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The best Linux terminal emulators can let you type commands in style, since the terminal is the beating heart of Linux.
Best Linux terminal emulators of 2021
1. Cool Retro Term
2. Guake
3. Terminator
4. Terminology
5. st (simple terminal)
6. rxvt-unicode
If you need something done quickly and efficiently, itâs likely that the best way to do it is with some complex keyboard wrangling. Exactly what to type is beyond the scope of this article â check out the guide here to get yourself started on that front.
The key, if youâre a terminal-slinging Linux badass, is to make sure you type those commands with as much style and panache as possible. And while youâll likely never be in a position where youâre not able to drop to a straight full-screen shell, having a quick window to the command line on your desktop is always handy.
Of course, your Linux distro will have a âTerminalâ application already such as xterm, Gnome Shell or Konsole â but this probably isnât as good as your emulator could be. Letâs refresh your view of those plain old white-on-black characters, as we pick out our top Linux Terminal emulators.
[ul]
[li]5 of the most popular Raspberry Pi distros[/li][li]10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs[/li][li]5 of the most popular Linux gaming distros[/li][li]10 of the most popular lightweight Linux distros[/li][/ul]
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of Cool Retro Termâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zA...Td5AM4o4dc.jpg
(Image credit: GitHub)
[HEADING=2]1. Cool Retro Term[/HEADING]
Get a slice of the past
Light-weight
Customizable
Available as a snap
If you have a bunch of CPU cycles and graphics processing power that needs using up, youâre sure to get a kick out of Cool Retro Term. It emulates the look of a really old-school cathode ray monitor, complete with phosphorus glow, burn-in, and bloom around the characters. If you cut your teeth with the monochrome screens of the early eighties, this is a nostalgic (and highly customizable) trip back to the past.
You can even select between a number of character sets, evoking memories of, for example, the all-caps Apple II, as well as selecting between a number of colors to replicate the amber warmth of classic Zenith monitors, or a rarely-used but nonetheless beautiful cyan.
While the usefulness of some of its features is questionable, particularly the optional screen jitter replicating a slightly dodgy signal cable, and some of the older fonts, Cool Retro Term is a beautiful toy to play with.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of Guakeâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Qt...NDkq6iYffG.jpg
(Image credit: Guake)
[HEADING=2]2. Guake[/HEADING]
Drop down terminal for Gnome users
Supports multi-monitor setup
Gnome integration
Named tabs
This Terminal emulator, crafted specifically for Gnome, takes inspiration from the classic shooter Quake, as its name suggests. Guake doesnât offer you quad or mega-health power-ups, red armor, or even come branded with Quakeâs classic brown-on-brown color scheme, thankfully. Instead, it apes the behavior of Quakeâs console, un-hiding itself and dropping down from the top of the screen when you hit a hotkey.
This behavior is highly useful, particularly when youâre working with a small screen or need a terminal to quickly scroll through a configuration file or read a man file. Thereâs no need to keep a window open, hunt around for the Terminal icon when you need to type something useful, or check your performance in htop. Just tap [F12] to bring it down, or [F11] to make it full-screen, and youâre away.
Guake also comes with a selection of neat color schemes, giving you a few stylish options. There are similar options for other desktops, too; check out the likes of YaKuake for KDE or the GTK-based tilda.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of Terminatorâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/p7...msTF7pR9LL.jpg
(Image credit: Terminator)
[HEADING=2]3. Terminator[/HEADING]
Bid hasta la vista to the competition
Arrange terminals in grid
Drag-and-drop reordering
Broadcast commands
An aesthetically pleasing terminal emulator, Terminator is built atop the Gnome terminal and is designed to ease the workflow of heavy duty command-line multitaskers. By default, Terminator looks quite ordinary. However, you can make it more presentable without too much effort thanks to its well laid out Preferences dialog box. The app has quite a lot of settings for enhancing its visual appeal.
The app is known for its wide ranging features and functionalities. For instance, you can break up a Terminator window into multiple levels of vertical or horizontal splits and resize them. The colored rectangle in the left-hand corner of the Terminator status bar opens a menu in which you can define groups of terminals, and everything you type in one of them is broadcast to all the others.
Since you can arrange the terminal emulator into complex configurations, Terminator allows you to easily share them into profiles. You can also define custom layouts, color schemes for the foreground and background, and pick fonts.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of Terminologyâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sz...UwsTguZTPc.jpg
(Image credit: Enlightenment)
[HEADING=2]4. Terminology[/HEADING]
Make terminals look cool
Aesthetically pleasing
Miniview
File previews
One of the most exotic terminal emulators, Terminology was originally designed for the Enlightenment desktop environment. The app is known for offering both traditional terminal functions as well as a few exotic ones such as the ability to preview multimedia.
