https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=519979
Bug ID: 519979
Summary: Empty "Command" field in profile triggers "Could not
find" warning instead of resolving the user's login
shell via getpwuid()
Classification: Applications
Product: konsole
Version First 26.04.1
Reported In:
Platform: Arch Linux
OS: Linux
Status: REPORTED
Severity: normal
Priority: NOR
Component: general
Assignee: [email protected]
Reporter: [email protected]
Target Milestone: ---
When a user wants their Konsole profile to follow their login shell as
configured in /etc/passwd (so that running `chsh -s <new_shell>` is
respected without manually editing the profile), the natural action is
to clear the "Command" field in the profile editor.
Two distinct behaviors exist:
1. If the line `Command=` is **absent** from the profile file
(~/.local/share/konsole/<profile>.profile), Konsole correctly
resolves the user shell at runtime via getpwuid(), respecting any
subsequent `chsh` change.
2. If the field is **cleared via the GUI** (Settings > Edit Current
Profile > General > Command), Konsole serializes the empty value
as a literal `Command=` line. On the next launch this triggers:
Warning: Could not find «», starting «/usr/bin/zsh» instead.
Check your profile configuration.
and the displayed fallback (e.g. /usr/bin/zsh) is then *captured*
as the active shell for that session. After `chsh -s /usr/bin/fish`,
Konsole still launches the previously captured zsh, defeating the
user's intent.
The GUI thus offers no way to express "use the login shell from
/etc/passwd dynamically" — you must either (a) hardcode a specific
binary path, losing the dynamic lookup, or (b) hand-edit the profile
file to delete the `Command=` line, which the GUI may regenerate.
Steps to reproduce
------------------
1. Open Konsole, Settings > Edit Current Profile > General.
2. Clear the "Command" text field.
3. OK / Apply, close the profile dialog.
4. Close Konsole. Reopen.
5. Observe the warning + captured shell.
6. Run `chsh -s /usr/bin/fish` (or any other shell change).
7. Reopen Konsole.
Actual result
-------------
Konsole still launches the previously captured shell (e.g. zsh),
ignoring the new login shell.
Expected result
---------------
An empty Command field should be persisted as "no override" and
resolved dynamically via getpwuid() on every session start, so that
`chsh` changes are picked up without further user action.
Suggested fixes
---------------
- Treat an empty "Command" value as absent on serialization (do not
write the `Command=` line at all when the field is empty).
- And/or: at runtime, treat `Command=` with empty value as a synonym
for "no override" and fall back to getpwuid()->pw_shell, instead of
warning and capturing the current $SHELL.
- Consider adding an explicit "Use login shell from /etc/passwd"
checkbox in the profile UI for discoverability.
Workaround
----------
Edit ~/.local/share/konsole/<profile>.profile manually and remove the
`Command=` line. As long as "Edit Current Profile" is not opened
again afterwards, Konsole respects the absent line and resolves the
shell dynamically. Setting the file immutable with `chattr +i` blocks
re-writes but breaks GUI persistence of other settings.
System
------
- Konsole: 26.04.1
- Qt: 6.11.0
- KDE Frameworks: 6.26.0
- Plasma: 6.6.4
- Kernel: 7.0.4 (xanmod1)
- Distribution: Arch Linux (rolling) — using CachyOS repositories
([cachyos-v3], [cachyos-core-v3], [cachyos-extra-v3],
[cachyos]) prepended over upstream Arch repos.
Konsole package shipped from cachyos-extra-v3
(x86_64-v3 rebuild of Arch's extra/konsole 26.04.1).
This is *not* a CachyOS-installed system, so distro-
specific patches/branding do not apply.
- Login shell: /usr/bin/zsh
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