Cmder Review, Pricing & Features

Cmder is a free open-source console emulator for Windows built on ConEmu. Learn about features, setup, pros, cons and FAQs in this 2026 guide.

Category
Automation
Pricing
Free and open source (MIT License); no paid tiers, from Free
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2013
Headquarters
Not applicable (distributed open source project maintained by community volunteers)

What Is Cmder

Cmder is a free, open-source console emulator for Windows created by Samuel Vasko and first released in 2013. It is built on top of ConEmu, an existing open-source Windows terminal emulator, and adds a curated configuration on top of it rather than replacing the underlying engine.

The project is released under the MIT License and hosted on GitHub under the cmderdev organization, where community contributors continue to maintain it today.

Cmder Features and Portability

Cmder ships with a Monokai-inspired color scheme, the Consolas font, a customized prompt, and Clink integration, which brings readline-style command editing, history search, and tab completion to Windows shells like cmd.exe.

A core selling point is portability: Cmder is distributed as a self-contained package with no installation dependencies, so it can run from a USB drive or a synced cloud folder, and it bundles common tools like git, wget, and curl for a more Unix-like command-line workflow on Windows.

Cmder Versus Alternatives

Cmder ships in a Mini build without bundled Git for Windows and a Full build that includes it, letting users choose based on whether they already manage Git separately.

It is commonly compared with Microsoft's native Windows Terminal, plain ConEmu without Cmder's customizations, Hyper, and terminal emulators bundled with WSL distributions, with Cmder's main advantages being its ready-to-use defaults and single-package portability.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Completely free and open source
  • Zero-configuration setup with sensible defaults
  • Fully portable, no installation required
  • Bundles common Unix-style command-line tools
  • Active community maintenance on GitHub

Cons

  • Windows-only, with no macOS or Linux version
  • Built on the older ConEmu engine rather than a from-scratch modern terminal
  • No official commercial support channel
  • Less actively developed than Microsoft's native Windows Terminal
  • Visual customization requires editing configuration files rather than a polished settings interface

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cmder free?

Yes. Cmder is completely free and released under the MIT open source license, with no paid tiers or subscriptions.

What is Cmder built on?

Cmder is built on top of ConEmu, an existing open-source Windows console emulator, with a curated configuration, color scheme, and tool bundle layered on top.

Does Cmder require installation?

No. Cmder is distributed as a self-contained, portable package that can be run directly from a folder, USB drive, or cloud-synced directory without a formal installer.

What is the difference between Cmder Mini and Full?

The Mini build excludes the bundled Git for Windows installation for users who already manage Git separately, while the Full build includes Git for Windows out of the box.

Does Cmder work with PowerShell?

Yes. Cmder can run PowerShell sessions in addition to the standard cmd.exe shell and Unix-style shells available through WSL or Git Bash.

Who maintains Cmder today?

Cmder was originally created by Samuel Vasko and is now maintained by community contributors through the cmderdev organization on GitHub.

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