Windows Terminal

Terminal Emulators•

•C++

Official Microsoft terminal integrating WSL, PowerShell, and Cmd with modern features.

Official Website

Features

Multiple TabsSplit PanesGPU RenderingUnicode SupportProfiles

Installation

Chocolatey

choco install microsoft-windows-terminal

Scoop

scoop install windows-terminal

winget

winget install Microsoft.WindowsTerminal

Why Use Windows Terminal?

Windows Terminal is a modern terminal emulator developed by Microsoft. It replaces traditional Command Prompt and PowerShell windows, allowing unified management of multiple shells.

Multi-Tab & Pane

Manage multiple shells with tabs and split the screen to work simultaneously.

GPU Rendering

GPU-accelerated rendering via DirectX/DXGI for fast and smooth display.

Shell Integration

Unified management of multiple shells including PowerShell, cmd, WSL, Azure Cloud Shell, and Git Bash.

High Customizability

Customize appearance, key bindings, startup behavior, and more via JSON configuration file.

Main Features

Profile Management

Manage settings as "profiles" for each shell (PowerShell, cmd, WSL, etc.). Configure font, color scheme, startup directory, icons, and more per profile.

Unicode and Emoji Support

Full UTF-8 support with correct display of Japanese, emojis, and special characters.

Command Palette

Open the command palette with Ctrl + Shift + P for quick access to all features.

Installation

From Microsoft Store (Recommended)

Installing from Microsoft Store enables automatic updates.

Microsoft Store

# Search for and install "Windows Terminal" from Microsoft Store
# Or visit the following URL:
# https://aka.ms/terminal

Using winget

winget

# Install with winget
winget install Microsoft.WindowsTerminal

# To install preview version
winget install Microsoft.WindowsTerminal.Preview

Using Chocolatey

Chocolatey

# Install with Chocolatey
choco install microsoft-windows-terminal

Using Scoop

Scoop

# Install with Scoop
scoop bucket add extras
scoop install windows-terminal

Configuration

Windows Terminal settings are managed in the settings.json file. Open settings with Ctrl + , and click "Open JSON file" at the bottom left to edit directly.

Basic Configuration

settings.json (basic settings)

{
    "$help": "https://aka.ms/terminal-documentation",
    "$schema": "https://aka.ms/terminal-profiles-schema",

    // Default profile to open
    "defaultProfile": "{574e775e-4f2a-5b96-ac1e-a2962a402336}",

    // New tab behavior
    "newTabPosition": "afterLastTab",

    // Window size at startup
    "initialCols": 120,
    "initialRows": 30,

    // Theme setting
    "theme": "dark",

    // Tab settings
    "showTabsInTitlebar": true,
    "tabWidthMode": "equal"
}

Profile Configuration

settings.json (profiles)

{
    "profiles": {
        "defaults": {
            // Settings applied to all profiles
            "font": {
                "face": "Cascadia Code",
                "size": 12,
                "weight": "normal"
            },
            "opacity": 95,
            "useAcrylic": true,
            "padding": "8, 8, 8, 8",
            "cursorShape": "bar"
        },
        "list": [
            {
                "name": "PowerShell",
                "guid": "{574e775e-4f2a-5b96-ac1e-a2962a402336}",
                "source": "Windows.Terminal.PowershellCore",
                "colorScheme": "One Half Dark",
                "icon": "ms-appx:///ProfileIcons/{574e775e-4f2a-5b96-ac1e-a2962a402336}.png",
                "startingDirectory": "%USERPROFILE%"
            },
            {
                "name": "Ubuntu",
                "guid": "{2c4de342-38b7-51cf-b940-2309a097f518}",
                "source": "Windows.Terminal.Wsl",
                "colorScheme": "Dracula",
                "startingDirectory": "~"
            }
        ]
    }
}

Color Scheme Configuration

settings.json (color schemes)

{
    "schemes": [
        {
            "name": "My Custom Theme",
            "background": "#1E1E2E",
            "foreground": "#CDD6F4",
            "black": "#45475A",
            "red": "#F38BA8",
            "green": "#A6E3A1",
            "yellow": "#F9E2AF",
            "blue": "#89B4FA",
            "purple": "#F5C2E7",
            "cyan": "#94E2D5",
            "white": "#BAC2DE",
            "brightBlack": "#585B70",
            "brightRed": "#F38BA8",
            "brightGreen": "#A6E3A1",
            "brightYellow": "#F9E2AF",
            "brightBlue": "#89B4FA",
            "brightPurple": "#F5C2E7",
            "brightCyan": "#94E2D5",
            "brightWhite": "#A6ADC8",
            "cursorColor": "#F5E0DC",
            "selectionBackground": "#585B70"
        }
    ]
}

Keybinding Configuration

settings.json (keybindings)

{
    "actions": [
        // Open new tab
        { "command": "newTab", "keys": "ctrl+shift+t" },

        // Close tab
        { "command": "closeTab", "keys": "ctrl+shift+w" },

        // Split pane (vertical)
        { "command": { "action": "splitPane", "split": "vertical" }, "keys": "alt+shift+plus" },

        // Split pane (horizontal)
        { "command": { "action": "splitPane", "split": "horizontal" }, "keys": "alt+shift+minus" },

        // Open command palette
        { "command": "commandPalette", "keys": "ctrl+shift+p" },

        // Change font size
        { "command": { "action": "adjustFontSize", "delta": 1 }, "keys": "ctrl+plus" },
        { "command": { "action": "adjustFontSize", "delta": -1 }, "keys": "ctrl+minus" },

        // Open tab with specific profile
        { "command": { "action": "newTab", "index": 0 }, "keys": "ctrl+shift+1" },
        { "command": { "action": "newTab", "index": 1 }, "keys": "ctrl+shift+2" }
    ]
}

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl + Shift + T`	Open new tab
`Ctrl + Shift + W`	Close current tab
`Ctrl + Tab`	Switch to next tab
`Ctrl + Shift + Tab`	Switch to previous tab
`Alt + Shift + +`	Split pane vertically
`Alt + Shift + -`	Split pane horizontally
`Alt + Arrow Keys`	Move between panes
`Alt + Shift + Arrow Keys`	Resize pane
`Ctrl + Shift + P`	Open command palette
`Ctrl + ,`	Open settings
`Ctrl + Shift + Space`	Show profile menu
`Ctrl + +`	Increase font size
`Ctrl + -`	Decrease font size
`Ctrl + 0`	Reset font size
`F11`	Toggle fullscreen

Tips

•Quake Mode: Press Win + ` to show a Quake-style window that slides down from the top of the screen
•Background Image: Specify backgroundImage in profile settings to set a background image
•SSH Connection: Set ssh user@host in the profile's commandline to open SSH sessions directly
•Fragment Extensions: Add settings to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows Terminal\Fragments to extend without cluttering settings.json
•Explorer Integration: Right-click a folder and select "Open in Terminal" to launch the terminal in that directory
•Oh My Posh: It's recommended to use Oh My Posh to customize PowerShell and cmd

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Features

Installation

Why Use Windows Terminal?

Multi-Tab & Pane

GPU Rendering

Shell Integration

High Customizability

Main Features

Profile Management

Unicode and Emoji Support

Command Palette

Installation

From Microsoft Store (Recommended)

Using winget

Using Chocolatey

Using Scoop

Configuration

Basic Configuration

Profile Configuration

Color Scheme Configuration

Keybinding Configuration

Keyboard Shortcuts

Tips

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