The quickest way to open the Terminal application in Ubuntu is to use one of the major keyboard shortcuts. You can also search for Terminal in the Dash, or add a shortcut to your Launcher. In older versions of Ubuntu, you can find it in the Applications folder.

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

  1. 1
    Press .Ctrl+Alt+T. This will launch the Terminal.[1]
  2. 2
    Press .Alt+F2 and type gnome-terminal. This will also launch the Terminal.
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  3. 3
    Press . Win+T (Xubuntu only). This Xubuntu-specific shortcut will also launch Terminal.[2]
  4. 4
    Set a custom shortcut. You can change the shortcut from Ctrl+Alt+T to something else:
    • Click the "System settings" button in the Launcher bar.
    • Click the "Keyboard" option in the "Hardware" section.
    • Click the "Shortcuts" tab.
    • Click the "Launchers" category and then highlight "Launch terminal."
    • Press your new keyboard shortcut.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Using the Dash

  1. 1
    Click the Dash button or press . Win. The Dash button can be found in the upper-left corner, and has the Ubuntu logo.
    • If you switched your Super Key from Win to something else, press the new key instead.
  2. 2
    Type terminal.
  3. 3
    Press . Return.[3]
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Using a Launcher Shortcut

  1. 1
    Click the Dash button. You can find this in the Launcher bar, and it has the Ubuntu logo.
  2. 2
    Type terminal to search for it.
  3. 3
    Drag the "Terminal" icon from the search results to your Launcher bar.
  4. 4
    Click the new Terminal icon to launch it any time.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Using Ubuntu 10.04 and Earlier

  1. 1
    Click the Applications button. This can be found in the Launcher bar in older versions of Ubuntu.
  2. 2
    Click "Accessories." In Xubuntu, click "System" instead.
  3. 3
    Click "Terminal."
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    How do I stop the terminal from starting automatically when I start up my computer?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    You can either use a software like the program "Clean my Mac" or you can put the program in your dock. When in dock, you can right click (or hold the left click button) and press ''alternatives'.' From there you may navigate to the button saying "open" on "login." If you press that button, the terminal won't open anymore.
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About This Article

wikiHow Staff
Co-authored by:
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 513,747 times.
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Co-authors: 14
Updated: August 12, 2022
Views: 513,747
Categories: Ubuntu
Article SummaryX

1. Click the Dash button.
2. Type "terminal".
3. Press Enter.

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