Windows gets a new terminal

[Arthur]

Source: Microsoft (via TechCrunch)

 

Windows 10 is getting a new terminal for command-line users, Microsoft announced at its Build developer conference today.

 

The new so-called “Windows Terminal” will launch in mid-June and promises to be a major update of the existing Windows Command Prompt and PowerShell experience. Indeed, it seems like the Terminal will essentially become the default environment for PowerShell, Command Prompt and Windows Subsystem for Linux users going forward.

 

The new terminal will feature faster GPU-accelerated text rending and “emoji-rich” fonts, because everything these days needs to support emojis, and those will sure help lighten up the command-line user experience. More importantly, though, the Windows Terminal will also support shortcuts, tabs, tear-away windows and theming, as well as extensions. It also will natively support Unicode and East Asian fonts.

 

The idea here, Microsoft says, is to “elevate the command-line user experience on Windows.”

 

The first preview of the new Windows Terminal is now available.

 

This sounds awesome, but why couldn’t you just improve the existing Windows Console?

The primary goal of the Windows Console is to preserve backward compatibility with existing command-line tools, scripts, etc. While we’ve managed to introduce many key improvements to the Console’s features (e.g. adding VT and 24-bit color support, etc. see this blog post), we are unable to introduce further meaningful improvements to the Console’s UI without “breaking the world.”

 

Therefore, the time has come for a new, fresh approach.

 

Windows Terminal installs and runs alongside the existing in-box Windows Console application. If you run Cmd/PowerShell/etc. directly, they will start attached to a traditional Console instance in the exact same way they do today. This way, backward compatibility remains intact while providing you the option of experiencing Windows Terminal if/when you wish to do so. Windows Console will continue to ship within Windows for decades to come in order to support existing/legacy applications and systems.

 

 

 

 

[Cthulhu]

Nice.

 

Finally a built-in tabbed experience. Now if they could just do the same for Explorer

[sted]

oh good gpu accelerated text just what i always wanted in a command line. tabbed and bringing ps/cmd together sure but what possible use are emoji in a script? if exist .txt goto end?

[Arthur]

what possible use are emoji in a script? if exist .txt goto end?

Emoji support is very important (especially if you want to use them in computer names).

 

oh good gpu accelerated text just what i always wanted in a command line.

I wonder if this will help speed up things that log lots of info to the screen (like Robocopy copying many files/folders)?

[FishCustard]

I want this. I need this. BRB deploying build 19-'whatever will get me this' to my PC.

 

EDIT: Turns out you don't need to, you can just grab it from GitHub.

[Arthur]

Turns out you don't need to, you can just grab it from GitHub.

Does it take long to compile from the source code?

 

I noticed there aren't any releases available yet for Terminal.

[free780]

Smoothwall thought the zip file was a virus when I tried to download it.

[Arthur]

Microsoft is building a new Terminal application delivering a modern command line experience on Windows. Tabs? Check. Emoji? ✔. Fast, smooth, modern UX with Fluent acrylic background? You got it! Come and learn all about the new Terminal app, how we built it, where to get the code, and how to help us build the world-class Terminal app Windows developers deserve.

 

[Arthur]

I think Microsoft were right in not releasing a pre-compiled Terminal on GitHub.

 

It's extremely basic in its current state...

 

[FishCustard]

Does it take long to compile from the source code?

 

I noticed there aren't any releases available yet for Terminal.

 

Dunno, will test it today

[Arthur]

https://twitter.com/cinnamon_msft/status/1141040460716134401

 

 

[Arthur]

Windows Terminal is now available from the Microsoft Store.

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/windows-terminal-preview/9n0dx20hk701

[Arthur]

@DJ-1701. Does your Terminal look like this too?

 

Adding Reaction Gifs for your Build System and the Windows Terminal

 

One of the most fun things is that you can have background images. Even animated gifs! You can add those images in your Settings/profile.json like this.

 

"backgroundImage": "c:/users/scott/desktop/doug.gif",
"backgroundImageOpacity": 0.7,
"backgroundImageStretchMode": "uniformToFill

 

The profile.json is just JSON and you can update it. I could even update it programmatically if I wanted to parse it and mess about.

 

BUT. Enterprising developer Chris Duck created a lovely PowerShell Module called MSTerminalSettings that lets you very easily make Profile changes with script.

 

[Arthur]

Windows Terminal Preview v0.7 Release

 

Another release is out for the Windows Terminal preview! This release is labeled as v0.7 in the About section of the Terminal. As always, you can download the Terminal from the Microsoft Store and from the GitHub releases page. Here’s what’s new in this release:

 

Continued...

 

 

[Arthur]

v1.0 has been officially released.

 

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/windows-terminal-1-0

 

Last year at Build 2019, we first announced the Windows Terminal. Since then, we have been working with the community to create a wonderful terminal experience while still being a preview product.

 

Here we are at Build 2020 and we are so excited to share with you our latest announcements!

 

Build 2020

 

Windows Terminal 1.0

We are incredibly proud to announce the release of Windows Terminal 1.0! Windows Terminal has come a long way since its announcement at Microsoft Build 2019. You can download Windows Terminal from the Microsoft Store or from the GitHub releases page. Windows Terminal will have monthly updates, starting in July 2020.

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by Arthur