When Microsoft shipped Windows 11 22H2, it retired an era of monochrome monotasking by making Windows Terminal the default command-line experience. The move wasn't cosmetic—it replaced the single-window Command Prompt with a GPU-accelerated, tabbed, pane-splitting, themeable hub that ties together PowerShell, CMD, and Linux subsystem shells under one roof. In a recent MakeUseOf piece ("I use Windows Terminal instead of Command Prompt—here's why"), the author captures the collective shift among power users: Windows Terminal delivers a flexible workspace that remembers layouts, preserves context, and consolidates multiple shells into a unified app.

The Terminal, first unveiled at Microsoft Build 2019, is not a shell itself but a modern terminal host for the shells you already use. Its open-source development on GitHub and rapid feature iteration have made it the standard for anyone who spends serious time at the command line. Here’s how its key capabilities—tabs, panes, profiles, customization, and deep Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) integration—redefine productivity on Windows.

Multi-Tab and Split Panes: Goodbye, Desktop Clutter

Command Prompt never offered tabs; each session demanded its own window, cluttering the taskbar and making context switching a chore. Windows Terminal introduces tabs with familiar shortcuts: Ctrl + Shift + T opens a new tab, Ctrl + Tab cycles through them, and Ctrl + Shift + W closes one. Each tab maintains its own session, working directory, and visual profile.

But tabs are just the beginning. Split panes let you divide a single tab into multiple terminals—vertically (Alt + Shift + =) or horizontally (Alt + Shift + -)—so you can, for instance, run a web server in one pane, tail logs in another, and keep an interactive shell ready in a third, all visible simultaneously. Focus moves between panes with Alt + Arrow keys, and pane sizes adjust with Shift + Alt + Arrow key.

These features are instantly productive out of the box, yet fully configurable in the settings. As the MakeUseOf author noted, in Command Prompt, a similar setup meant juggling three separate windows that never stayed put after a restart. Windows Terminal remembers your layout and respects your muscle memory.

One Terminal, Many Shells: Unified Profiles

Command Prompt forced a choice: CMD or PowerShell, each in its own silo. Windows Terminal consolidates every command-line environment—Command Prompt, PowerShell, PowerShell Core, Git Bash, Azure Cloud Shell, and any installed WSL distribution—into one application. Dynamic profile generation automatically adds profiles for new WSL distros the moment you install them.

This means you can run Ubuntu in one tab, PowerShell in another, and CMD in a third, all within the same window. Keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl + Shift + 1 through 9) jump directly to a profile by index, and the dropdown menu displays all available shells. Each profile can have independent color schemes, fonts, starting directories, and environment variables, making it easy to visually distinguish a production PowerShell session from a Linux development tab. The improved font rendering also ensures that PowerShell modules like PSReadLine and Terminal-Icons display syntax highlighting and file type icons correctly—a sharp contrast to the limited monospace fonts in legacy consoles.

Customization That Goes Beyond Aesthetics

Command Prompt offered 16 colors and two fonts. Windows Terminal supports full RGB color customization, any monospace font installed on the system (including Microsoft’s own Cascadia Code, which ships with the Terminal and supports ligatures), and per-profile transparency, acrylic effects, Mica support, and background images.

You can configure everything through a polished Settings GUI (Ctrl + ,) or by editing the JSON file directly—a hybrid approach that satisfies newcomers and power users alike. The MakeUseOf author describes using Cascadia Code with a dark theme for long scripting sessions, then switching to a high-contrast theme with larger fonts for screen sharing. These visual cues reduce mistakes (imagine running a destructive script in the wrong environment) and speed recognition when scanning multiple open tabs.

Performance and Modern Rendering

Windows Terminal’s GPU-accelerated text rendering engine, including the Atlas rendering pipeline, makes scrolling through dense output and handling Unicode/UTF-8 characters—even emojis—smooth and responsive. This is a night-and-day improvement over the legacy console host’s sluggish rendering of long logs. Support for ligatures and proper Unicode means modern CLI tools that output icons or extended character sets render correctly, a basic expectation that Command Prompt fails to meet.

