GNOME Terminal Custom Directory Title

GNOME Terminal Custom Directory Title | Generated by AI

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To customize the GNOME Terminal tab title to show only the current directory (e.g., blog-server) instead of the default format (e.g., lzw@lzw-MS:~/Projects/blog-server), you can modify the terminal’s prompt or title settings. Here’s how to achieve this:

Steps to Set GNOME Terminal Tab Title to Show Only the Current Directory

Edit the Bash Configuration File: GNOME Terminal uses the Bash shell by default, and the tab title is often derived from the PS1 (prompt) or a specific title-setting command. To customize the title, you can modify the ~/.bashrc file.
Modify the Terminal Title: Add a command to set the terminal title to the current directory in your ~/.bashrc. Open the file in a text editor:
```
nano ~/.bashrc
```
Add the following lines at the end of the file:
```
# Set terminal tab title to current directory
case "$TERM" in
xterm*|rxvt*)
    PS1="\[\e]0;\W\a\]$PS1"
    ;;
*)
    ;;
esac
```
Explanation:
- \e]0;... sets the terminal title.
- \W represents the basename of the current directory (e.g., blog-server instead of the full path ~/Projects/blog-server).
- \a is a bell character to terminate the title string.
- This code checks if the terminal is xterm-compatible (which GNOME Terminal is) before applying the change.
Apply the Changes: Save the file and reload the Bash configuration:
```
source ~/.bashrc
```
Alternatively, close and reopen the terminal to apply the changes.
Verify the Result: Navigate to a directory (e.g., cd ~/Projects/blog-server), and the terminal tab title should now display only blog-server.

Alternative: Modify GNOME Terminal Profile Settings

If you want to customize the title further or avoid editing ~/.bashrc, you can use GNOME Terminal’s profile settings:

Open GNOME Terminal.
Go to Edit > Preferences (or Terminal > Preferences, depending on your version).
Select the profile you’re using (e.g., “Unnamed” or a custom profile).
Go to the Command tab.
Under Title and Command, set:
- Initial title: Leave blank or set to something generic.
- When command exits: Choose Keep initial title or Replace with command output.
In the Command section, enable Run a custom command instead of my shell and set the command to:
```
bash --rcfile <(echo '. ~/.bashrc; PS1="\[\e]0;\W\a\]$PS1"')
```
This ensures the terminal uses a custom prompt that sets the title to the current directory.
Close the dialog and test by opening a new tab or navigating to a directory.

Notes

If you use a shell other than Bash (e.g., Zsh), you’ll need to modify the equivalent configuration file (e.g., ~/.zshrc) and adjust the syntax accordingly. For Zsh, you can add:
```
precmd() { echo -ne "\e]0;${PWD##*/}\a" }
```
If the title doesn’t update as expected, ensure your terminal emulator is xterm-compatible and that no other scripts (e.g., custom PS1 settings in ~/.bashrc) are overriding the title.
For persistent changes across all terminals, ensure the configuration is in the user’s shell profile or GNOME Terminal settings.

This should give you a tab title showing only the current directory name, like blog-server. Let me know if you need further clarification!

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