If you don't have access to the Microsoft Store, the builds are published on the GitHub releases page. If you install from GitHub, Windows Terminal will not automatically update with new versions. For additional installation options using a package manager (winget, chocolatey, scoop), see the Windows Terminal product repo.
Set your default terminal application
Note
This feature is available in all versions of Windows 11 and versions of Windows 10 22H2 after the installation of the May 23, 2023 update, KB5026435.
To open any command line application with Windows Terminal, set it as your default terminal application.
Open Windows Terminal and go to the Settings UI window.
Select Startup and choose "Windows Terminal" as the Default terminal application setting.
Set your default terminal profile
After installation, when you open Windows Terminal, it will start with the PowerShell command line as the default profile in the open tab.
To change the default profile:
Open Windows Terminal and go to the Settings UI window.
Select Startup and choose the Default profile that you prefer.
You can open a new tab of the default profile by pressing Ctrl+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 the command palette. The default key combination to invoke it is Ctrl+Shift+P. You can also open it using the Command 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 use Alt+Shift++ for a vertical pane or Alt+Shift+- for a horizontal one. You can also use Alt+Shift+D to open a duplicate pane of your focused profile. Learn more about panes on the Panes page.
Configuration
To customize the settings of your Windows Terminal, select Settings 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 the Actions 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.
Select Settings in the Windows Terminal dropdown menu while holding Shift to open the settings.json file in your default text editor. (The default text editor is defined in your Windows 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
You can access the default settings for Windows Terminal by selecting Settings in the dropdown menu while holding Alt to open the defaults.json file in your default text editor. This file is auto-generated and any changes to it will be ignored.
It is possible to create a JSON fragment extension in order to store profile data and color schemes in a separate file, which can be useful to prevent excessively large configuration files.
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 the Command line arguments page.
Troubleshooting
If you encounter any difficulties using the terminal, reference the Troubleshooting page. If you find any bugs or have a feature request, you can select the feedback link in the About menu of the terminal to go to the GitHub page where you can file a new issue.
Collaborate with us on GitHub
The source for this content can be found on GitHub, where you can also create and review issues and pull requests. For more information, see our contributor guide.
Windows Terminal feedback
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This learning path introduces you to Windows PowerShell and provides an overview of the product’s functionality. It explains how to open and configure Windows PowerShell, run commands, and use its built-in Help system.