## 8.5. Setting Terminal Attributes

`setterm` is a program that sets various characteristics of your terminal (say, each virtual console), such as the keyboard repeat rate, tab stops, and text colors.

Most people use this command to change the colors for each virtual console. In this way, you can tell which virtual console you're currently looking at based on the text color.

For example, to change the color of the current terminal to white text on a blue background, use the command:

>     $ setterm -foreground white -background blue

Some programs and actions cause the terminal attributes to be reset to their default values. In order to store the current set of attributes as the default, use:

>     $ setterm -store

`setterm` provides many options (most of which you will probably never use). See the `setterm` manual page or use `setterm -help` for more information.

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