MATE Terminal with `--save-config`: "Failed to handle options ... when starting the factory process"

I've been trying to find a way to get MATE Terminal to remember my open tabs, as otherwise all of my state is lost whenever I have to restart the PC. The platform I'm using is Ubuntu 24.04. I installed MATE afterwards, so it's not quite the same as Ubuntu MATE. [This answer](https://askubuntu.com/questions/310705/some-fast-way-to-save-and-restore-tabs-of-terminal/310750#310750) on Ask Ubuntu described command line options for Gnome Terminal which also existed for MATE Terminal, so I decided to try them. But when I tried to launch it from a different terminal emulator:

$ mate-terminal --save-config=/home/mclauam/mate-terminal.cfg
Failed to handle options: Cannot use "--save-config" when starting the factory process

Because of the reference to a "factory process" I tried adding --disable-factory to the command line. Regardless of where I put it, MATE Terminal still failed to launch, although for some reason the error text now begins "Error handling options" instead of "Failed to handle options":

$ mate-terminal --disable-factory --save-config=/home/mclauam/mate-terminal.cfg
Error handling options: Cannot use "--save-config" when starting the factory process

$ mate-terminal --save-config=/home/mclauam/mate-terminal.cfg --disable-factory
Error handling options: Cannot use "--save-config" when starting the factory process

I tried sudo, but it made no difference. I used an option which I knew to be invalid, just to confirm that the above wasn't the usual error message when trying a nonexistent option:

$ mate-terminal --underlay
Failed to parse arguments: Unknown option --underlay

I don't even know what is meant by "the factory process", or why it would render one of the application's own command-line options invalid! The [manpage](https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/noble/man1/mate-terminal.1.html) gave no indication that this option might be invalid or interact poorly with a "factory process". How can I launch mate-terminal with --save-config and/or --load-config?