contents. Link sessions to get context-aware help, run commands on your behalf, or explain output with annotations.”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/llms.txt“PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/llms.txt”

Use an official CLIweight 2

2 (weight) × 4 (quality) × 0.6 (partial) = 4.8 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/documentation-scripting.html“iTerm2 has sophisticated AppleScript support allowing one to write stand-alone scripts to launch the application and open multiple sessions with profiles into either new tabs or new windows.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/22461605“"imgcat: you can view images without leaving your terminal. Somehow this works even across SSH connections… Python scripting API: basically AppleScript for iTerm except it lets you touch pretty much everything and it's not soul-crushing to write."”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/22461605“"Along with imgcat there's it2dl. Downloads a file from the remote system browser-style. It's much more convenient than scp, especially when several sessions deep."”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/llms.txt“PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/llms.txt”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”

Drive the product through a documented public APIweight 3

3 (weight) × 8 (quality) × 1.0 (full) = 24.0 of 30 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/documentation-scripting.html“iTerm2 has sophisticated AppleScript support allowing one to write stand-alone scripts to launch the application and open multiple sessions with profiles into either new tabs or new windows.”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/documentation-scripting.html“iTerm2 has sophisticated AppleScript support allowing one to write stand-alone scripts to launch the application and open multiple sessions with profiles”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/22461605“"imgcat: you can view images without leaving your terminal. Somehow this works even across SSH connections… Python scripting API: basically AppleScript for iTerm except it lets you touch pretty much everything and it's not soul-crushing to write."”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/llms.txt“PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/llms.txt”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”

Issue scoped/least-privilege API credentials for an agentweight 2

2 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/ai-plugin.html“This is an optional component you can install to enable generative AI features in iTerm2.”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”

Build against official SDKsweight 2

2 (weight) × 6 (quality) × 0.6 (partial) = 7.2 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/22461605“"imgcat: you can view images without leaving your terminal. Somehow this works even across SSH connections… Python scripting API: basically AppleScript for iTerm except it lets you touch pretty much everything and it's not soul-crushing to write."”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/ai-plugin.html“This is an optional component you can install to enable generative AI features in iTerm2.”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/llms.txt“PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/llms.txt”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”

Subscribe to events via webhooksweight 2

2 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 20 max

no evidence cited — the verdict rests on absence of evidence, re-checked on refresh

Agent-ready = 36.0 ÷ 210 × 100 = 17.1

API quality0.0/100×0.20 of the PA blend

The programmable surface once an agent is there — machine-readable spec, interactive docs, sandbox, versioning discipline.

Explore an interactive API reference with runnable examplesweight 2

2 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/llms.txt“PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/llms.txt”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md“PROBE docs-md: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”

Download a machine-readable API spec (OpenAPI or equivalent)weight 2

2 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 20 max

[probe] https://iterm2.com/llms.txt“PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/llms.txt”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md“PROBE docs-md: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”

Test against a sandbox environment without touching production dataweight 1

n/a — not applicable to this product: excluded from numerator and denominator

no evidence cited — the verdict rests on absence of evidence, re-checked on refresh

Rely on versioned APIs with a documented deprecation policyweight 2

2 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/llms.txt“PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/llms.txt”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md“PROBE docs-md: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”

API quality = 0.0 ÷ 60 × 100 = 0.0

Openness14.4/100×0.20 of the PA blend

Can you leave, inspect, or self-host — data export, open source, portability.

Do everything through the API that I can do in the UIweight 2

2 (weight) × 6 (quality) × 0.6 (partial) = 7.2 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/22461605“"imgcat: you can view images without leaving your terminal. Somehow this works even across SSH connections… Python scripting API: basically AppleScript for iTerm except it lets you touch pretty much everything and it's not soul-crushing to write."”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”

Export all of my data in open formats and leaveweight 3

3 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 30 max

[probe] https://iterm2.com/llms.txt“PROBE llms.txt: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/llms.txt”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md“PROBE docs-md: HTTP 404 at https://iterm2.com/documentation.html.md”
[probe] https://iterm2.com/openapi.json“PROBE openapi: all candidate paths 404 (https://iterm2.com/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/swagger.json, https://iterm2.com/api/openapi.json, https://iterm2.com/.well-known/openapi.json)”

Read the product's source under an open licenseweight 2

2 (weight) × 6 (quality) × 0.6 (partial) = 7.2 of 20 max

[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Browser profiles integrate web browsing into iTerm2's window/tab/pane hierarchy. Copy mode, triggers, AI chat, and other terminal features work in browser sessions.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Session Restoration - Sessions run in long-lived server processes. If iTerm2 crashes or upgrades, your shells keep running. When iTerm2 restarts, it reconnects to your sessions exactly where you left off.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.”

