How to use Guake Terminal in Linux

For many years, the terminal in Linux remained unchanged. After all, there may not be much to fix or improve in a command prompt window. But Guake proved this thinking wrong.

Let TipsMake.com consider why it is worth taking some time for Guake through the following article!

Upgrade to a better terminal

Because Guake is one of the most popular applications, you can find it in most distribution repositories. You can install it in Debian-based distributions with the command:

 sudo apt-get install guake 

Manual run for the first time

Guake does not run automatically after installation. The first time you use it, you have to search and run it manually, from the desktop environment's main menu environment or by typing 'guake' into a terminal.

After running the application, a window appears at the top right of the screen will remind you that you have immediate access to the application's window by pressing F12 . This button acts as a toggle button, allowing you to show and hide the window at the same time.

Customize Guake

Right-click anywhere in the application, the main menu will appear. For now, skip the other options and choose Preferences. From there, you will be able to customize Guake to view and work the way you want.

General Options tab

On the General Options tab , enable 'Start Guake at login' to have the application run automatically whenever you log into the desktop.

You should change the 'Prompt on close tab' option from 'Never' to 'With process running' . This way, whenever you try to close a tab when a process is active, Guake will display a warning to avoid accidentally terminating something useful.

Main Window tab

In the Main Window tab , you can modify a set of parameters that determine the appearance of the application window. You should increase the 'Max tab name length' from 100 to 150.

Perhaps the most significant change in the interface of the application will be found in 'Geometry' , where you can position the window (left, center, right), as well as its width and height.

Appearance tab

The Appearance tab options allow you to change the look of the application. The large number of predefined color profiles included in the 'Built-in schemes' menu combined with the transparency adjustment support in 'Effects: Transparency:' help keep you from messing with the rest of the options. .

Tab Keyboard shortcuts

Continue with the Keyboard shortcuts tab to see a list of all application shortcuts and, if you don't like the default settings, modify them. The most important keyboard shortcuts you should keep in mind are:

1. Toggle Guake visibility : The key makes the main application window appear and disappear.
2. New tab : Immediately create a new terminal on a new tab.
3. Close tab : Close the selected tab.
4. Rename current tab : Renames selected tab for easier identification.
5. Split tab vertical : Split a tab to operate vertically into two terminals.
6. Etc.

Divide and conquer Guake

Using keyboard shortcuts or right-click menu options, you can turn the Guake window into your optimal workspace.

1. You can divide each frame into as many sub terminals as you want, horizontally or vertically.
2. By holding the left mouse button on the divider, you can change the width or height of the 'partitions' for more flexibility (like tabs in web browsers).
3. By using the default shortcut key or the associated key in the tab bar, you can create new shortcuts.
4. Holding the left mouse button on the tab and dragging it allows you to change the order.

Guake is a real upgrade on a simple, standard terminal in Linux. It is intelligently designed to facilitate multitasking and can vary according to user preferences.