So you want to get started on Bulletin Board Systems? That’s great! Here’s a guide of Telnet Clients to help you get the best experience of Telnet BBS systems.

Command Line Based Telnet Clients

Windows, Linux and macOS all have command line based Telnet clients. In some cases these need to be “activated” or installed in order to be used. 

For example, Windows users have a built-in Telnet client, however it’s limited on functionality. This feature needs to be “turned on” in the “turn Windows  features on or off” settings in Windows 10 or 11.

Most Unix based operating systems (examples Linux and macOS) have command line based Telnet clients. Depending on the Linux distribution you may need to add the Telnet package to your operating system (examples include Ubuntu and RedHat/Fedora/CentOS). However, these Telnet clients may not properly display “High ASCII” characters or ANSI colors correctly.

Recommended Telnet Clients

The following is a list of Telnet Clients offer the best Telnet experience. These were designed with BBSes in mind. A list of recommended ones are listed below. Note that some older GUI based Telnet clients may not work with modern BBS systems that use a new ANSI color format. 

Overall SyncTerm, NetRunner, IcyTerm, and Qodem offer the best overall experience.

SyncTerm – A modern Telnet software package that works with almost all BBS systems and works on a majority of operating systems (Windows, Linux, BSD)

NetRunner – A modern Telnet software package that works with a majority of BBS systems. For Windows and Linux.

IcyTerm – A new modern Telnet software packages designed for ANSI BBS systems. For Windows, Linux, and maxOS (OS X).

Qodem – A modern Telnet/SSH client that works with a majority of BBS systems. For Windows and Linux. (Qodem is an update of an older software package called Qmodem.)

Other Telnet Clients

Absolute Telnet – A modern Telnet, SSH, and SFTP Client.  For Windows.

mTelnet – An older Telnet software package that works with a fair amount of BBS systems. Simple and easy to use, and does not require an installation. For Windows and OS/2. 

NetTerm – An older Telnet software package for Windows and OS/2 that works with a fair amount of BBS systems. For Windows. 

PuTTY – An older software package that’s primarily used for Secure Shell (SSH) connections but will work for ANSI BBS connections. For Windows. 

SecureCRT – A terminal emulation software package that works with most BBS systems. For Windows, Linux, MacOS, and iOS. 

ZOC – A terminal emulation software package that works with most BBS systems. For Windows.