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MATE Terminal is the traditional graphical terminal emulator associated with the MATE desktop. It opens a shell such as Bash or Zsh in a desktop window and provides tabs, profiles, zoom, and command-line launch options. It is a separately packaged application, so you generally do not need to install the full MATE desktop just to use it. Its version and exact behavior depend on your Linux distribution.
What MATE Terminal does—and what it does not
MATE Terminal supplies the window in which you interact with a command-line shell. The shell interprets commands; the terminal emulator displays the session and handles keyboard input and terminal control sequences.
| Component | Role |
|---|---|
| MATE Terminal | The graphical terminal window. |
| Bash, Zsh, Dash, or another shell | Interprets commands entered in that window. |
| Linux | Runs processes and provides operating-system services. |
| SSH | An optional program you can run inside the terminal to connect to another computer. |
| MATE | The desktop environment with which the application is designed to integrate. |
The MATE project describes MATE Terminal as its terminal application (MATE Terminal documentation). It is not itself a shell, SSH service, or terminal multiplexer such as tmux or screen. You can use those programs inside it if they are installed.
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Features and compatibility
MATE Terminal is aimed at conventional desktop shell work. Its documented capabilities include tabs, profiles, clickable URLs, translucent backgrounds, custom titles, working-directory selection, zoom, and windowed, maximized, or full-screen use. The package description for Debian lists support for applications designed for VT102, VT220, and xterm terminal types (Debian package details). Fedora’s package metadata lists features including tabs, profiles, transparency, and clickable URLs (Fedora package details).
These are not guarantees that every distribution build exposes identical options or that every terminal application will render identically. Programs may inspect the TERM environment variable, and remote machines need a matching terminfo entry for the advertised terminal type. For a display problem, check:
echo "$TERM"
infocmp "$TERM"Advanced graphics protocols, pane tiling, GPU-focused rendering, or built-in remote-session management should not be assumed. Exact Wayland behavior is also distribution- and version-dependent; the available command-line documentation includes X11-related options, which is not enough to establish universal Wayland support.
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Yes. It remains available through Linux distribution repositories, but there is no single version that applies to every system. The cited Debian Trixie and Sid listings show version 1.26.1-1, while Fedora’s package index lists 1.28.3 builds for Fedora 43, 44, and Rawhide. Check your own repository for the version you will receive.
Do not infer MATE Terminal’s version from the version of the MATE desktop: the project’s 1.29.0 pre-release is a desktop release, not evidence of a matching MATE Terminal release. Fedora package metadata identifies MATE Terminal as GPL-3.0-or-later.
Install MATE Terminal without installing MATE
MATE Terminal is packaged separately. Installing it by itself can still bring in supporting MATE libraries and GTK components, but it does not require installing the entire desktop environment. Package availability depends on your distribution and enabled repositories.
Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mate-terminalCheck the package candidate with apt policy mate-terminal. If the package is unavailable, confirm that the appropriate repositories are enabled for your release.
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Fedora
sudo dnf install mate-terminalVerify installation with rpm -q mate-terminal or check the application version as shown below. These commands are distribution-specific examples; use your system’s package manager and repository documentation if you use another distribution.
Installing the complete MATE desktop
Only choose a desktop installation if you want MATE’s broader set of applications and desktop components, not just its terminal. The MATE project documents commands such as sudo apt install mate-desktop-environment for Debian-based systems and sudo pacman -Sy mate mate-extra for Arch-based systems. These install much more than MATE Terminal. The project also warns that adding MATE alongside another desktop can introduce duplicate applications or conflicting settings (MATE installation guide).
Launch it and use the main options
Launch from the desktop’s applications menu—the exact location varies—or run the executable directly:
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mate-terminal
command -v mate-terminal
mate-terminal --version
mate-terminal --helpThe command-line interface can open windows and tabs, choose a profile, set a title or starting directory, and change window state. Examples:
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mate-terminal --window
mate-terminal --tab
mate-terminal --working-directory="$HOME/projects"
mate-terminal --title="Project shell"
mate-terminal --profile="Remote"
mate-terminal --zoom=1.2
mate-terminal --maximize
mate-terminal --full-screen--window opens a new window with a default-profile tab; --tab requests a tab in the last-opened window. Profile names must match one available in your installation. For the full option list on your installed version, use mate-terminal --help or mate-terminal --help-all.
