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konsole icon

Konsole

Terminal Emulators•
Linux
•C++

Default terminal emulator for the KDE desktop environment.

Official Website

Features

Split ViewsTabsProfilesBookmarksKDE Integration

Installation

APT (Debian/Ubuntu)
apt install konsole
Pacman (Arch)
pacman -S konsole
DNF (Fedora)
dnf install konsole

Why Use Konsole?

Konsole is the standard terminal emulator for the KDE desktop environment. It is bundled in KDE environments including Kubuntu, and combines advanced features with flexible customization.

Split View

Split the screen horizontally or vertically to display multiple terminal sessions simultaneously.

Bookmark Feature

Save frequently used directories and SSH connections to bookmarks for quick access.

Profile Management

Create multiple profiles for different purposes and freely switch appearance and behavior.

High Customizability

Integration with KDE settings allows fine-grained customization from appearance to keybindings.

Main Features

Tabs and Session Management

Open multiple tabs for efficient work. Give each tab a name and color for easy identification. Sessions can be saved and restored later.

SSH Management

Save SSH connections as profiles for one-click connection to remote servers. Multiple simultaneous server connections are supported.

Output Monitoring and Notifications

Receive notifications when background tabs have output, allowing efficient work even during long-running tasks.

History Search

Search scrollback history to quickly find past output. Regular expression search is also supported.

Installation

Ubuntu / Debian / Kubuntu

Pre-installed by default in KDE environments. To install on other environments, use the following command:

apt (Ubuntu/Debian)
# Install Konsole
sudo apt update
sudo apt install konsole

# Verify installation
konsole --version

Fedora

dnf (Fedora)
# Install Konsole
sudo dnf install konsole

# To also install KDE Plasma environment
sudo dnf groupinstall "KDE Plasma Workspaces"

Arch Linux

pacman (Arch Linux)
# Install Konsole
sudo pacman -S konsole

# Also install required dependencies
sudo pacman -S konsole kinit

openSUSE

zypper (openSUSE)
# Install Konsole
sudo zypper install konsole

Configuration

Konsole settings can be opened from the "Settings" menu. Profile management, appearance customization, and keybinding changes are possible. Configuration files are saved in ~/.local/share/konsole/.

Create Profiles

Profile Location
# Profile configuration file location
~/.local/share/konsole/

# Creating new profiles via GUI is recommended
# Settings → Manage Profiles → New

# List existing profiles
ls ~/.local/share/konsole/*.profile

Profile Configuration Example

~/.local/share/konsole/Development.profile
[Appearance]
ColorScheme=Breeze
Font=Hack,12,-1,5,50,0,0,0,0,0

[General]
Name=Development
Parent=FALLBACK/
Command=/bin/zsh
Directory=/home/user/projects
TerminalColumns=120
TerminalRows=40

[Interaction Options]
CopyTextAsHTML=false
TrimLeadingSpacesInSelectedText=true
TrimTrailingSpacesInSelectedText=true

[Scrolling]
HistoryMode=2
HistorySize=10000

[Terminal Features]
BellMode=0
BlinkingCursorEnabled=true

Create Color Scheme

~/.local/share/konsole/Catppuccin.colorscheme
[Background]
Color=30,30,46

[BackgroundFaint]
Color=30,30,46

[BackgroundIntense]
Color=30,30,46

[Color0]
Color=69,71,90

[Color0Faint]
Color=69,71,90

[Color0Intense]
Color=88,91,112

[Color1]
Color=243,139,168

[Color2]
Color=166,227,161

[Color3]
Color=249,226,175

[Color4]
Color=137,180,250

[Color5]
Color=245,194,231

[Color6]
Color=148,226,213

[Color7]
Color=186,194,222

[Foreground]
Color=205,214,244

[ForegroundFaint]
Color=166,173,200

[ForegroundIntense]
Color=205,214,244

[General]
Anchor=0.5,0.5
Blur=false
ColorRandomization=false
Description=Catppuccin Mocha
Opacity=1
Wallpaper=

Keybinding Configuration

Keybinding Settings
# Custom keybinding configuration file location
~/.local/share/konsole/*.keytab

