Windows Terminal replaced the old Command Prompt/PowerShell window years ago, but most people never touch the settings past the defaults. A few changes make a real difference day to day.
Finding the settings
Ctrl+, opens settings.json directly — the JSON config is more powerful than the settings UI and worth editing by hand once you know what you're changing.
Set a sane default profile
If you use WSL regularly, make it the default instead of PowerShell:
{
"defaultProfile": "{07b52e3e-de2c-5db4-bd2d-ba144ed6c273}"
}Each profile has a GUID — find yours under "profiles" → "list" in the same file, next to whichever profile you want as default.
Split panes instead of multiple windows
{
"command": "splitPane",
"keys": "alt+shift+d"
}Splitting panes (horizontally or vertically) inside one tab, rather than juggling separate terminal windows, keeps related work — a dev server in one pane, a git status/log in another — visible at once.
Default split keybindings are Alt+Shift+D (auto direction), or you can bind explicit horizontal/vertical splits.
Useful custom keybindings
{
"actions": [
{ "command": "closePane", "keys": "ctrl+shift+w" },
{ "command": { "action": "nextTab" }, "keys": "ctrl+tab" },
{ "command": { "action": "prevTab" }, "keys": "ctrl+shift+tab" },
{ "command": "find", "keys": "ctrl+shift+f" }
]
}Quake mode — a dropdown terminal
{
"command": "globalSummon",
"keys": "win+`"
}Bound to a global hotkey, this drops a terminal down from the top of the screen from anywhere in Windows, like classic "Quake console" terminals — genuinely useful for a quick command without alt-tabbing to find an existing terminal window.
Color schemes and fonts
{
"profiles": {
"defaults": {
"colorScheme": "One Half Dark",
"font": {
"face": "CascadiaCode Nerd Font",
"size": 11
}
}
}
}A Nerd Font (a patched font with extra glyphs) is worth installing if you use a shell prompt theme like Starship or Oh My Posh — without one, prompt icons render as broken boxes.
Starting profiles in a specific directory
{
"profiles": {
"list": [
{
"name": "Projects",
"commandline": "wsl.exe",
"startingDirectory": "//wsl$/Ubuntu/home/you/projects"
}
]
}
}Useful for a dedicated profile that always opens straight into your main project directory instead of your home folder.
The actual payoff
None of these changes are individually dramatic — but a terminal you've tuned to open in the right place, with the right shell, split the way you want, with keybindings you don't have to think about, removes a dozen small frictions from a tool you likely have open for most of your working day.
