Where's That File
macOS

Where Does macOS Terminal Store Profiles?

macOS Terminal profiles plist and how to export profiles for backup instead of copying plists.

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Terminal.app keeps profiles and window settings in a com.apple.Terminal plist under Preferences. Colors, fonts and shell startup live there.

Profile export beats plist copying. Plist internals shift between macOS releases while .terminal exports stay compatible.

Where macOS stores this, by platform

macOS
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Terminal.plist

Default preferences location. Prefer in-app profile export for migration; edit the plist only with Terminal closed. Use Go to Folder in Finder.

Frequently asked questions

How do I back up Terminal profiles?

In Terminal > Settings > Profiles, select a profile and use the gear menu > Export. Import the .terminal file on the new Mac. Cleaner than plist surgery across versions.

macosterminalprofilespreferences

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