Terminology is based on the EFL libraries and has a whole lot of bells and whistles. The terminal emulator is unique in its ability to use video clips as background. It can also detect email addresses, URLs and file paths so copying and pasting them anywhere is a snap. The app can even display images and play media files which is a definite plus.
Terminology supports tabs that you can switch between using the Expose-like tab switcher. You also get various options to tweak the behavior of the terminal window. For instance, the app allows you to switch themes, change the wallpaper of the terminal window, or pick colors from a palette.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of st (simple terminal)â]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Kz...hZMa8ZmiiQ.jpg
(Image credit: Suckless)
[HEADING=2]5. st (simple terminal)[/HEADING]
Terminal emulator for the minimalists
Lightweight
Read/write to the clipboard
Antialiased fonts
One of Linuxâs big problems is that it sometimes does a bit too much. Your chosen terminal emulator is probably compatible with a whole raft of obscure, archaic and/or unused commands.
st is a simple terminal emulator that does precisely what itâs meant to do and little else. But donât make the mistake of thinking itâs all that simple, though, despite the name (st stands for Simple Terminal). Thereâs still support for all the colors you could ask for, most VT10X escape sequences, clipboard handling, support for shortcuts, a full UTF-8 character set, and a lot of font customization options including antialiasing.
If youâre not one for terminal frippery and would prefer a more straightforward environment, this is most definitely the one for you.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of rxvt-unicodeâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GQ...RLfGswtyfA.jpg
(Image credit: rxvt-unicode)
[HEADING=2]6. rxvt-unicode[/HEADING]
The terminal for the experienced campaigners
Multilingual
Customizable
Supports Perl extensions
Also known as urxvt, rxvt-unicode is the terminal emulator which many veteran Linux users end up going with. Not because it has pretty graphics or gimmicks, but due to the fact that itâs absolutely rock solid and free of glitches.
Thatâs not to say it doesnât do fancy things: it supports colors, unicode, customizable fonts with italics and bold if required, and even transparency. The main program runs as a daemon, meaning it neatly conserves system resources when youâre running multiple windows over multiple desktops.
Itâs very difficult to cause rxvt-unicode to crash, and thatâs its main selling point â even if youâre playing with a more visual terminal program, having this installed for when itâs time to get serious is a clever choice. Do note though, that you may need to edit the configuration file to customize it to your needs.
Continue readingâŚ[/IMG]
Best Linux terminal emulators of 2021
1. Cool Retro Term
2. Guake
3. Terminator
4. Terminology
5. st (simple terminal)
6. rxvt-unicode
If you need something done quickly and efficiently, itâs likely that the best way to do it is with some complex keyboard wrangling. Exactly what to type is beyond the scope of this article â check out the guide here to get yourself started on that front.
The key, if youâre a terminal-slinging Linux badass, is to make sure you type those commands with as much style and panache as possible. And while youâll likely never be in a position where youâre not able to drop to a straight full-screen shell, having a quick window to the command line on your desktop is always handy.
Of course, your Linux distro will have a âTerminalâ application already such as xterm, Gnome Shell or Konsole â but this probably isnât as good as your emulator could be. Letâs refresh your view of those plain old white-on-black characters, as we pick out our top Linux Terminal emulators.
[ul]
[li]5 of the most popular Raspberry Pi distros[/li][li]10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs[/li][li]5 of the most popular Linux gaming distros[/li][li]10 of the most popular lightweight Linux distros[/li][/ul]
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of Cool Retro Termâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zA...Td5AM4o4dc.jpg
(Image credit: GitHub)
[HEADING=2]1. Cool Retro Term[/HEADING]
Get a slice of the past
Light-weight
Customizable
Available as a snap
If you have a bunch of CPU cycles and graphics processing power that needs using up, youâre sure to get a kick out of Cool Retro Term. It emulates the look of a really old-school cathode ray monitor, complete with phosphorus glow, burn-in, and bloom around the characters. If you cut your teeth with the monochrome screens of the early eighties, this is a nostalgic (and highly customizable) trip back to the past.
You can even select between a number of character sets, evoking memories of, for example, the all-caps Apple II, as well as selecting between a number of colors to replicate the amber warmth of classic Zenith monitors, or a rarely-used but nonetheless beautiful cyan.
While the usefulness of some of its features is questionable, particularly the optional screen jitter replicating a slightly dodgy signal cable, and some of the older fonts, Cool Retro Term is a beautiful toy to play with.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of Guakeâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Qt...NDkq6iYffG.jpg
(Image credit: Guake)
[HEADING=2]2. Guake[/HEADING]
Drop down terminal for Gnome users
Supports multi-monitor setup
Gnome integration
Named tabs
This Terminal emulator, crafted specifically for Gnome, takes inspiration from the classic shooter Quake, as its name suggests. Guake doesnât offer you quad or mega-health power-ups, red armor, or even come branded with Quakeâs classic brown-on-brown color scheme, thankfully. Instead, it apes the behavior of Quakeâs console, un-hiding itself and dropping down from the top of the screen when you hit a hotkey.
