How to Change the Default Terminal Emulator in Ubuntu

The terminal is the heart of any Linux distribution. In Ubuntu, the default terminal emulator is GNOME Terminal, which is reliable and easy to use. However, power users often prefer alternative emulators like Terminator (for advanced window splitting), Alacritty (for GPU-accelerated speed), or Kitty. When you install one of these alternatives, you might find that pressing the standard Ctrl + Alt + T keyboard shortcut still opens the old GNOME Terminal, forcing you to launch your new application manually from the app menu.

To fix this, you need to tell the Ubuntu operating system to change its default terminal handler. This ensures that every keyboard shortcut, script, and file manager action correctly launches your preferred terminal emulator instead of the default GNOME option.

Using the Alternatives System

Ubuntu (and Debian-based systems in general) uses a background system called update-alternatives to manage default applications for core system tasks.

1. Open your current terminal (GNOME Terminal or your new one).
2. Type the following command and press Enter:
   sudo update-alternatives --config x-terminal-emulator
3. You will be prompted to enter your administrator password. Remember that Linux does not show characters as you type passwords. Type it and press Enter.
4. The terminal will print a list of all installed terminal emulators that are registered with the system. Each option will have a number next to it in the “Selection” column. The currently active default is marked with an asterisk (*).
5. Look at the list and find the number corresponding to your new preferred terminal emulator (for example, Terminator).
6. At the bottom prompt that says “Press <enter> to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:”, type the number of your preferred terminal and press Enter.

The change is instantaneous. The next time you press Ctrl + Alt + T, your newly selected terminal emulator will launch.

Troubleshooting: If Your Terminal Is Not Listed

Occasionally, if you install a terminal emulator manually or via a third-party script, it might not automatically register itself with the update-alternatives system, meaning it will not appear in the list from the previous step.

You can manually add the new terminal emulator to the list before setting it as the default.

1. First, you need to know the exact installation path of your new terminal executable (e.g., /usr/bin/alacritty). You can usually find this by typing which alacritty (replace ‘alacritty’ with your terminal’s name).
2. Run the following command to register the new terminal with the system (replace the path at the end with your specific path):
   sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/x-terminal-emulator x-terminal-emulator /usr/bin/alacritty 50
3. Now, run the configuration command again:
   sudo update-alternatives --config x-terminal-emulator
4. Your newly added terminal should now appear in the list, allowing you to select its corresponding number and set it as the default.