Allowing the terminal to write Arabic

Question

How can allow the terminal on Linux to write Arabic without reversing its words?

For example, when I write "زمالك" it is written from left to right. How can I fix this?

Answer 1

It's a known bug. Check out mlterm.

Answer 2

1. Install the following packages:

   sudo apt-get install libfribidi0 libfribidi-dev
   

2. Download & install bicon.

3. Open /usr/share/applications/gnome-terminal.desktop in any editor you like:

   gksudo gedit /usr/share/applications/gnome-terminal.desktop
   

4. Add the following lines to the end of the file:

   Terminal=true
   Exec=/usr/bin/bicon.bin
   

5. If you have a terminal icon on your desktop, remove it and make a new one.

Answer 3

GNOME Terminal version 3.34 supports right to left scripts such as Arabic, and so do other VTE-based emulators (e.g. Tilix, Terminator, Xfce Terminal, Guake...) if using VTE version 0.58.