Open multiple sessions and customize themes in a Windows terminal
Open multiple sessions side by side in a single window and customize the screen colors to start command-line work. Windows Terminal is a terminal application that runs on Windows 10 and 11, providing features that the legacy console does not support. This repository contains the source code for both Windows Terminal and the existing Windows console host, allowing you to see the structure and changes of both systems at a glance.
Coexistence of the new terminal and the legacy console
Windows Terminal is a terminal equipped with features long requested by the Windows command-line community, such as tab support, rich text rendering, globalization, and settings and theme application. In contrast, conhost.exe handles Windows' original command-line user experience and infrastructure, and the code in this repository is the actual source used to build the conhost.exe included in Windows itself. The two projects share core components such as a DirectWrite-based text layout engine, a text buffer that can store both UTF-16 and UTF-8, and a VT parser/emitter. These shared components are designed to be reusable in other terminal implementations on Windows.
Installation methods and version selection
Windows Terminal runs on Windows 10 2004 (build 19041) or later. The most recommended installation method is via the Microsoft Store, which automatically updates when a new build is released. In environments where the Microsoft Store is unavailable, you can download the .msixbundle file from the GitHub releases page to install it directly, or install it using package managers like winget, Chocolatey, or Scoop. For manual installation, the VC++ v14 desktop framework package may be required on older Windows 10 builds, and since automatic updates are not available, you must frequently check for the latest version. Windows Terminal Canary is also provided to preview the latest features, which is a nightly build containing the latest code from the main branch. Canary is distributed in two forms: App Installer and Portable ZIP, with App Installer supporting automatic updates only on Windows 11.
Setting up the development environment and building
To build the Windows Terminal source code, you need Windows 10 2004 or later, Developer Mode enabled, PowerShell 7 or later, Windows 11 SDK (10.0.26100.8249 or later), and Visual Studio 2026 (version 18.6 or later). You must install the 'Desktop development with C++' and 'WinUI application development' workloads from the Visual Studio installer, and the .NET Framework 4.7.2 Targeting Pack is also required to build test projects. Environment setup can be done using a WinGet configuration file or manually. You can build by opening the OpenConsole.slnx solution in Visual Studio, or by using convenience scripts in the /tools directory from PowerShell or Cmd. When debugging, you must set 'Application process' and 'Background task process' to 'Native Only' in the properties of the CascadiaPackage project, and select 'x64' or 'x86' as the platform. You cannot build with 'Any Cpu', and you cannot start the terminal by running WindowsTerminal.exe directly.
Contributing and team communication
This project welcomes community contributions, and you must read the Contributor's Guide before starting to add features or fix bugs to prevent duplicate work. Communication with the team is done through GitHub issues, and it is recommended to search for similar existing issues before creating a new one. For questions that are not issues, you can contact team members directly via Twitter. The project follows the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct and provides development guidelines covering coding style, code organization, exception handling, and the use of smart pointers and macros for WIL interfaces. These guidelines are a work in progress, with necessary content for effective contributors being added continuously.
Pre-use checks
Windows Terminal can only be used in environments running Windows 10 2004 or later, or Windows 11. Installation via the Microsoft Store is recommended, but for manual installation, automatic updates are not available, so you must manually check for the latest version. Canary builds allow you to preview the latest features but have the lowest stability, so bugs may occur. Building the source code requires Visual Studio 2026 and specific SDKs and workloads, and Developer Mode must be enabled. Some features may be limited to maintain compatibility with the legacy console host, and Windows Terminal does not replace all features of the legacy console. conhost.exe still handles Windows' default command-line infrastructure, and Windows Terminal connects and communicates with it via ConPty. Detailed information about the project's license or specific support scope is not specified in the README, so you should refer to official documentation or related repositories.