Built-in Support for Linux via WSL

The most dramatic productivity leap comes from native WSL integration. Installing a Linux distribution like Ubuntu, Debian, or Alpine instantly creates a terminal profile, making Linux feel like a first-class citizen alongside Windows shells. You can open a WSL tab, use Linux-native tools (make, grep, package managers), and seamlessly move between file systems thanks to clickable paths and built-in path translation. The Terminal maintains visual consistency across Windows and Linux environments, eliminating the old workflow of typing wsl in CMD, losing all context, and fumbling with path differences.

For cross-platform developers, this means running a local web server in a WSL Ubuntu pane, tailing container logs in an adjacent pane, and executing PowerShell tests in a third—all without alt-tabbing. As the MakeUseOf article puts it, “Windows Terminal makes WSL feel native.”

Security, Compatibility, and What the Terminal Doesn’t Change

It’s crucial to understand that Windows Terminal is a host, not a shell or a security boundary. PowerShell execution policies, script signing, and audit logging remain enforced by PowerShell itself. Terminal does not alter these controls. Similarly, CMD still runs batch files and legacy scripts exactly as before; Terminal just gives them a modern window.

The Terminal requires relatively recent Windows builds (Windows 10 1903+ or Windows 11), so locked-down enterprise systems or older hardware may not support it without policy changes. Administrators should verify availability before planning migrations. The Terminal’s richer feature set also slightly increases the app’s attack surface, but the real security risks still reside in the shells it hosts—particularly PowerShell, which remains a common vector for script-based attacks. Standard scripting controls and auditing practices remain essential.

When to Switch (and When to Keep CMD)

Switch to Windows Terminal if you:
- Frequently use multiple shells or need simultaneous sessions.
- Rely on WSL or cross-platform toolchains.
- Value readability, visual differentiation, or accessibility features like modern fonts and high-contrast themes.

Stick with Command Prompt (or keep it available) if you:
- Work on legacy Windows builds that can’t install Terminal.
- Have strict automation dependencies on cmd.exe behavior without a host layer.
- Operate in environments that mandate minimal attack surfaces and forbid new app installations.

Getting Started Quickly

  1. Install Windows Terminal from the Microsoft Store, winget, or choco. The GitHub repository also offers nightly Canary builds.
  2. Open Settings (Ctrl + ,) to set a default profile, switch themes, and assign starting directories.
  3. Try default shortcuts: Ctrl + Shift + T for a new tab, Alt + Shift + =/- for vertical/horizontal splits, and Alt + Arrow to move between panes. Customize bindings in settings.json if desired.
  4. If you use WSL, install a distro and watch Terminal auto-create a profile. Pin it or set it as default for Linux-centric workflows.

The Productivity Payoff

Real-world scenarios demonstrate the terminal’s impact. A developer can keep a build process visible in one pane, monitor logs in another, and code in a third, all within a single window—eliminating the cognitive friction of constant alt-tabbing. Sysadmins can run structured PowerShell diagnostics alongside CMD network tests and WSL SSH sessions. The ability to save and restore window layouts means that complex setups survive reboots.

Forward Look

Windows Terminal is not a static utility; it’s an actively developed open-source project with a visible roadmap. Integration into Windows 11 as the default signals Microsoft’s commitment to modernizing the command line. Features like the command palette, snippets, and experimental AI integrations point toward a future where the terminal evolves into an even more intelligent workspace. For IT teams, this means the tool set will continue improving, driven by community feedback and enterprise needs.

Command Prompt will remain for compatibility, but for anyone who spends meaningful time at the command line, Windows Terminal has already become the indispensable workspace that Windows users deserved decades ago. The MakeUseOf author’s year-long daily use echoes a broader truth: once you experience tabs, panes, and seamless WSL, going back feels like trading a code editor for Notepad.