Ubuntu Developers Decided Not to Make GNOME Console the default terminal emulator in the upcoming Ubuntu 22.10 release, but that doesn’t mean you can’t.
Console is billed as a “simple and user-friendly terminal emulator for the GNOME desktop” and, by all accounts, that’s exactly what it is. Functionally speaking, it’s not as advanced as GNOME Terminalswhich is the Ubuntu VTE and most Linux distributions that provide the GNOME desktop environment.
But honestly? Speaking as a Linux user who uses the terminal daily for package management, system monitoring and playing around with awesome command line tools like ncdu, mapsciiet musikcubeI haven’t met anything yet Console can’t do.
– archyde news –
Additionally, the design of Console is consistent with the rest of the modern GNOME desktop. This does not mean GNOME Terminals looks bad (like, at all) but those cleverly rounded window corners look better to me.
I also like that search is built into the app rather than being a pop-up dialog; I like that it supports light/dark mode; and I like that the terminal turns red when sudo is active, and purple when in use ssh.
And even though it’s something you can enable in most terminal apps, I like it Console sends order complete notifications by default.
Changing the Default Terminal Application in Ubuntu
Alright I bore you with the context on why I like Consoleso if you do too, and want to make it the default terminal app in Ubuntu, here’s what you need to do.
Open a new terminal session and run the following command to register Console (which is referred to by its code name of Kings Cross station in London whose station code is KGX) as an alternative, you can use:
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/x-terminal-emulator x-terminal-emulator /usr/bin/kgx 1
Then run this command to actually set Console by default:
sudo update-alternatives --set x-terminal-emulator /usr/bin/kgx
Now every time you press ctrl + alt + t a new Console window will open instead of a new GNOME Terminal.
To undo the change – insert a shocked emoji at the mere idea here – run:
sudo update-alternatives --set x-terminal-emulator
And choose the appropriate number from the list of VTEs presented to you, and press enter accept.
Bonus Tip: I want it to be super easy to open a specific location from Nautile in Console? Install this plugin:
sudo apt install nautilus-extension-gnome-console
Restart Nautilus (nautilus -q) and when you right-click on a folder, you can select the “Open in Console” menu entry to… Well, I’m sure you can figure that out ????.