Setting terminal colors with setterm?

z-vet · 04-10-2009, 03:58 PM

Hi all.
Problem: i would like to change terminal's font color to green instead of default grey.
I know that i need to run setterm right before showing the login prompt, so i tried to put 'setterm -foreground green -store' in /etc/rc.local - it changes the color but does it in current VC only and doesn't work in others (and i want all six VC's to have a green font). Theoretically it can be done with /etc/inittab (correct me if i'm wrong), but i can't remember how to put the setterm command in there. Googled all day long without result, so any help is appreciated.

PS: Please notice that i don't mean colors of PS1, 'ls' etc. - it's already done - but color of login prompt right after boot, so don't waste your time telling me about .bashrc and escape sequences.

colucix · 04-11-2009, 09:26 AM

Try to put the following line in /etc/rc.local then reboot:

Code:

echo -en \\033[32m\\033[8] > /dev/console

z-vet · 04-11-2009, 02:42 PM

Well, i solved it:

Run setterm which clears the screen and changes the console font color (here - to «old-school» bold green as i like) before login prompt. 'man setterm' for all you can do with it.

Open /etc/inittab and find this block of code:

Code:

1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty1
  2:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty2
  3:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty3
  4:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty4
  5:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty5
  6:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty6

Add the following right after 'getty' on each line:

Code:

-I `setterm -clear all -foreground green -bold -store`

So it looks like this:

Code:

1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty -I `setterm -clear all -foreground green -bold -store` 38400 tty1
2:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -I `setterm -clear all -foreground green -bold -store` 38400 tty2
3:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -I `setterm -clear all -foreground green -bold -store` 38400 tty3
4:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -I `setterm -clear all -foreground green -bold -store` 38400 tty4
5:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -I `setterm -clear all -foreground green -bold -store` 38400 tty5
6:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -I `setterm -clear all -foreground green -bold -store` 38400 tty6

Reboot, enjoy.

bugsbunny4president · 05-01-2009, 10:19 AM

thanx 4 your great post - it solved my problem that gave my huge pain in my back because i was sittin at my machine 4 hours...

do you know how to change the colour of the startup screen (foreground) while booting the system?

thanx again

bugsbunny4president

bugsbunny4president · 05-01-2009, 10:26 AM

sorry about my bad spelling... and "4 hours" for hours

z-vet · 05-01-2009, 04:15 PM

Nope, i try to find it by myself. I'll post it here if i solve it too.