Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal is a modern, fast, efficient, powerful, and productive terminal application for command-line users on Windows 10 and Windows 11. It provides multiple tab support, rich text formatting, custom themes and styles, emoji and font ligature support, smooth typing exper
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terminal commandline cli tabs themes customization

Windows Terminal: A Modern Command-Line Experience

Windows Terminal is a modern, fast, efficient, powerful, and productive terminal application for command-line users on Windows 10 and Windows 11. It provides multiple tab support, rich text formatting, custom themes and styles, emoji and font ligature support, smooth typing experience, and more.

What is Windows Terminal?

Windows Terminal is a modern, versatile, and user-friendly terminal emulator application designed specifically for the Windows command-line interface. Released in 2019 by Microsoft, it comes pre-installed in Windows 11 and is available to download separately for Windows 10.

Windows Terminal provides numerous major improvements over the traditional Windows console host. Key highlights include multiple tab support for opening command prompts, PowerShells, WSL Linux distros, Azure Cloudshell and any other command-line tools in one window. It also enables splitting panes horizontally or vertically to view multiple shells at once.

The application features GPU-accelerated text rendering for smooth typing, anti-aliased fonts, emoji and font ligature support for developer glyphs. Custom themes and styles can be created and shared to personalize the aesthetic appearance.

Advanced configuration settings allow custom key bindings, automatic profiles per shell or tab, a QUAKE-style drop down terminal, background image support and more. The settings are easily editable through a JSON file giving full control.

Overall, Windows Terminal offers a modern, fast, productive and customizable terminal environment for Windows command-line use. It is designed for efficiency and user productivity with multiple features not available in the older default Windows consoles.

Windows Terminal Features

Features

  1. Multiple tab support
  2. Rich text formatting
  3. Customizable themes and styles
  4. Emoji and font ligature support
  5. Smooth typing experience

Pricing

  • Free
  • Open Source

Pros

Modern and fast

Efficient and powerful

Productive for command-line users

Customizable appearance

Smooth typing

Cons

Only available on Windows 10 and 11

Steep learning curve for beginners


The Best Windows Terminal Alternatives

Top Os & Utilities and Terminal Emulators and other similar apps like Windows Terminal


Kitty terminal icon

Kitty terminal

Kitty is a terminal emulator that prioritizes speed, efficiency, and modern features. Some key aspects of Kitty:It utilizes GPU rendering to draw text, making everything from scrolling to opening new tabs much faster than traditional terminals.Supports Unicode and emoji out of the box with font ligatures for readability.Tab support allows...
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ITerm2

iTerm2 is an open-source terminal emulator for macOS that serves as a replacement for the default Terminal application. It comes packed with useful features for developers, coders, and other power users.Some key features of iTerm2 include: - Split panes allow you to open multiple terminal sessions in one window for...
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Terminator

Terminator is an open source terminal emulator application for Linux/UNIX operating systems. It provides a way to access the UNIX shell and run command-line programs and shell scripts. Some key features of Terminator include:Ability to split the window horizontally or vertically into multiple terminal panels. You can customize the arrangement...
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Alacritty

Alacritty is an open-source, cross-platform terminal emulator written in Rust. It uses OpenGL for hardware-accelerated rendering, allowing it to achieve high performance and low latency. Some key features of Alacritty include:Fast terminal rendering thanks to the use of GPU accelerationExcellent performance for workflows involving a large amount of textCompatible with...
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WezTerm

WezTerm is a GPU-accelerated terminal emulator and multiplexer designed as an alternative to traditional terminal emulators like gnome-terminal, iTerm2, or the default terminal app in Windows. It is written in Rust and aims to provide performance and features not found in other terminals.Some key features of WezTerm include:Hardware-accelerated text rendering...
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MobaXterm

MobaXterm is a free all-in-one terminal for Windows that bundles many useful remote network tools needed by IT administrators, webmasters, developers and power users into a single portable executable.Key features of MobaXterm include:Multi-tabbed SSH client with SFTP browser and remote editing capabilitiesAll the important network tools (SSH, X11, RDP, VNC,...
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Termux

Termux is an Android terminal emulator and Linux environment app that transforms Android devices into powerful, command-line-based computing platforms. It offers a Linux-like terminal interface, enabling users to run Linux utilities, install packages, and perform a variety of tasks typically associated with a Linux environment. Key Features: Terminal Emulator: Termux...
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Xshell

Xshell is a feature-rich terminal emulator, SSH client, and remote access software application developed by NetSarang Computer for Windows and macOS operating systems. It enables users to securely access remote servers, devices or computer systems via different protocols including SSH, Telnet, RDP, VNC, and SFTP.Some of the key features of...
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Cygwin

