Try running "setfont matrix" by hand

[aquaductape]

I installed cmake by cloning and using the configure route. Cmake works unless I run with the -l argument cmake -lba and I get this error.

Couldn't get a file descriptor referring to the console
There was an error running setfont. Please make sure the
setfont program is in your $PATH.  Try running "setfont matrix" by hand.

My setfont is in $PATH which is inside /bin so that's fine.

I don't understand what I should do with the instruction setfont matrix by hand, I ran setfont matrix and setfont matrix.fnt and both returned Couldn't get a file descriptor referring to the console.

My device

elementary OS 5.0 Juno
Built on Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS
Linux 4.15.0-58-generic
GTK+ 3.22.30

[abishekvashok]

Hey, thanks for reaching out!

setfont returns the above error messages when you have some setfont command in your .bashrc, .bash_profile, .bash_login, .profile or /etc/profile.

Otherwise, look for something else that may be accessing the console.

Hope that helps :)

[aquaductape]

No luck so far, I did a search at my home directory to see if there were any setfont commands

grep -Hrn --exclude-dir={.cache,.vscode,Documents} --exclude={.zsh_history,.viminfo} setfont . Search excludes directories of cache, vscode(only py files popped up and most likely variable names), and Documents. Excludes files .zsh_history and viminfo which are logging files.

Only this shows up

Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Shortcuts matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Local Storage/leveldb/000099.ldb matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Local Storage/leveldb/000101.ldb matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Local Storage/leveldb/000093.ldb matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Local Storage/leveldb/000100.log matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Local Storage/leveldb/000096.ldb matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Favicons matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/History matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Last Tabs matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/History Provider Cache matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Session Storage/000216.ldb matches
Binary file ./.config/google-chrome/Default/Session Storage/000221.ldb matches
Binary file ./.config/clipped/ClipboardStore.sqlite matches
Binary file ./.vim_runtime/temp_dirs/undodir/%etc%profile matches
Binary file ./.vim_runtime/temp_dirs/undodir/%home%caliber%.zshrc matches
Binary file ./.vim_runtime/temp_dirs/undodir/%home%caliber%.bashrc matches

I also changed the font in tty with setfont matrix which did change the font in tty console but didn't solve the issue with cmatrix

[aquaductape]

Hold up, is the only way to run cmatrix -l is in tty? Because this whole time I've been trying to do it in a regular terminal

[abishekvashok]

Hold up, is the only way to run cmatrix -l is in tty? Because this whole time I've been trying to do it in a regular terminal

Yes!

[SturmB]

Please forgive me for my lack of knowledge, but isn't a terminal the same thing as a tty? What's the difference? And how does one run cmatrix in a tty, then?

[space-pagan]

@SturmB A terminal emulator and a tty are not the same, as a term emulator uses libX11 api calls (or indirectly through some other api), while a tty is a direct connection to the serial console hardware device. setfont only works inside the tty, and consolechars is deprecated.

As far as HOW to run cmatrix in the tty, just like any other program. If you aren't sure how to get to to the tty, it's usually through the CTRL+ALT+F# key combination, although I would recommend that you consult your distribution's wiki for more specifics.

@aquaductape @abishekvashok This issue should be closed.