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How to Use Windows Terminal: Tabs, Profiles and Customization

5 min read

Master Windows Terminal in Windows 10 and 11. Configure profiles for PowerShell, CMD and WSL, set up tabs, customize appearance, key bindings and JSON settings.

Windows Terminal is the modern replacement for the old CMD and PowerShell windows — it supports tabs, multiple shells, GPU rendering and full customization.

Install Windows Terminal

winget install Microsoft.WindowsTerminal

Or download from the Microsoft Store (pre-installed on Windows 11).

Open Shells

  • Win + X → Terminal (opens default shell)
  • Click + in tab bar → select shell
  • Ctrl + Shift + 1 — new PowerShell tab
  • Ctrl + Shift + 2 — new CMD tab
  • Ctrl + Shift + 5 — new WSL tab (if installed)

Essential Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Ctrl + Shift + T New tab (default profile)
Ctrl + Shift + W Close tab
Alt + Shift + D Split pane horizontally
Alt + Shift + + Split pane vertically
Ctrl + Tab Next tab
Ctrl + Shift + F Find in terminal
Ctrl + , Open settings
F11 Full screen

Configure Default Profile

Ctrl + , → Startup → Default profile → select PowerShell, CMD or WSL

// settings.json — set default profile
{
  "defaultProfile": "{574e775e-4f2a-5b96-ac1e-a2962a402336}"
}

Customize Appearance

// settings.json → profiles → defaults
{
  "profiles": {
    "defaults": {
      "colorScheme": "One Half Dark",
      "font": {
        "face": "Cascadia Code",
        "size": 12
      },
      "opacity": 90,
      "useAcrylic": true,
      "padding": "8, 8, 8, 8",
      "cursorShape": "bar"
    }
  }
}

Add Custom Profile

// Add to profiles → list in settings.json
{
  "name": "Admin PowerShell",
  "commandline": "powershell.exe -NoExit -Command \"Start-Process powershell -Verb RunAs\"",
  "icon": "ms-appx:///ProfileIcons/{61c54bbd-c2c6-5271-96e7-009a87ff44bf}.png",
  "colorScheme": "Campbell Powershell"
}

Set Starting Directory

{
  "profiles": {
    "list": [
      {
        "name": "PowerShell",
        "startingDirectory": "C:\\Projects"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Custom Key Bindings

{
  "actions": [
    { "command": "newTab", "keys": "ctrl+t" },
    { "command": "closeTab", "keys": "ctrl+w" },
    { "command": { "action": "splitPane", "split": "vertical" }, "keys": "ctrl+shift+e" },
    { "command": "toggleFullscreen", "keys": "f11" }
  ]
}

Install Cascadia Code Font (Recommended)

winget install Microsoft.CascadiaCode

Cascadia Code supports programming ligatures (->, =>, !=) and Nerd Font icons for a better terminal experience.

Open Terminal Here (Context Menu)

Right-click any folder → Open in Terminal (Windows 11 built-in)

For Windows 10:

# Add "Open Terminal here" to context menu
$regPath = "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\Background\shell\wt"
New-Item -Path $regPath -Force
Set-ItemProperty $regPath -Name "(Default)" -Value "Open in Terminal"
New-Item -Path "$regPath\command" -Force
Set-ItemProperty "$regPath\command" -Name "(Default)" -Value "wt.exe -d ."

Summary

Install via winget or Store. Essential: tabs (Ctrl+Shift+T), split panes (Alt+Shift+D), settings via JSON (Ctrl+,). Install Cascadia Code for the best experience. Set starting directory per profile for faster workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Windows Terminal vs PowerShell ISE — which should I use?

Windows Terminal for everyday command-line work. PowerShell ISE for writing and debugging scripts (it has a proper script editor). ISE doesn't support PowerShell 7 — use VS Code with PowerShell extension instead.

Can I run Linux commands in Windows Terminal?

Yes — install WSL (wsl --install) then open a WSL tab in Terminal. Full Linux environment alongside Windows shells in the same window.

My terminal doesn't show UTF-8 characters correctly — fix?

# Set UTF-8 in PowerShell profile
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
# Or in settings.json add "experimental.rendering.forceFullRepaint": true

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