This behavior is highly useful, particularly when youâre working with a small screen or need a terminal to quickly scroll through a configuration file or read a man file. Thereâs no need to keep a window open, hunt around for the Terminal icon when you need to type something useful, or check your performance in htop. Just tap [F12] to bring it down, or [F11] to make it full-screen, and youâre away.
Guake also comes with a selection of neat color schemes, giving you a few stylish options. There are similar options for other desktops, too; check out the likes of YaKuake for KDE or the GTK-based tilda.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of Terminatorâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/p7...msTF7pR9LL.jpg
(Image credit: Terminator)
[HEADING=2]3. Terminator[/HEADING]
Bid hasta la vista to the competition
Arrange terminals in grid
Drag-and-drop reordering
Broadcast commands
An aesthetically pleasing terminal emulator, Terminator is built atop the Gnome terminal and is designed to ease the workflow of heavy duty command-line multitaskers. By default, Terminator looks quite ordinary. However, you can make it more presentable without too much effort thanks to its well laid out Preferences dialog box. The app has quite a lot of settings for enhancing its visual appeal.
The app is known for its wide ranging features and functionalities. For instance, you can break up a Terminator window into multiple levels of vertical or horizontal splits and resize them. The colored rectangle in the left-hand corner of the Terminator status bar opens a menu in which you can define groups of terminals, and everything you type in one of them is broadcast to all the others.
Since you can arrange the terminal emulator into complex configurations, Terminator allows you to easily share them into profiles. You can also define custom layouts, color schemes for the foreground and background, and pick fonts.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of Terminologyâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sz...UwsTguZTPc.jpg
(Image credit: Enlightenment)
[HEADING=2]4. Terminology[/HEADING]
Make terminals look cool
Aesthetically pleasing
Miniview
File previews
One of the most exotic terminal emulators, Terminology was originally designed for the Enlightenment desktop environment. The app is known for offering both traditional terminal functions as well as a few exotic ones such as the ability to preview multimedia.
Terminology is based on the EFL libraries and has a whole lot of bells and whistles. The terminal emulator is unique in its ability to use video clips as background. It can also detect email addresses, URLs and file paths so copying and pasting them anywhere is a snap. The app can even display images and play media files which is a definite plus.
Terminology supports tabs that you can switch between using the Expose-like tab switcher. You also get various options to tweak the behavior of the terminal window. For instance, the app allows you to switch themes, change the wallpaper of the terminal window, or pick colors from a palette.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of st (simple terminal)â]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Kz...hZMa8ZmiiQ.jpg
(Image credit: Suckless)
[HEADING=2]5. st (simple terminal)[/HEADING]
Terminal emulator for the minimalists
Lightweight
Read/write to the clipboard
Antialiased fonts
One of Linuxâs big problems is that it sometimes does a bit too much. Your chosen terminal emulator is probably compatible with a whole raft of obscure, archaic and/or unused commands.
st is a simple terminal emulator that does precisely what itâs meant to do and little else. But donât make the mistake of thinking itâs all that simple, though, despite the name (st stands for Simple Terminal). Thereâs still support for all the colors you could ask for, most VT10X escape sequences, clipboard handling, support for shortcuts, a full UTF-8 character set, and a lot of font customization options including antialiasing.
If youâre not one for terminal frippery and would prefer a more straightforward environment, this is most definitely the one for you.
[IMG alt=âdividerâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xp...Y5Kqsnopd7.jpg
[IMG alt=âWebsite screenshot of rxvt-unicodeâ]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GQ...RLfGswtyfA.jpg
(Image credit: rxvt-unicode)
[HEADING=2]6. rxvt-unicode[/HEADING]
The terminal for the experienced campaigners
Multilingual
Customizable
Supports Perl extensions
Also known as urxvt, rxvt-unicode is the terminal emulator which many veteran Linux users end up going with. Not because it has pretty graphics or gimmicks, but due to the fact that itâs absolutely rock solid and free of glitches.
Thatâs not to say it doesnât do fancy things: it supports colors, unicode, customizable fonts with italics and bold if required, and even transparency. The main program runs as a daemon, meaning it neatly conserves system resources when youâre running multiple windows over multiple desktops.
Itâs very difficult to cause rxvt-unicode to crash, and thatâs its main selling point â even if youâre playing with a more visual terminal program, having this installed for when itâs time to get serious is a clever choice. Do note though, that you may need to edit the configuration file to customize it to your needs.
Continue readingâŚ[/IMG]