GNU Radio error “missing xterm” when installed under Windows 11

Great 👍 let’s pin down what’s pulling in xterm. On Windows GNU Radio Companion (GRC), that usually comes from a block that has its “Command” field hard-coded to xterm -e ….

Here’s how to track and fix it:

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🔍 Step 1. Open your .grc file in GRC

• Double-click any suspicious blocks like:
  • Embedded Python Block
  • QT GUI Entry / QT GUI Chooser blocks
  • Message Debug
  • Any block you added from an OOT (out-of-tree) module

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🔍 Step 2. Check block properties

• Look in the block’s Parameters (right-hand panel).
• If you see a field that looks like:

·         xterm -e python ...

or

xterm -e <some script>

→ That’s the culprit.

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🔧 Step 3. Fix for Windows

Replace the xterm command with something Windows understands. Options:

• For a plain Python script:

·         cmd.exe /C python ...

• Or, if you prefer PowerShell:

·         powershell -Command "python ..."

• Or if you just want to stop it opening terminals, delete the command (leave the field blank if allowed).

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🔍 Step 4. If not obvious

If you don’t see it in GRC, you can search the flowgraph text file directly:

1. Open your .grc in a text editor (Notepad++ or VS Code).
2. Search for xterm.
3. You’ll find the XML entry for the block calling it, e.g.:

4.  <param>

5.    <key>cmd</key>

6.    <value>xterm -e somecommand</value>

7.  </param>

8. Edit it to use cmd.exe /C ..., or remove it.

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💡 Often this comes from “Terminal Sink” type blocks that were designed for Linux demos/tutorials. On Windows, they’re not needed and can be deleted without breaking the flowgraph.

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