The old console window still opens for half the tools on the machine. One setting moves everything into tabs, and a profile makes it feel like an editor.
Set **Windows Terminal** as the default terminal application, choose the **default profile**, then tune **font, scheme and keys**. Everything lives in one `settings.json` you can copy to another PC.
This is the setting that matters: without it, every console app still opens the legacy host window. Set it to Windows Terminal and the change applies to new processes immediately.
Settings > Startup > Default terminal applicationPowerShell 7 is the sensible default if it is installed; otherwise Windows PowerShell. Set the starting directory to your home folder, not to system32, which is where the old console opened.
Settings > Startup > Default profile
Starting directory: %USERPROFILE%Cascadia Code ships with the terminal and includes programming ligatures. Twelve points with a line height around 1.1 is readable without turning every window into a wall of text.
"font": { "face": "Cascadia Code", "size": 12 }The built-in schemes are calibrated for contrast. A background image looks good in a screenshot and makes dim command output unreadable in a real session.
"colorScheme": "One Half Dark",
"opacity": 95New tab, split pane and pane navigation cover almost everything. The defaults are fine; the point is to use them instead of opening six separate windows.
Ctrl+Shift+T new tab
Alt+Shift+D split pane
Alt+Arrow move between panesThe whole configuration is one JSON file. Copy it to a new machine or into a dotfiles folder, and remember that the file button in the UI opens exactly that path.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\ackages\icrosoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\ocalState\ettings.jsonThe default terminal application is still set to the console host, or the app refuses to hand off. Check Settings > Startup again.
It requests its own console. Start it from inside a terminal tab and it inherits the host.
A non-integer font size or display scaling on a laptop panel. Use whole numbers and check the scaling setting.
A trailing comma. The file is strict JSON; the terminal falls back to defaults until it parses.
No. It is the window that hosts it, along with cmd, WSL and anything else you add as a profile.
Yes. Duplicate the profile and set it to run elevated, then bind a key to it.
Set **Default terminal application** back to Windows Console Host in Settings > Startup. The profiles and schemes stay in the JSON file until you delete them.
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