Windows Terminal is the modern command-line application for Windows 11 that replaces the outdated Command Prompt and Windows PowerShell host windows. Unlike its predecessors, Windows Terminal supports multiple tabs, split panes, GPU-accelerated text rendering, and extensive customisation of themes, fonts, colours, backgrounds, and profiles.
Out of the box, Windows Terminal looks decent but generic. With some customisation, you can transform it into a visually striking, highly functional terminal that suits your exact workflow.
Opening Windows Terminal
Windows Terminal is pre-installed on Windows 11. You can open it in several ways:
- Press Windows + X and select Terminal (or Terminal (Admin) for elevated privileges).
- Right-click on the desktop or inside a File Explorer folder and select Open in Terminal.
- Search for “Terminal” in the Start menu.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + ` (backtick) if you have the Quake mode shortcut enabled.
Understanding Profiles
Windows Terminal uses profiles to manage different shell environments. Each profile defines which shell to launch (PowerShell, Command Prompt, WSL, Azure Cloud Shell, etc.) and its associated appearance settings.
By default, Windows Terminal includes profiles for:
- PowerShell — The modern scripting shell for Windows.
- Command Prompt — The legacy Windows command interpreter.
- Azure Cloud Shell — Browser-based shell connected to your Azure account.
- WSL distributions — If you have Windows Subsystem for Linux installed, each distribution (Ubuntu, Debian, etc.) gets its own profile automatically.
You can create new profiles for different workflows — for example, a profile for connecting to a specific remote server via SSH, or a profile with a distinct colour scheme for development work.
Accessing Settings
Click the dropdown arrow next to the new tab button (+) at the top of the window, then select Settings. Alternatively, press Ctrl + , (comma).
The Settings interface has two modes:
- GUI settings — A user-friendly graphical interface for changing common settings.
- JSON settings — Click Open JSON file at the bottom-left of the Settings page to edit the raw configuration file directly. The JSON file provides access to every possible setting, including some that are not exposed in the GUI.
Changing the Colour Scheme
Windows Terminal includes several built-in colour schemes, and you can create or import custom ones.
Using a Built-in Scheme
- Open Settings (Ctrl + ,).
- Select a profile from the left sidebar (for example, PowerShell).
- Click Appearance.
- Under Colour scheme, select one of the built-in options: Campbell, Campbell PowerShell, One Half Dark, One Half Light, Solarized Dark, Solarized Light, Tango Dark, Tango Light, or Vintage.
Installing Custom Schemes
The website Windows Terminal Themes provides hundreds of community-created colour schemes. To install one:
- Find a theme you like and copy its JSON code.
- Open the Windows Terminal settings JSON file (Ctrl + , then click “Open JSON file”).
- Find the
"schemes"array in the JSON. - Paste the theme’s JSON object into the array.
- Save the file.
- Go back to the GUI settings, select a profile, click Appearance, and your new scheme will appear in the dropdown.
Popular custom themes include Dracula, Nord, Catppuccin, Tokyo Night, and Gruvbox.
Changing the Font
The default font in Windows Terminal is Cascadia Mono. While it is a well-designed monospace font, many developers prefer alternatives, especially Nerd Fonts — fonts that include icons and special glyphs used by terminal tools like Oh My Posh, Starship, Powerlevel10k, and eza.
To change the font:
- Open Settings > select a profile > Appearance.
- Under Font face, type or select a font name.
- Adjust the Font size (10-14pt is typical for terminal use).
Recommended fonts:
- CaskaydiaCove Nerd Font — The Nerd Font version of Cascadia Code, with ligatures and icons.
- FiraCode Nerd Font — Popular programming font with excellent ligatures.
- JetBrains Mono Nerd Font — Clean, highly readable programming font.
- Hack Nerd Font — Classic monospace font with Nerd Font icons.
Setting a Background Image or Acrylic Effect
Acrylic Transparency
Windows Terminal supports a translucent acrylic background effect:
- Open Settings > select a profile > Appearance.
- Toggle on Use acrylic material.
- Adjust the Opacity slider. A value around 70-80% provides a subtle transparency effect while keeping text readable.
Background Image
You can set any image as the terminal background:
- Open Settings > select a profile > Appearance.
- Under Background image, browse to an image file.
- Adjust the Background image opacity (15-25% keeps text readable).
- Set the Background image stretch mode to “Uniform to fill” for the best visual result.
Using Tabs and Split Panes
Tabs
Windows Terminal supports multiple tabs, just like a web browser:
- Ctrl + Shift + T — Open a new tab with the default profile.
- Ctrl + Shift + [number] — Open a new tab with a specific profile (1 for the first profile, 2 for the second, etc.).
- Ctrl + Tab — Switch to the next tab.
- Ctrl + Shift + W — Close the current tab.
Split Panes
Split panes allow you to view multiple terminal sessions side by side within the same tab:
- Alt + Shift + D — Split the current pane automatically (horizontal or vertical based on available space).
- Alt + Shift + – (minus) — Split horizontally (new pane below).
- Alt + Shift + = (equals) — Split vertically (new pane to the right).
- Alt + Arrow keys — Move focus between panes.
- Ctrl + Shift + W — Close the current pane.
Split panes are invaluable for monitoring logs in one pane while working in another, or for keeping a file editor and a command runner visible simultaneously.
Setting the Default Profile and Default Terminal Application
Default Profile
The default profile is the shell that opens when you create a new tab. To change it:
- Open Settings.
- Under Startup, change the Default profile dropdown to your preferred shell.
Default Terminal Application
By default, Windows 11 may still use the legacy console host for some operations. To ensure Windows Terminal is always used:
- Open Settings > Startup.
- Set Default terminal application to Windows Terminal.
Now, every time an application or script opens a command-line window, it will open inside Windows Terminal instead of the old-style console.
Useful Keyboard Shortcuts Summary
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + , | Open Settings |
| Ctrl + Shift + T | New tab |
| Ctrl + Shift + W | Close tab/pane |
| Alt + Shift + D | Split pane |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Find text |
| Ctrl + +/- | Increase/decrease font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + P | Open command palette |
| Alt + Arrow keys | Move between panes |
Windows Terminal is far more capable than most users realise. With the right colour scheme, a Nerd Font, and a well-organised set of profiles, it becomes a powerful and visually appealing hub for all your command-line work on Windows 11.