Install

To try the latest preview features, you might also want toinstall Windows Terminal Preview.

Set your default terminal application

To open any command line application with Windows Terminal, set it as your default terminal application.

1. Open Windows Terminal and go to theSettings UI window.
2. SelectStartup and choose "Windows Terminal" as theDefault terminal application setting.

Set your default terminal profile

After installation, when you open Windows Terminal, it will start with thePowerShell command line as the default profile in the open tab.

To change the default profile:

1. Open Windows Terminal and go to theSettings UI window.
2. SelectStartup and choose theDefault profile that you prefer.

You can alsoset your default profile in the Settings.json file associated with Windows Terminal if you prefer.

Add new profiles

Windows Terminal will automatically create profiles for you if you have WSL distributions or multiple versions of PowerShell installed.

Your command line profiles will be listed in the Settings UI, in addition to the option to+ Add new profiles.

Learn more about dynamic profiles on theDynamic profiles page.

Open a new tab

You can open a new tab of the default profile by pressingCtrl+Shift+T or by selecting the + (plus) button. To open a different profile, select the ˅ (arrow) next to the + button to open the dropdown menu. From there, you can select which profile to open.

Invoke the command palette

You can invoke most features of Windows Terminal through thecommand palette. The default key combination to invoke it isCtrl+Shift+P. You can also open it using theCommand palette button in the dropdown menu.

Open a new pane

You can run multiple shells side-by-side using panes. To open a pane, you can useAlt+Shift++ for a vertical pane orAlt+Shift+- for a horizontal one. You can also useAlt+Shift+D to open a duplicate pane of your focused profile. Learn more about panes on thePanes page.

Configuration

To customize the settings of your Windows Terminal, selectSettings in the dropdown menu. This will open the settings UI to configure your settings. You can learn how to open the settings UI with keyboard shortcuts on theActions page.

Settings JSON file

If you prefer to configure your Windows Terminal settings using code, rather than the graphic user interface, you can edit the settings.json file.

SelectSettings in the Windows Terminal dropdown menu while holdingShift to open thesettings.json file in your default text editor. (The default text editor is defined in yourWindows settings.)

The path for your Windows Terminal settings.json file may be found in one of the following directories:

• Terminal (stable / general release):%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json
• Terminal (preview release):%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminalPreview_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json
• Terminal (unpackaged: Scoop, Chocolatey, etc):%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows Terminal\settings.json

Command line arguments

You can launch the terminal in a specific configuration using command line arguments. These arguments let you open the terminal with specific tabs and panes with custom profile settings. Learn more about command line arguments on theCommand line arguments page.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any difficulties using the terminal, reference theTroubleshooting page. If you find any bugs or have a feature request, you can select the feedback link in theAbout menu of the terminal to go to theGitHub page where you can file a new issue.