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Knowledge Cube
Asked: 2012-03-29 00:01:50 +0800 CST

What is the command to run System Settings from a terminal?

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System Settings can be run from the launcher (pinned by default), the Dash, or the power cog. But what command would I enter in a terminal window if I want to run it from there?

command-line

9 Answers

  1. Best Answer
    gnome-control-center

    Note: for versions between 14.04 and 17.04 (when Unity was used instead of GNOME), the command is unity-control-center.

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  2. if you run gnome-control-center and get command not found, you can install it with:

    sudo apt install gnome-control-center
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  3. For Ubuntu Mate the command is mate-control-center.

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  4. I found a different solution...

    1. I tried removing/installing gnome-control-center; this did reinstall the application I still couldn't open it.

    2. Later I found that it would start up on the side of the screen and I couldn't access it

    3. I changed the display mode to single display and it came back. Hope it helps.

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  5. In Crouton, you must run anything that would require a password from the terminal, such as update manager, software center, synaptic, etc. So, to get to system settings you would enter in the terminal:

    gnome-control-center

    That will bring up the system settings GUI.

    To check for updates, or if the update manager appears in the Unity Launcher, run it from the terminal, not by clicking on it:

    sudo update-manager

    The same applies to synaptic, the software center, etc. Anything which requires a password, must be run from the terminal in Crouton with a sudo.

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  6. Well, in KDE NEON 5.16.4 (Ubuntu 18.04), it is written in the "System Settings Handbook":

    The System Settings can be started in one of three ways:

    • By selecting Settings → System Settings from the Application Menu.
    • By pressing Alt+F2 or Alt+Space. This will bring up the KRunner dialog. Type systemsettings5, and press Enter.
    • Type systemsettings5 & at any command prompt. All three of these methods are equivalent, and produce the same result.

    In my case, I needed to configure my HP LaserJet settings. Doing this as user, after applying and saving, they were ignored. So I think I had to do this as root and the settings are stored normaly now, so, each time the user opens the print dialog, the system remembers that I want log side binding and 1200 resolution :=)

    I thought that sudo systemsettings5 & was enough, but as Zanna suggests: It should also be recommended to use 'sudo -H' if opening a GUI app with sudo.

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  7. To launch Settings on Ubuntu

    • gnome desktop users can use terminal(Ctrl+t) or run command(Alt+F2) to execute :

      /usr/bin/gnome-control-center

    • For Cinnamon desktop users :

      /usr/bin/cinnamon-settings

    • For Unity desktop users :

      unity-control-center
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  8. One thing no one mentions in this is if you run it from the command line you are likely to encounter errors because some environmental variables aren't being used.

    First thing, you shouldn't need sudo to run the control center, but if you do make sure you run it as your user.

    sudo -i gnome-control-center

    Also if you run gnome-control-center without sudo it gives permission denied notes.

    gnome-control-center
/sys/firmware/dmi/tables/smbios_entry_point: Permission denied
/dev/mem: Permission denied

    So it is useful to know how to run it without running into issues if you are debugging something.

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  9. If you use the Cinnamon desktop you can use

    /usr/bin/cinnamon-settings
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