If you are a programmer or system administrator using Ubuntu Linux, you likely spend a significant portion of your day staring at the GNOME Terminal. By default, the small block or underline cursor at the command prompt blinks rapidly and continuously to draw your eye to the current input line.
While some users find this helpful, many find the constant, rhythmic flashing to be a massive visual distraction, especially when trying to read complex logs or focus on writing long shell scripts. Fortunately, GNOME Terminal allows you to disable this animation entirely, freezing the cursor in a solid, non-blinking state.
How to Turn Off the Blinking Cursor in GNOME Terminal
You can adjust the cursor behaviour directly within your specific Terminal profile preferences.
- Open the Terminal application (Ctrl + Alt + T).
- In the top menu bar of the Terminal window (or the global top bar depending on your Ubuntu version), click on the hamburger menu icon (three horizontal lines) or right-click anywhere inside the terminal window.
- Select Preferences.
- In the left-hand sidebar of the Preferences window, under the “Profiles” section, click on your active profile (usually named Unnamed or Default).
- In the main window on the right, ensure you are on the Text tab.
- Look for the setting labelled Cursor blinking near the top of the menu.
- Click the drop-down menu next to this setting (which defaults to “Follow system”) and change it to Disabled.
Close the Preferences window. The flashing animation will immediately cease. Your cursor will remain a solid, static block or underline, providing a much calmer and less distracting command-line environment for your daily workflow.