Self-host the core productweight 3

3 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 30 max

no evidence cited — the verdict rests on absence of evidence, re-checked on refresh

Openness = 14.4 ÷ 100 × 100 = 14.4

Built-in AI34.7/100×0.15 of the PA blend

Inside-out: how agentic the product itself is for its users — built-in assistants, autonomous features.

Get AI-generated insights and suggestions from my data inside the productweight 2

2 (weight) × 6 (quality) × 0.6 (partial) = 7.2 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/ai-plugin.html“This is an optional component you can install to enable generative AI features in iTerm2.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Built-in LLM chat window that can optionally interact with terminal contents. Link sessions to get context-aware help, run commands on your behalf, or explain output with annotations.”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/40458135“Users reported that iTerm2's new AI feature wasn't a true disabled toggle: "Put anything in the box for the OpenAI key, valid or not, and the functionality to send data to OpenAI is active. Accidentally put a [space] in that box and it looks like there is nothing there."”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/40458135“Some users called the backlash overblown: "a feature that is inactive by default, consumes no processing power, memory or anything else" still caused the developer to be "bullied."”

Set up automations that run autonomously in the backgroundweight 2

2 (weight) × 5 (quality) × 0.6 (partial) = 6.0 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/features.html“iTerm2 supports user-defined triggers, which are actions that run when text matching a regular expression is received.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Triggers - Regex patterns that fire actions when matched: highlight text, run commands, send notifications, open password manager, set marks, or invoke Python scripts.”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/22461605“"imgcat: you can view images without leaving your terminal. Somehow this works even across SSH connections… Python scripting API: basically AppleScript for iTerm except it lets you touch pretty much everything and it's not soul-crushing to write."”

Delegate tasks to a built-in AI assistant inside the productweight 3

3 (weight) × 6 (quality) × 0.6 (partial) = 10.8 of 30 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/ai-plugin.html“This is an optional component you can install to enable generative AI features in iTerm2.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Built-in LLM chat window that can optionally interact with terminal contents. Link sessions to get context-aware help, run commands on your behalf, or explain output with annotations.”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/40432446“"It takes much less effort for me to simply switch back to Terminal.app." (reacting to iTerm2 adding an opt-in OpenAI-based AI feature)”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/40458135“Users reported that iTerm2's new AI feature wasn't a true disabled toggle: "Put anything in the box for the OpenAI key, valid or not, and the functionality to send data to OpenAI is active. Accidentally put a [space] in that box and it looks like there is nothing there."”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/40458135“Some users called the backlash overblown: "a feature that is inactive by default, consumes no processing power, memory or anything else" still caused the developer to be "bullied."”

Operate the product with natural-language commandsweight 2

2 (weight) × 6 (quality) × 0.6 (partial) = 7.2 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/ai-plugin.html“This is an optional component you can install to enable generative AI features in iTerm2.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Built-in LLM chat window that can optionally interact with terminal contents. Link sessions to get context-aware help, run commands on your behalf, or explain output with annotations.”
[community] https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/40458135“Users reported that iTerm2's new AI feature wasn't a true disabled toggle: "Put anything in the box for the OpenAI key, valid or not, and the functionality to send data to OpenAI is active. Accidentally put a [space] in that box and it looks like there is nothing there."”

Built-in AI = 31.2 ÷ 90 × 100 = 34.7

Automation37.5/100×0.15 of the PA blend

Depth of automation primitives — rules, scheduling, bulk operations, webhooks.

Perform bulk operations across many items at onceweight 2

2 (weight) × 5 (quality) × 0.6 (partial) = 6.0 of 20 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/features.html“Search all your tabs at once with Global Search.”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/documentation-scripting.html“iTerm2 has sophisticated AppleScript support allowing one to write stand-alone scripts to launch the application and open multiple sessions with profiles into either new tabs or new windows.”

Define rules that trigger actions automatically on eventsweight 3

3 (weight) × 8 (quality) × 1.0 (full) = 24.0 of 30 max

[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/features.html“iTerm2 supports user-defined triggers, which are actions that run when text matching a regular expression is received.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Triggers - Regex patterns that fire actions when matched: highlight text, run commands, send notifications, open password manager, set marks, or invoke Python scripts.”
[github] https://github.com/gnachman/iTerm2“Python Scripting API - Full automation and customization via Python. Create custom status bar components, triggers, menu items, or entirely new features.”
[claimed-docs] https://iterm2.com/python-api/“iTerm2 offers a Python package which makes it easy to write Python scripts that control iTerm2 and extend its behavior.”

Schedule recurring jobs or workflowsweight 2

2 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 20 max

no evidence cited — the verdict rests on absence of evidence, re-checked on refresh

Version, review, and roll back my automationsweight 1

1 (weight) × 0 (quality) × 0.0 (none) = 0.0 of 10 max

no evidence cited — the verdict rests on absence of evidence, re-checked on refresh

Automation = 30.0 ÷ 80 × 100 = 37.5