Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal is Microsoft's modern, feature-rich terminal application designed to replace the aging Windows Console. Built from the ground up with a focus on productivity and user experience, it brings long-requested features like tabbed interfaces, rich text rendering, Unicode and emoji support, extensive theming and customization options, and GPU-accelerated text rendering. The terminal leverages a modernized C++ codebase with reusable components including a DirectWrite-based rendering engine and advanced text buffer capable of handling both UTF-16 and UTF-8.

What sets Windows Terminal apart is its deep integration with the Windows ecosystem while maintaining high performance and efficiency. It serves as both a standalone application and hosts the Windows Console infrastructure, ensuring backward compatibility with existing command-line tools while providing a foundation for future innovation. The terminal is designed for developers, system administrators, and power users who need a fast, reliable, and highly configurable command-line interface on Windows.

Windows Terminal requires Windows 10 build 19041 or later and is actively maintained by Microsoft with regular updates delivered through the Microsoft Store. The project also offers Windows Terminal Canary for users who want to test cutting-edge features, making it an excellent choice for those who want to stay on the bleeding edge of terminal technology while maintaining stability for daily use.

Installation

# via Microsoft Store
Install from Microsoft Store (Recommended)

# via winget
winget install --id Microsoft.WindowsTerminal -e

# via Chocolatey
choco install microsoft-windows-terminal