Pop!_OS - Terminator Terminal Emulator

05 Jul 2022 in Kbase on Pop!_os, Linux, Sysops

Switching the default terminal emulator on Pop!_OS 22.04 to Terminator.

1. Purpose
2. Assumptions
3. Procedure
4. Conclusion

Purpose

The following post documents the process to switch from the default GNOME Terminal application to Terminator on Pop!_OS 22.04.
More information about Terminator can be found at https://gnome-terminator.org/

Assumptions

A number of assumptions have been made when compiling the below procedure. They include:

• Basic familiarity with Linux and the terminal.
• The user account to perform this procedure has sudo privileges.
• While the procedure may work on other versions or Debian derivatives, it has only been tested with Pop!_OS 22.04.
• Terminator should open for all shell activities, including from within other applications.
• Terminator has not yet been installed.

Procedure

Steps required to switch to Terminator on a fresh Pop!_OS installation are:

1. Open the existing GNOME terminal (Super + T).

2. Update the package manager:

   apt update
   

3. Install Terminator:

   sudo apt install terminator
   

4. Set Terminator as the default application from within GNOME:

   gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.default-applications.terminal exec /usr/bin/terminator  
   gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.default-applications.terminal exec-arg "-x"
   

5. (Optional) If using the Nemo File Manager, set the default application in cinnamon to Terminator.
   This will ensure that Terminator is opened when using the Right Click > Open in Terminal option from within the file manager:

   gsettings set org.cinnamon.desktop.default-applications.terminal exec /usr/bin/terminator
   gsettings set org.cinnamon.desktop.default-applications.terminal exec-arg "-x"
   

6. Log out/in or restart for the changes to take effect.

Conclusion

After following the procedure above, Terminator should be the default terminal emulator for all shell activities in Pop!_OS 22.04.