To effectively customize Windows Terminal, first open the settings and understand its structure. 1. Enter Settings to view Startup, Profiles, Appearance, Key Bindings and JSON files. 2. In Profiles, you can customize the name, command line, starting directory, icon, label color and font for each shell, for example, set the icon and color of PowerShell through settings.json; 3. Change the theme and color scheme in Appearance, you can choose a built-in theme or define a custom color scheme such as "My Dark Theme" in settings.json, and apply it to the specified profile through colorScheme. At the same time, you can set the requestedTheme to achieve global dark/bright color mode; 4. Customize fonts and transparency, it is recommended to use Cascadia Code and other programming fonts, adjust the font size, and enable the acrylic transparency effect through useAcrylic and acrylicOpacity; 5. Configure shortcut keys in Key Bindings, such as Ctrl T to create a new tab page, Ctrl \ vertical split screen, all shortcut keys can be further customized in JSON; 6. Set the default startup profile, window size, full screen startup and restore the previous session in Startup; finally, it is recommended to back up settings.json, beginners use UI settings, advanced users to edit JSON files, and refer to GitHub to obtain more themes and configuration examples, so as to achieve an efficient and personalized terminal experience.

Customizing Windows Terminal can make your command-line experience more efficient and visually appealing. Whether you're using Command Prompt, PowerShell, WSL, or other shells, you can tailor the look and behavior to your preferences. Here's how to customize Windows Terminal effectively.

1. Open Settings and Understand the Structure

To customize Windows Terminal, click the dropdown arrow in the tab bar and select Settings , or press Ctrl , (comma).

The settings are divided into:

• Startup : Controls what happens when Terminal opens (default profile, window size, etc.)
• Profiles : Each shell (PowerShell, CMD, WSL, etc.) is a profile you can customize individually.
• Appearance : General UI settings like theme, window behavior, and font.
• Key Bindings : Customize keyboard shortcuts.
• JSON Settings File : Advanced users can edit the raw settings.json file for deeper control.

2. Customize Profiles (Tabs, Colors, Icons)

Each shell (profile) can have its own appearance:

• Name : Change the tab label (eg, "PowerShell" → "Admin Shell").
• Command Line : Specify which execute to run (eg, run PowerShell as admin by adding -Command Start-Process powershell -Verb runAs ).
• Starting Directory : Set a default folder (eg, C:\Projects ).
• Icon and Tab Color :
  • Add an icon path (eg, C:/path/to/icon.png ) or use emoji (like ? for WSL).
  • Set tabColor to a hex value for a colored tab.
• Font : Choose a custom font under appearance > font .

Example snippet in settings.json :

 {
    "name": "PowerShell",
    "source": "Windows.Terminal.PowershellHost",
    "icon": "C:/icons/powershell.png",
    "tabColor": "#55aaff",
    "font": {
        "face": "Cascadia Code"
    }
}

? Tip: Use Nerd Fonts (like Cascadia Code PL) for better icon support in prompts.

3. Change Theme and Colors (Dark/Light, Custom Schemes)

Windows Terminal supports color schemes that can be applied across profiles.

• Go to Settings > Appearance > Color scheme .
• Choose from built-in schemes (Campbell, One Half Dark, Solarized, etc.).
• Or create a custom scheme under Advanced > Color schemes .

To define a custom color scheme in settings.json :

 "schemes": [
    {
        "name": "My Dark Theme",
        "background": "#1e1e1e",
        "foreground": "#dcdcdc",
        "black": "#000000",
        "red": "#ff0000",
        "green": "#00ff00",
        "yellow": "#ffff00",
        "blue": "#0000ff",
        "purple": "#ff00ff",
        "cyan": "#00ffff",
        "white": "#ffffff"
    }
]

Then apply it to a profile:

 "colorScheme": "My Dark Theme"

You can also set a global theme using "requestedTheme" ( dark , light , or system ).

4. Customize Fonts and Transparency

• Font Face : Use modern monospace fonts like Cascadia Mono, Fira Code, or JetBrains Mono.
• Font Size : Adjust for readability (eg, 11–14pt).
• Background Effects :
  • Enable acrylic (blur) or glass effects.
  • Adjust acrylicOpacity (0.5–1.0) for transparency.

Example:

 "background": "#111111",
"backgroundImageOpacity": 0.2,
"useAcrylic": true,
"acrylicOpacity": 0.7

?? Transparency can impact performance on older machines.

5. Set Up Key Bindings and Shortcuts

Speed up workflow with custom key combinations.

• Open Settings > Key Bindings .
• Add new key combinations, like:
  • Ctrl T → Open new tab
  • Ctrl Shift W → Close pane
  • Ctrl \ → Split pane vertically

Example:

 {
    "command": "splitPane",
    "keys": "ctrl \\",
    "command": {
        "action": "splitHorizontal",
        "profile": "Command Prompt"
    }
}

You can also bind keys to switch tabs, rename tabs, or open specific profiles.

6. Startup Settings and Default Behavior

Under Startup :

• Choose default profile (eg, start with WSL instead of PowerShell).
• Set initial window size (eg, columns: 120, rows: 30).
• Enable "Launch in full screen" if preferred.
• Restore last used tab/session.

Final Tips

• Backup your settings.json before making big changes.
• Use Settings UI for beginners; switch to JSON for advanced tweaks.
• Check Microsoft's Windows Terminal GitHub for themes and config examples.

Basically, once you get familiar with the JSON structure, the customization is powerful and flexible—no need to stick with the defaults.

The above is the detailed content of How to customize Windows Terminal. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!