Terminal · KDE
Konsole
KDE's terminal emulator for Linux with tabs, split views, profiles, bookmarks and a D-Bus scripting interface. Includes an SSH Manager plugin for saved connections; macOS and Windows exist only as nightly builds.
~/facts
- platforms
- LinuxStable releases are for Linux (Flathub and distro packages). konsole.kde.org lists macOS (ARM and Intel) and Windows only as unstable nightly CI builds from cdn.kde.org, so they are not counted as official platforms.
- price
- FreeFree software; KDE asks for donations / supporting membership (seen 2026-10-21)
- source
- Open sourceLicence: GPL-2.0+ (as listed on konsole.kde.org)
- github
- KDE/konsole
~/features
- ✓ yes SSH
- ✓ yes Tabs
- ✓ yes Split panes
- ? not verified SFTP
- ? not verified Port forwarding
- ✓ yes Scripting / API
- ? not verified AI agents
- ? not verified MCP
- ? not verified Cloud sync
✓ documented · – absent or not in its feature list · ? not verified
+ strengths
- Tabs, split view (left/right and top/bottom) and detachable tabs/views
- D-Bus interface documented for scripting windows and sessions
- SSH Manager and Quick Commands plugins exist in the source tree (src/plugins)
- Regular release cadence on KDE Gear (26.08.2 on 2026-10-08)
! weak points
- No stable macOS or Windows release; konsole.kde.org lists only unstable nightly CI installers for them
- Handbook says Split View splits all tabs in the window and output on one view is duplicated in the other, not independent per-pane sessions
- Handbook's own revision is for KDE Gear 24.05, so some user docs lag the 26.08 releases
~/who it is for
- best for
- Linux, especially KDE Plasma, users who want a feature-rich native terminal with built-in SSH profile management.
- look elsewhere if
- Users on macOS or Windows who need a supported stable release.
~/sources
Checked 2026-10-20. Prices and features change; the vendor's page is the authority.
- konsole.kde.org — features, releases, license GPL-2.0+, platforms (Linux; macOS/Windows nightly only)
- docs.kde.org/trunk_kf6/en/konsole/konsole/commandreference.html — tabs, split view, bookmarks accept ssh:// and telnet:// URLs, Plugins menu
- docs.kde.org/trunk_kf6/en/konsole/konsole/scripting.html — D-Bus scripting
- invent.kde.org/utilities/konsole/-/tree/master/src/plugins/SSHManager — SSH Manager plugin source (sshmanagerplugin.cpp strings: 'SSH Manager', 'Show Quick Access for SSH Actions')
- invent.kde.org/api/v4/projects/utilities%2Fkonsole — GitLab stars 44, last activity 2026-10-19
- api.github.com/repos/KDE/konsole — GitHub repo KDE/konsole stars 715 (seen 2026-10-21)
- docs.kde.org/trunk_kf6/en/konsole/konsole/index.html — handbook revision KDE Gear 24.05 (2024-04-23)
Not verified
- GitHub KDE/konsole is presumed to be a mirror; the primary repo is invent.kde.org/utilities/konsole. Stars reflect the GitHub copy only (GitLab stars: 44)
- SSH Manager is verified from source code only; the user handbook (trunk_kf6) does not describe it
- License text 'GPL-2.0+' is as printed on konsole.kde.org; the COPYING file in the repo is GPL text without a version header
- sftp, port_forwarding, jump_host, x11_forwarding, serial, mosh, cloud_sync, team_sharing, ai_agents, mcp, phone_remote, mobile_app not found (null); telnet only via telnet:// bookmark URL handling
- Split view wording is from the handbook (revision KDE Gear 24.05); current behaviour in 26.08 not re-tested