# GNOME Console

> Simple GTK 4 terminal from the GNOME project (also called kgx), built on VTE and aimed at casual command-line use.

Stars: 75 · Language: C · License: GPL-3.0 · Platforms: Linux · Config: gsettings

Features: built-in multiplexer, configurable

- Repository: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/console
- Page: https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/gnome-console

## Overview

Console, also known by its original name and binary `kgx`, is the GNOME project's terminal app, written in C with GTK 4 and libadwaita on top of the VTE widget. The README states its aim directly: a simple terminal for the average user doing occasional command-line tasks, not a replacement for GNOME Terminal or Tilix. It suits people who open a terminal now and then and want it to fit the GNOME desktop with almost nothing to set up.

Settings live in GSettings under the `org.gnome.Console` schema. The preferences window covers the font (system default or a custom one), scrollback size or unlimited scrollback, and audible or visual bell, and the main menu has a light, dark or follow-system style switcher. Other keys such as the shell command, transparency and custom color schemes (called liveries) exist in the schema but are set with `gsettings` rather than the UI. Keyboard shortcuts are fixed and listed in a shortcuts dialog, not remappable.

The header bar changes color when the active tab is running as root or inside a remote session, with `ssh`, `telnet`, `mosh`, `et` and `waypipe` detected as remote. Console sends a desktop notification when a command finishes in a background tab, and tabs can be dragged out into new windows or browsed in the libadwaita tab overview. Files dropped onto the terminal are pasted as paths, with a confirmation dialog for pasting commands that would run with root privileges. Recent releases added a fullscreen mode, better error reporting and an expanded test suite, and the window adapts to narrow and touch screens.

The minimal scope is the main limit. Console has tabs but no split panes, profiles or remappable shortcuts. VTE does not render programming-font ligatures, Console does not enable VTE's Sixel support so there are no inline images, and rendering goes through GTK 4 rather than a dedicated GPU text renderer. It is Linux-only. The project does not accept contributions generated by LLM tools.

## Alternatives

- [Windows Terminal](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/windows-terminal.md): Microsoft's terminal for Windows that hosts PowerShell, cmd and WSL shells in tabs and panes, with GPU text rendering and JSON settings. (Windows, 105.3k stars)
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- [Alacritty](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/alacritty.md): Cross-platform OpenGL terminal emulator written in Rust, configured with a TOML file and leaving tabs and splits to a multiplexer like tmux. (Linux/macOS/Windows/BSD, 66.1k stars)
- [Warp](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/warp.md): Terminal written in Rust with an IDE-style command editor, command output grouped into blocks, and built-in AI agents. (macOS/Linux/Windows, 65.7k stars)
- [Termux](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/termux.md): Android terminal emulator and Linux environment that installs packages through its own apt repository, no root required. (Android, 63.6k stars)
- [Ghostty](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/ghostty.md): Terminal emulator written in Zig with GPU rendering and a native UI on each platform: Swift/AppKit on macOS, GTK on Linux. (Linux/macOS, 62.8k stars)
- [Hyper](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/hyper.md): Electron terminal built on HTML, CSS and JavaScript, themed and extended through npm plugins. (Linux/macOS/Windows, 44.8k stars)
- [Kitty](https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/kitty.md): GPU-rendered terminal written in C and Python, with its own graphics protocol, built-in tabs and splits, and scriptable 'kittens'. (Linux/macOS/BSD, 35.5k stars)

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Canonical: https://www.trmn.sh/terminals/gnome-console