# Copy and edit default keybindings
cp /usr/share/konsole/default.keytab ~/.local/share/konsole/custom.keytab

# Can also be changed via Settings → Edit Keybindings

Create SSH Profile

~/.local/share/konsole/ServerProduction.profile
[General]
Name=Server Production
Parent=FALLBACK/
Command=ssh user@production-server.example.com
Icon=network-server
TerminalColumns=120
TerminalRows=40

[Appearance]
ColorScheme=Breeze
Font=Hack,12,-1,5,50,0,0,0,0,0
TabColor=255,100,100

Backup and Restore Configuration

Backup and Restore
# Backup configuration files
cp -r ~/.local/share/konsole/ ~/konsole-backup/
cp ~/.config/konsolerc ~/konsole-backup/

# Restore configuration
cp -r ~/konsole-backup/konsole/* ~/.local/share/konsole/
cp ~/konsole-backup/konsolerc ~/.config/

# Reset all settings
rm -rf ~/.local/share/konsole/
rm ~/.config/konsolerc

Keyboard Shortcuts

ShortcutDescription
Ctrl + Shift + TOpen new tab
Ctrl + Shift + WClose current tab
Ctrl + Shift + NOpen new window
Shift + LeftSwitch to previous tab
Shift + RightSwitch to next tab
Ctrl + (Split screen left-right
Ctrl + )Split screen top-bottom
Ctrl + Shift + Left/Right/Up/DownMove between split views
Ctrl + Shift + SRename tab
Ctrl + Shift + CCopy selection
Ctrl + Shift + VPaste
Ctrl + Shift + FOpen search bar
F3 / Shift + F3Search next / previous
Ctrl + +Increase font size
Ctrl + -Decrease font size
Ctrl + 0Reset font size
Ctrl + Shift + MToggle menu bar
Ctrl + Shift + F11Toggle fullscreen
Ctrl + Shift + BAdd bookmark
Ctrl + Shift + ESave output to file

Command Line Options

Command Line Options
# Start with specific profile
konsole --profile "Development"

# Start in specific directory
konsole --workdir /home/user/projects

# Execute command
konsole -e htop

# Open multiple new tabs
konsole --new-tab --new-tab

# Start with specific color scheme
konsole --profile "Default" -p ColorScheme=Breeze

# Name tabs and start
konsole --new-tab -p tabtitle="Server 1" -e "ssh server1" \
        --new-tab -p tabtitle="Server 2" -e "ssh server2"

# Specify window size
konsole --geometry 120x40

# Start detached session
konsole --separate

# Start in background mode
konsole --background-mode

Bookmark Feature

Use Konsole's bookmark feature to save frequently used directories and SSH connections for quick access from the menu.

Bookmark Configuration Example
# Bookmark file location
~/.local/share/konsole/bookmarks.xml

# Example bookmarks
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE xbel>
<xbel>
  <folder>
    <title>Projects</title>
    <bookmark href="/home/user/projects/webapp">
      <title>Web App</title>
    </bookmark>
    <bookmark href="/home/user/projects/api">
      <title>API Server</title>
    </bookmark>
  </folder>
  <folder>
    <title>SSH Servers</title>
    <bookmark href="ssh://user@production.example.com">
      <title>Production Server</title>
    </bookmark>
    <bookmark href="ssh://user@staging.example.com">
      <title>Staging Server</title>
    </bookmark>
  </folder>
</xbel>

Tips

  • •Tab Color Coding: Right-click a tab and select "Change Tab Color" to set colors per tab. Useful for distinguishing production/dev environments
  • •Monitor Output: Use View → Monitor for Activity to get notified of output changes in background tabs
  • •Monitor Silence: Use View → Monitor for Silence to be notified when output stops for a period
  • •Dolphin Integration: Use "Open Terminal Here" from KDE file manager Dolphin to launch Konsole in that directory
  • •Quick Commands: Use Settings → Manage Quick Commands to register frequently used commands and execute them with keyboard shortcuts
  • •Yakuake Integration: For dropdown terminal preference, Yakuake based on Konsole is recommended
  • •Save Sessions: Use File → Save Tabs as Profile to save current sessions and restore them later
Written by Dai AokiPublished: 2026-01-20

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