How to use and customize Windows Terminal for your command-line needs

Tabs and Panes

One of the most useful features of Windows Terminal is the ability to open multiple tabs and panes in the same window. This allows you to run different command-line tools or commands side by side, without switching between different windows. You can use the following keyboard shortcuts to manage your tabs and panes:

• Ctrl + T: Open a new tab with the default profile
• Ctrl + Shift+T: Open a new tab with the profile of the current tab
• Ctrl + Tab: Switch to the next tab
• Ctrl + Shift+Tab: Switch to the previous tab
• Ctrl + W: Close the current tab
• Alt + Enter: Toggle full-screen mode
• Ctrl + Shift + 1: Split the current pane horizontally
• Ctrl + Shift + 2: Split the current pane vertically
• Alt + Left Arrow: Move to the left pane
• Alt + Right Arrow: Move to the right pane
• Alt + Up Arrow: Move to the upper pane
• Alt + Down Arrow: Move to the lower pane
• Ctrl + Shift + W: Close the current pane

You can also use your mouse to drag and drop tabs to reorder them, or to split panes by dragging the separator.

Profiles

Profiles are a way to configure the appearance and behavior of each command-line tool that you use in Windows Terminal. You can create multiple profiles for different tools, or for different scenarios. For example, you can create a profile for PowerShell with a blue background color, and another profile for Git Bash with a green background color. You can also set a default profile that will be used when you open a new tab or window.

To create or edit profiles, you need to open the settings file of Windows Terminal. You can do this by pressing Ctrl + , or by clicking on the settings icon in the drop-down menu. This will open the settings file in your default JSON editor, such as Visual Studio Code.

The settings file contains a JSON object with various properties and values. One of the properties is profiles, which is an array of profile objects. Each profile object has a unique guid, a name, and other optional properties, such as commandline, colorScheme, backgroundImage, fontFace, fontSize, acrylicOpacity, and more.

To create a new profile, you can copy and paste an existing profile object, and change its guid, name, and other properties as you like. You can also use the duplicate button in the drop-down menu to create a copy of the current profile. To set a default profile, you need to copy the guid of the profile that you want to use and paste it into the defaultProfile property of the settings file.

Here is an example of a profile for Git Bash with a green background color and a custom font:

  {
      "guid": "{58ad8b0c-3ef8-5f4d-bc6f-13e4c00f2530}",
      "name": "Git Bash",
      "commandline": "%PROGRAMFILES%\\Git\\usr\\bin\\bash.exe -i -l",
      "hidden": false,
      "colorScheme": "Campbell",
      "background": "#002B00",
      "fontFace": "Consolas",
      "fontSize": 12
  }
  

Settings

In addition to profiles, you can also customize other aspects of Windows Terminal, such as the global settings, the appearance, the startup actions, the actions, and the schemes. The global settings are properties that apply to the entire application, such as alwaysShowTabs, copyOnSelect, showTerminalTitleInTitlebar, and more. The appearance settings are properties that affect the look and feel of the application, such as theme, tabWidthMode, snapToGridOnResize, and more.

The startup settings are properties that define what happens when you launch the application, such as initialPosition, launchMode, initialRows, initialCols, and more. The action settings are properties that define the keyboard shortcuts and the commands that you can use in the application, such as copy, paste, newTab, switchToTab, and more.

The scheme settings are properties that define the color schemes that you can use in your profiles, such as Campbell, One Half Dark, Solarized Dark, and more.

To edit the settings, you need to open the settings file of Windows Terminal, as explained in the previous section. You can then modify the properties and values as you like. You can also use the settings UI button in the drop-down menu to open a graphical user interface allowing you to change some settings more easily.

Here is an example of some global and appearance settings that I have changed:

  {
      "alwaysShowTabs": false,
      "copyOnSelect": true,
      "showTerminalTitleInTitlebar": false,
      "theme": "dark",
      "tabWidthMode": "equal"
  }
  

End Notes

Windows Terminal is a great tool that can enhance your command-line experience on Windows. It offers many features and options to customize your terminal to suit your preferences and needs.

In this article, I have shown you how to use some of these features, such as tabs, panes, profiles, and settings. I hope you have found this article helpful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for reading!