Microsoft’s Windows Terminal app is a utility that brings all of the different command line tools available for Windows into one space, while also providing plenty of extra features for power users. But up until now you’ve had to launch Windows Terminal first and then use it to open Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Starting with Windows Terminal Preview 1.12, you can set Windows Terminal as the default terminal emulator for Windows 11 or Windows Insider Preview Dev Channel builds. In other words, launch any command line tool and it’ll open inside Windows Terminal.
Other changes in version 1.12 include:
- An option to restore tabs and panes from a previous session when relaunching Windows Terminal
- Full transparency on Windows 11, enabling more background effects
- Text that’s been printed in the buffer can now be selected with your keyboard
- Elevated terminal windows now display a shield icon to the left of tabs
- Open the system menu with Alt+Space
Keep in mind that Windows Terminal version 1.12 is launching first as a preview build, which means there may still be some bugs to squash. But if you’re cool with that, you can download the Windows Terminal Preview from the Microsoft Store or from GitHub. If you prefer a more stable experience, you can grab the primary Windows Terminal app from the Microsoft Store and wait for version 1.12 to graduate from preview to full release.
You can find more information about Windows Terminal Preview 1.12 in Microsoft’s release announcement.