Run a command when opening a terminal
For a command and its arguments, use --execute (-x):
mate-terminal --execute ls -la
mate-terminal --execute ssh [email protected]For shell syntax such as &&, variables, pipes, or redirection, invoke a shell explicitly. This example changes directories, runs a build, then starts an interactive Bash session:
mate-terminal -- bash -c 'cd "$HOME/projects" && make; exec bash'Without the final exec bash, the window may close when the command finishes, depending on the command and the profile’s exit behavior. If you need to preserve a failing command’s exit status for display, use a pattern such as:
mate-terminal -- bash -c 'your-command; status=$?; printf "nExit status: %sn" "$status"; exec bash'Quoting and command parsing can vary by version and by how a launcher passes its arguments. Consult the installed manual or help output when a complex command behaves differently than expected.
Profiles and everyday customization
Profiles let you keep different terminal configurations for different tasks. For instance, you might use one profile for daily work, another with high-contrast colors, or a distinctive warning background for administrative sessions. Open MATE Terminal’s preferences, create or select a profile, adjust the available settings, and make it the default if you want it used for new terminals.
Depending on the version, profile settings can include font and size, foreground and background colors, cursor appearance, scrollback, bell behavior, transparency or background effects, menubar visibility, and what happens when a launched command exits. The exact labels and organization can vary, so use the preferences in your installed build rather than relying on a universal menu path.
Useful alternatives by workflow
| Terminal | Consider it when | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Xfce Terminal | You want a traditional GTK terminal suited to an Xfce-style workflow. | A VTE-based terminal with a similar conventional desktop role. |
| GNOME Console | You prefer a simple, GNOME-oriented interface. | Emphasizes a minimal GNOME experience. |
| GNOME Terminal | You want a mature GTK terminal and broader customization. | Common in GNOME environments; availability and defaults vary by distribution. |
| Konsole | You use KDE Plasma. | Integrates with KDE and offers a broader feature set for many workflows. |
| Tilix or Terminator | You need split panes, tiled terminals, or multi-terminal layouts. | These focus more directly on arranging several terminal sessions in one window. |
| Warp | You specifically want a modern developer terminal with AI or collaboration features. | It is a materially different, commercially oriented option; it is not a like-for-like replacement for a simple local MATE terminal. |
Choose based on workflow, desktop integration, and required features—not an unsupported assumption that one terminal is faster or more secure. MATE Terminal is a sensible fit when tabs and profiles are enough. If split layouts are central to your work, a tiling terminal may suit you better; if you need persistent sessions across disconnects, consider a shell multiplexer such as tmux rather than expecting the emulator to provide that function.
Troubleshooting
“command not found” or no menu entry
Check whether the executable is installed and on your path:
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command -v mate-terminalIf it is missing, install the package for your distribution. If the command works but the menu entry is absent, the issue may be desktop-menu integration rather than the terminal executable itself.
The window closes as soon as a command finishes
The startup command may have exited, or the profile may close the terminal when its shell exits. Try opening a plain shell with mate-terminal -- bash. To keep a window open after a command, append ; exec bash inside an explicitly invoked shell command.
A requested profile is not found
Inspect profiles in the preferences interface and copy the exact name. Capitalization and spaces may matter. Profile names are not standardized across distributions.
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Confirm the directory exists and that the path expands as intended. Shell startup files or the command you launch can change directories after the terminal starts:
mate-terminal --working-directory="$HOME/projects"A remote text interface looks garbled
Check echo "$TERM" locally and on the remote host, then check whether the remote machine has a matching terminfo entry with infocmp "$TERM". The application may also use control sequences beyond those supported by the terminal’s advertised behavior.
Building from source
The MATE project documents Meson and Autotools build paths. A Meson build is shown as:
meson build --prefix=/usr
cd build
ninja
sudo ninja installIts documented Autotools path is:
./autogen.sh --prefix=/usr
make
sudo make installBuilding requires the source tree’s development dependencies and a correctly configured build environment. Check the current repository instructions before compiling; a distribution package is usually simpler for ordinary use. Take care with the installation prefix: installing outside distribution-managed locations, such as into a suitable /usr/local or user-owned prefix, can help avoid overwriting packaged files. See the MATE Terminal project documentation for its build guidance.
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