Cygwin is a large collection of GNU and Open Source tools which provide functionality similar to a Linux distribution on Windows. It provides a Unix-like API, command line tools (bash, ssh, rsync, etc.) and a large number of libraries to port software running on POSIX systems, such as Linux, BSD,...
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Tera Term

Tera Term is a popular, free, open-source terminal emulator and telnet client application for the Windows operating system. First released in 1994 by T. Teranishi, it has become one of the most widely-used terminal programs for Windows due to its versatility, active development community, and lack of cost.Some of the...
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Tabby Terminal icon

Tabby Terminal

Tabby Terminal is a feature-rich, open-source terminal emulator that aims to provide a modern and user-friendly alternative to the default terminal app on Windows, Mac and Linux. It is compatible with most common Unix shells like zsh, bash etc.Some key features and highlights of Tabby Terminal include:Support for tabs -...
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ConEmu

ConEmu is a feature-rich terminal emulator and console enhancer for Windows. It provides multiple tabs and splits in a single window, allowing you to run and switch between multiple console applications. Some key features of ConEmu:Customizable themes and appearance with fonts, colors, background image, transparency etc.Tabbed interface to run multiple...
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Cmder

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KiTTY

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MSYS2

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PAC Manager

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GNOME Terminal

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Fig Terminal icon

Fig Terminal

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Yakuake

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Solar-PuTTY

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ZOC

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Konsole

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ConnectBot

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LXTerminal

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Putty for Mac

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Cool Retro Term

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Superconsole

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Tilda

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Wave Terminal icon

Wave Terminal

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Android Terminal Emulator icon

Android Terminal Emulator

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Extraterm

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WindTerm icon

WindTerm

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MacTerm icon

MacTerm

MacTerm is a popular terminal emulator application designed specifically for the macOS operating system. It provides users with a command line interface to access the Unix shell and run various commands and programs in a text-based environment.Some of the key features of MacTerm include:Supports common Unix shells like Bash, Zsh,...
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RXVT

RXVT is a popular open-source terminal emulator for the X Window System. It is highly configurable and customizable, allowing users to tune various aspects to suit their preferences and needs.Some key features of RXVT include:Tabbed windows - Allows multiple terminal sessions to be accessed from a single windowLightweight - Uses...
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SSH Terminal Emulator

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ExtraPuTTY

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PentestBox

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SmarTTY

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Sakura

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MATE Terminal icon

MATE Terminal

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FireSSH

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TEXTREME

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Mintty

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Deepin Terminal icon

Deepin Terminal

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Fluent Terminal icon

Fluent Terminal

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Pantheon Terminal icon

Pantheon Terminal

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CMD++ icon

CMD++

CMD++ is an enhanced command prompt for Windows that provides additional functionality beyond the default command prompt included with the operating system.Some key features of CMD++ include:Multiple tabbed interfaces - allows you to open multiple command prompts within one window and easily switch between themBuilt-in text editor - edit text...
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ConsoleZ

ConsoleZ is an open-source tabbed terminal emulator and shell enhancement utility for Windows. It provides multiple tabs and splits in a single window to manage multiple console or command-line interfaces simultaneously. Some of its major features include:Tabbed interface for running multiple command prompts, PowerShells, WSL distros, etc. in a single...
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Poderosa icon

Poderosa

Poderosa is a free and open source SSH and telnet client application for Windows. It was first released in 1999 and focuses on providing powerful terminal emulation and secure remote access capabilities.Some of the key features of Poderosa include:Support for SSH and telnet protocols for remote accessTabbed interface to manage...
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Take Command

Take Command is a feature-rich command line interface and scripting environment for Windows. It was created by developerJP Software as an enhanced replacement for the standard Windows Command Prompt.Some of the key features and capabilities of Take Command include:Support for multiple tabbed command promptsA large collection of over 500 commands,...
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Rxvt-unicode

rxvt-unicode (also known as urxvt) is a highly customizable terminal emulator for the X Window System. It is a fork of the popular rxvt terminal emulator, with added support for Unicode and other features.Some of the key features of rxvt-unicode include:Unicode support, allowing you to display and input text in...
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ROXTerm icon

ROXTerm

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QuTTY

QuTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application for Windows. It provides functionality similar to PuTTY and aims to be a lightweight, customizable and easy-to-use alternative.Some of the key features of QuTTY include:Terminal emulation for SSH, Telnet, Rlogin, serial connections and raw socket...
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Better Terminal Emulator Pro

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AutoPuTTY

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FireCMD

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Wsl-terminal

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Qonsole icon

Qonsole

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PieTTY

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Evilvte

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Svte

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Terminology

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