A profile is a collection of Terminal settings. Terminal supports multiple profiles. You can configure Terminal profiles to run a custom command or shell, set a profile exclusively to connect to remote computers using SSH or set a profile that launches a GNU Screen session.
The available Terminal settings include:
Profile name.
Font and background colors.
Compatibility with Backspace and Delete keys.
Scrolling.
If you have two or more profiles defined, you can change the profile in your current Terminal tab or window by selecting a profile from Terminal ▸ Change Profile.
To create a new profile with the default settings of Terminal:
Select Edit ▸ Preferences.
In the sidebar, click on the + button next to the Profiles label.
Enter a name for the new profile. You can change this name later.
Click Create to create the new profile.
Set your desired profile preferences. These will be saved automatically.
You can create a new profile based on settings from an existing profile:
Select Edit ▸ Preferences.
In the sidebar select the profile on which your new profile should be based.
Click on the arrow next to the profile name.
Select Clone….
Enter a name for the new profile. You can change this name later.
Click Clone to create the new profile.
Set your desired profile preferences. These will be saved automatically.
Creating a new profile from an existing profile will not affect settings in an existing profile. Any changes to settings will be stored in the new profile.
If the default profile is edited, it cannot be restored to its original settings! If you have not already created any other Terminal profiles and have customized the default profile, Terminal may become unusable should any settings cause problems. It is recommended that you create a copy of the default profile then edit the copy to create a custom profile.
You can make changes to existing profiles. To edit a profile:
Select Edit ▸ Preferences.
Your current profile is selected in the sidebar. If you wish to edit a different profile, click on its name.
Once the desired profile is selected, you can:
Select font, cursor shapes and Terminal size.
You may also change behavior of Terminal on command exit, set a custom login shell or change scrollbar preferences.
To change the Terminal background and text colors, see Terminal color schemes.
Changes to profile are saved immediately. To return to Terminal, click Close.
You can rename existing profiles, including the default profile:
Select Edit ▸ Preferences.
Select the profile you wish to rename.
Click on the arrow next to the profile name.
Select Rename….
Enter the new profile name.
Click Rename to rename.
To delete a profile:
Select Edit ▸ Preferences.
Select the profile you wish to delete.
Click on the arrow next to the profile name.
Select Delete….
Click Delete to confirm.
The default profile cannot be deleted. If you wish to delete that profile, first set another profile as default.
The default profile is loaded when a new terminal is opened unless you have selected another profile. Any changes that you make to the settings will be stored in the currently selected profile.
The default profile is used when Terminal could not otherwise decide which profile to use. For example, Terminal is started up freshly and opens its first terminal window. In contrast, when you use a menu entry or keyboard shortcut of Terminal to open a new terminal, the profile of the existing terminal is used.
Select Edit ▸ Preferences.
Select the profile you wish to set as the default.
Click on the arrow next to the profile name.
Select Set as default.
The default profile is marked with a check mark symbol.
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