Windows Terminal
Windows Terminal is a multi-tabbed command-line front-end that Microsoft has developed for Windows 10,[4] as a replacement for Windows Console.[5] It can run any command-line app, including all Windows terminal emulators, in a separate tab. It is preconfigured to run Command Prompt, PowerShell, WSL, SSH, and Azure Cloud Shell Connector.[6][7]
Windows Terminal running on Windows 10 | |
Developer(s) | Microsoft |
---|---|
Initial release | May 3, 2019[1] |
Stable release | 1.5.10271.0
/ January 28, 2021[2] |
Preview release | 1.6.10272.0
/ January 28, 2021[3] |
Repository | github |
Written in | C++ |
Operating system | Windows 10 |
Platform | IA-32, x86-64, ARM64 |
Type | Terminal emulator |
License | MIT License |
Website | aka |
History
Windows Terminal was announced[5] at Microsoft's Build 2019 developer conference in May 2019[8] as a modern alternative for Windows Console, and Windows Terminal's source code first appeared on GitHub on 3 May 2019.[1] The first preview release was version 0.2, which appeared on 10 July 2019.[9] The first stable version of the project (version 1.0) was on 19 May 2020, at which point, Microsoft started releasing preview versions as the Windows Terminal Preview app, which could be installed side-by-side with the stable version.[10]
Features
Windows Terminal is a command-line front-end. It can run multiple command-line apps, including text-based shells in a multi-tabbed window. It has out-of-the-box support for Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Bash on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).[6] It can natively connect to Azure Cloud Shell.[7]
Windows Terminal augments the text-based command experience by providing support for:
- Notebook tabs, to hold multiple instances in a single window
- ANSI VT sequence support
- UTF-8 and UTF-16 (including CJK ideograms and emojis)[lower-alpha 1]
- Hardware-accelerated text rendering via DirectWrite
- Modern font and font feature support (see below)
- 24-bit color
- Window transparency effects
- Themes, background images and tab color settings[11]
- Different window modes (e.g. fullscreen mode, focus mode, always on top mode)
- Split panes
- Command palette[11]
- Jump list support[11]
- Microsoft Narrator compatibility via a User Interface Automation (UIA) tree[12]
- Support for embedded hyperlinks[11]
- Copying text to clipboard in HTML and RTF format
- Mouse input
- Customizable key bindings
- Incremental search
Cascadia Code
Cascadia Code is a purpose-built monospaced font by Aaron Bell of Saja Typeworks for the new command-line interface. It includes programming ligatures and was designed to enhance the look and feel of Windows Terminal, terminal applications and text editors such as Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code.[13] The font is open-source under the SIL Open Font License and available on GitHub.[14] It is bundled with Windows Terminal since version 0.5.2762.0.[15]
Notes
- Requires an appropriate font to be selected for rendering.
References
- Howett, Dustin L (3 May 2019). "v0.1.1002.0: Initial release of the Windows Terminal source code". microsoft / terminal repo. Microsoft – via GitHub.
- Howett, Dustin L (28 January 2021). "Windows Terminal v1.5.10271.0". microsoft / terminal repo. Microsoft – via GitHub.
- Howett, Dustin L (28 January 2021). "Windows Terminal Preview v1.6.10272.0". microsoft / terminal repo. Microsoft – via GitHub.
- Warren, Tom (6 May 2019). "Microsoft unveils Windows Terminal, a new command line app for Windows". The Verge.
- Cinnamon, Kayla (6 May 2019). "Introducing Windows Terminal". Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- Bright, Peter (6 May 2019). "Coming soon: Windows Terminal—finally a tabbed, emoji-capable Windows command-line". Ars Technica.
- Bhojwani, Pankaj (2 August 2019). "The Azure Cloud Shell Connector in Windows Terminal". Windows Command Line. Microsoft – via DevBlogs.
- Warren, Tom. "Microsoft unveils Windows Terminal, a new command line app for Windows". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
- Howett, Dustin L (10 July 2019). "Windows Terminal - Preview v0.2". microsoft / terminal repo. Microsoft – via GitHub.
- Howett, Dustin L (19 May 2020). "Windows Terminal v1.0.1401.0". microsoft / terminal repo. Microsoft – via GitHub.
- "Windows Terminal Preview 1.4 brings embedded hyperlinks support, version 1.3 generally available - Neowin". Neowin. 2020-09-23.
- Microsoft Issues Major Update to Windows Terminal – Thurrott.com
- Cascadia Code | Windows Command Line Tools For Developers
- GitHub - microsoft/cascadia-code
- "Release Windows Terminal Preview v0.5.2762.0 · microsoft/terminal · GitHub". GitHub Windows Terminal repository. 2019-10-04.