-
Windows Terminal can be the default app for launching PowerShell and Command Prompt from Windows
Terminal
>
General
and changing the “Default terminal application” setting. -
On Windows 11, you can also open
Settings
>
System
>
For Developers
and choose
“Windows Terminal”
in the “Terminal” setting. -
On Windows 10, open
Settings
>
Update & Security
>
For Developers
and choose
“Windows Terminal”
in the “Terminal” setting. - It’s also possible to change the default profile through the JSON settings file for the Windows Terminal.
-
Finally, you can change the default settings from the Windows Console Host’s
“Terminal”
tab.
On
Windows 11
(and 10), you can now open Command Prompt, PowerShell, and WSL directly into the
Windows Terminal
app instead of the legacy Windows Console, and in this guide, I will teach you how.
Although the system automatically makes the Windows Terminal the default command-line experience, you can change this behavior manually in case your setup still defaults to the Windows Console or you want to set another version of the terminal as the default. (I personally use the “Windows Terminal Preview” as my default experience.)
In this
guide
, I will teach you how to make the Windows Terminal experience the default application on Windows.
-
Set Terminal default console on Windows from Terminal
-
Set Terminal default console on Windows 11 from Settings
-
Set Terminal default console on Windows 10 from Settings
-
Set Terminal default console on Windows from JSON file
-
Set Terminal default console on Windows from Console
Set Terminal default console on Windows from Terminal
To open Command Prompt, PowerShell, or WSL with the Windows Terminal app by default, use these steps:
Open Start on Windows 11 (or 10).
Search for
Windows Terminal
and click the top result to open the app.
Click the menu (down-arrow) button and select the
Settings
option.
Click on
Startup
.
Use the “Default terminal application” setting and select the
Windows Terminal
option.
(Optional) Choose the
Command Prompt
option in the “Default profile” setting.
Click the
Save
button.
Once you complete the steps, the next time you open Command Prompt or PowerShell, the command-line tool will open on Windows Terminal instead of the legacy Windows Console Host.
Set Terminal default console on Windows 11 from Settings
To configure the Windows Terminal as the system default, use these steps:
Open
Settings
(Windows key + I).
Click on
System
.
Click the
For developers
page.
Choose the
Windows Terminal
option from the “Terminal” setting.
After you complete the steps, launching Command Prompt, PowerShell, or another command-line tool will open in the terminal by default.
Set Terminal default console on Windows 10 from Settings
To make the Windows Terminal the default experience on Windows 10, use these steps:
Open
Settings
(Windows key + I).
Click on
Updated & Security
.
Click on
For developers
.
Choose the
Windows Terminal
option from the “Terminal” setting.
Once you complete the steps,
Windows 10
will now use the Windows Terminal as the default command-line console experience.
Set Terminal default console on Windows from JSON file
To open Command Prompt, PowerShell, or WSL with the Windows Terminal app by default, use these steps:
Open Start on Windows 11 (or 10).
Search for
Windows Terminal
and click the top result to open the app.
Click the menu (down-arrow) button and select the
Settings
option.
Click the
“Open JSON file”
button from the bottom-left corner.
Select, right-click, and copy the “guid” for for the console you want to open by default.
At the top of the files, replace the current “guid” in the
“defaultProfile”
field.
Click the
File
menu and choose the
Save
option.
Once you complete the steps, restart the Windows Terminal, and the console you selected should start by default.
Set Terminal default console on Windows from Console
Alternatively, you can always enable the feature within the Windows Console Host with these steps:
Open
Start
.
Search for
Command Prompt
or
PowerShell
and click the top result to open the app.
Right-click the title bar and select the
Defaults
option.
Click the
Terminal
tab.
Select the
Windows Terminal
option under the “Default Terminal Application” section.
Click the
OK
button.
Once you complete the steps, the apps will launch automatically using the Windows Terminal application.
Update July 12, 2024:
This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.