Unix and Linux Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [console]

The system console is an interface used by human to control the computer. Basically, it consists of a keyboard and a monitor that can provide a text user interface.

The console is used to give feedback of user input and display textual results of executed commands.

The concept originates from the beginnings of the IT world, where limited displaying capabilities were available.

The computers and displays were connected through low-speed serial ports and the monitors could display texts only based on built-in character-sets.

Nowadays everyone uses high-resolution graphical displays, so the console environments are emulated by the videocards.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_console

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What is the exact difference between a 'terminal', a 'shell', a 'tty' and a 'console'?

I think these terms almost refer to the same thing, when used loosely: terminal shell tty console What exactly does each of these terms refer to?
Lazer
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Linux: Difference between /dev/console , /dev/tty and /dev/tty0

On a Linux system, what is the difference between /dev/console, /dev/tty and /dev/tty0? What is their respective use and how do they compare?
Axel Fontaine
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Fix terminal after displaying a binary file

I'd tried command cat with an executable file: cat /bin/ls Now I can't read any word in this terminal (Linux console). How can I fix it?
lotusirous
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Use Mosh without giving up local scrollback / history?

Is there a way to use mosh without giving up the local scrollback? Basically, in some circumstances, IP-roaming is indeed useful and needed, but the extra terminal emulation and key prediction seems to only be getting rid of the local scrollback…
cnst
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Disable screen blanking on text console

I'm running linux clusters, mostly on SLES10. The servers are mostly blades, accessed via remote console. There is a real console in the server room, but switched off. I would like to disable the screen blanking as it serves no purpose and is…
markus_b
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Refresh env variables after editing bashrc file

I frequently edited the .bashrc file to export new environment variables. Rather than close the console and start a new one to refresh the env variables, is there a convenient way to refresh?
xiaohan2012
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Can I change the font of the text-mode console?

I have a Unix-like OS installed without a windowing environment; i.e., just a text-mode console and no GUI. Is it possible to change the font used by the console? To be clear, I am not talking about the terminal emulator that comes with a desktop…
Weihang Jian
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Is there any reason why I get ^[[A when I press up arrow at the console login screen?

Whenever I'm at the console login, I press up arrow intentionally to see the previously typed commands. But I see this ^[[A. But when I press Ctrl Alt Print Screen Scroll Lock Pause Break Page Up Page Down Win keys doesn't echo any characters. What…
Ruban Savvy
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Command line to return to the GUI after Ctrl-Alt-F1?

I'm unable to return to the GUI with Ctrl-Alt-F7 (or any of the 12 function keys). I have some unsaved work and I don't want to lose them. Are there any other key combinations that will allow me to switch back? Here is what I did: I pressed…
netvope
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What happens when Ctrl + Alt + F is pressed?

I am looking for an explanation of what happens in Linux when this key combination is pressed to change the current terminal. In particular, what software component intercepts this key combination and changes the terminal? Is it the kernel? If it…
user31765
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How to disable Alt-Arrow switching of Virtual Consoles?

The following happens on different Linuces: When I'm in a virtual console, hold Alt and press ← or →, the virtual ttys cycle. This is really annoying as I'm using fish-shell which also uses this key combo. I could remap fish's short cuts, but I…
bot47
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How to change cursor shape, color, and blinkrate of Linux Console?

I know I can change some fundamental settings of the Linux console, things like fonts, for instance, with dpkg-reconfigure console-setup. But I'd like to change things like blinkrate, color, and shape (I want my cursor to be a block, at all times).…
polemon
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How to set the resolution in text consoles (troubleshoot when any `vga=...` fails)

It is a common way to set the resolution of a text consoles (that are usually available by Ctrl-Alt-F1 thru Ctrl-Alt-F6) by using a vga=... kernel parameter. I'm using Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid, output of uname -a is: Linux 2.6.32-33-generic #70-Ubuntu…
mbaitoff
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Adjusting keyboard sensitivity in a command line terminal?

When using a tty login shell by entering Ctrl-Alt-F1 from an Ubuntu 12.04 install on a laptop the keyboard seems overly sensitive and if my finger lingers for a moment on a button I end up with repeats of the same letter. Is there a way to adjust…
haziz
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What is raw keyboard mode?

In the magic sysrq key combinations, there is the combination alt+sysrq+r which, according to wikipedia, does the following: Switch the keyboard from raw mode, the mode used by programs such as X11 and svgalib, to XLATE mode What is raw mode?…
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