Switch back to cmd line from GUI (Ubuntu)

 You can easily switch from the GUI (Graphical User Interface) to a text-only terminal (known as a virtual terminal or TTY) by using keyboard shortcuts. 

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Using Keyboard Shortcuts

The most common method is to use the 

Ctrl + Alt + F3 

shortcut to switch to a terminal session. 

To access a text terminal,

 press: 

Ctrl + Alt + F3

 (or any key from F3 to F6)

 At the prompt, you will need to log in with your username and password, after which you can use the command line. 

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Returning to the GUI

 To switch back to your graphical session from the terminal:

Press: 

Ctrl + Alt + F2

In some older configurations, 

the GUI might be on F7,

 so you could try 

Ctrl + Alt + F7

 if F2 doesn't work.

 

On some laptops, you might need to also press the Fn key in combination with the other keys (e.g., Ctrl + Fn + Alt + F3). 

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Alternative Method (Command Line)

 If you have a terminal window open within the GUI, you can also stop the graphical display manager (e.g., GDM or LightDM) using a command, which will drop you to a console prompt. 

 

Open a terminal within the GUI (Ctrl + Alt + T is a common shortcut).

 To temporarily disable the GUI and switch to a text console, 

run:

bash

sudo systemctl isolate multi-user.target

 This may still require you to switch to an available TTY using 

Ctrl + Alt + F3

 or similar key combination.

To start the GUI again from the console,

 run:

bash

sudo systemctl start graphical.target

 

You may then need to switch back to the correct TTY using 

Ctrl + Alt + F2. 

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