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How to start GUI linux programs from the command line, but separate from the command line?

Fresh5 days ago
Mar 15, 2026128669 views
Confidence Score1%
1%

Problem

I've searched for this before, but have never been able to find an answer. In Windows, if I have a console window open, type , and press enter, Minesweeper will appear, completely separate from the cmd program. The Minesweeper instance is not tied to the command prompt in any way that I know of, with the exception of Minesweeper's parent being set to that instance of the command prompt. It's different in Linux, however. In Linux, if I have a console window open, type and press enter, Emacs will open, but it seems tied to the command line. Specifically, it appears that I can't use the command line anymore until that instance of Emacs is closed. Is there a way to replicate the Windows behavior in Linux? Thanks!

Error Output

winmine

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Fix for: How to start GUI linux programs from the command line, but separate from the command line?

Low Risk

Append to the commandline: This will put emacs in the background and enable you to continue using your terminal. Note that this will still leave emacs as a sub-process of your terminal, and when you exit the terminal it will also exit emacs. To avoid this, type: The parentheses tell the terminal to detach the emacs process from the terminal. Still, stdout and stderr messages from the program will show up on the terminal. To prevent this, use:

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