You can change the default profile by setting 'defaultProfile' to the name of your preferred profile in your settings.json file. The default profile is the profile that always opens when you launch the terminal and it is the profile that will open when clicking the new tab button. Upon first launch of Windows Terminal, the default profile is set to Windows PowerShell. Each profile can have its own customizations to help you differentiate between them and add your own flair to each one. By default, each profile uses a different command line executable, however you can create as many profiles as you’d like using the same executable. Profiles act as different command line environments that you can configure inside the terminal.

If you have Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) distributions installed on your machine, they should also dynamically populate as profiles when you first launch the terminal. By default, the terminal includes Windows PowerShell, Command Prompt, and Azure Cloud Shell profiles inside the dropdown. First launchĪfter installing the terminal, you can launch the app and get started right away with the command line. This build is intended for those who want to receive features after they have been introduced and tested by the Preview community. This allows for extensive bug testing and stabilization of new features. Features that arrive in Windows Terminal Preview appear in Windows Terminal after a month of being in production. Windows Terminal is the main build for the product. This build has a monthly release cadence with the newest features each month. This build is intended for those who like to see the latest features as soon as they are released. Windows Terminal Preview is the build where new features arrive first.

In order to run either Windows Terminal build, your machine must be on Windor later. Both builds are available for download from the Microsoft Store and from the GitHub releases page. Windows Terminal is available in two different builds: Windows Terminal and Windows Terminal Preview.

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