How to Customise Cursor Shape, Colour, and Blinking in Windows Terminal on Windows 11

Windows Terminal is the default command-line experience in Windows 11, serving as a unified host for PowerShell, Command Prompt, Azure Cloud Shell, and the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). For developers, system administrators, and power users who spend hours working in the terminal daily, text readability and cursor visibility are paramount. Windows Terminal provides rich visual customisation options, allowing you to tailor cursor shape, colour, and blinking behaviour across individual shell profiles.

Cursor Shapes Available in Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal supports several distinct cursor styles to suit various typographic preferences and display resolutions:

• Bar (Default): A slender vertical pipe that renders between characters, similar to text cursors in standard code editors like VS Code.
• Vintage: The classic DOS-era chunky horizontal line that occupies the bottom quarter of the character cell.
• Underscore: A slim, subtle horizontal underline below the active character.
• Filled Box: A solid rectangular block that completely encompasses the active character cell, offering maximum visibility on complex terminal outputs.
• Empty Box: A hollow, rectangular outline around the character cell that prevents obscuring the text underneath.
• Double Underscore: A distinctive pair of horizontal parallel lines beneath the current cursor position.

Method 1: Customising the Cursor via the Graphical Settings Interface

You can adjust cursor appearance using Windows Terminal’s built-in graphical preferences without editing configuration code:

1. Launch Windows Terminal on your Windows 11 PC.
2. Click the downward-pointing arrow (chevron) in the tab bar and select Settings (or press Ctrl + ,).
3. In the left-hand navigation pane, look under the Profiles section and click the specific shell profile you wish to customise (for example, PowerShell, Command Prompt, or Ubuntu).
4. Select the Appearance tab in the main settings area.
5. Scroll down to the Cursor configuration group:
   • Cursor shape: Click the drop-down menu and choose your preferred style (e.g. Filled box or Underscore).
   • Cursor colour: Click the colour swatch or enter a custom hex code (such as #00FF66 for vibrant retro terminal green).
   • Cursor blinking: Toggle between Blinking or Off depending on whether you find continuous pulsing distracting during long debugging sessions.
6. Click the Save button in the lower-right corner to apply the changes immediately.

Method 2: Configuring Cursors via settings.json for Advanced Control

For reproducible workstation setups or configuration sharing, you can define cursor properties directly inside the underlying settings.json configuration file:

1. In Windows Terminal, press Ctrl + Shift + , (comma) to open settings.json in your default text editor.
2. Locate the profiles block, and navigate to the defaults array (to apply rules globally across all shells) or within a specific profile object.
3. Add the following keys to customise cursor behaviour:

   "cursorShape": "filledBox",
   "cursorColor": "#50FA7B",
   "cursorHeight": 25

4. Valid values for cursorShape include: "bar", "vintage", "underscore", "filledBox", "emptyBox", and "doubleUnderscore".
5. Save the file. Windows Terminal hot-reloads instantly without requiring an application restart.

Assigning Different Cursors to Different Shell Environments

A practical productivity tip is assigning distinct cursor shapes and colours to different shell environments. For instance, you can configure:

• PowerShell: Blue Bar cursor (#00D2FF)
• Command Prompt: Vintage yellow Underscore cursor (#FFCC00)
• WSL Linux: Green Filled Box cursor (#50FA7B)

This provides an instant visual cue regarding which shell environment is active, preventing accidental command execution in the wrong terminal session.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I disable cursor blinking completely in Windows Terminal?

Yes. In the Appearance settings tab for your profile, locate the Cursor blinking option and toggle it to Off. Alternatively, in settings.json, set "cursorBlinking": false.

Why does my cursor colour not match the hex code I entered?

Certain high-contrast themes or command-line programmes that manipulate VT (virtual terminal) escape sequences may override cursor rendering colors dynamically. Ensure your terminal colour scheme does not enforce static cursor overrides.

Does changing the cursor in Windows Terminal affect legacy conhost.exe?

No. Windows Terminal operates independently from the legacy Windows Console Host (conhost). Adjusting settings in Windows Terminal only alters modern tabbed sessions.