As a professional developer or tech enthusiast, customizing your Windows Terminal can significantly enhance your productivity and overall experience. Windows 10/11 provides a modern, powerful command-line tool, and with a few tweaks, you can transform it into a personalized, efficient workspace. In this comprehensive guide, I will walk you through step-by-step instructions on how to customize your Windows Terminal like a pro, from applying the acrylic effect to adding custom fonts and enhancing PowerShell and WSL/Ubuntu integration. By the end of this article, you will have a fully customized Windows Terminal tailored to your specific needs and preferences.
Apply Acrylic Effect to Windows Terminal in Windows 10/ 11
The acrylic effect, also known as the frosted glass effect, adds a modern and visually appealing touch to the Windows Terminal. To apply this effect, you will need to make a few modifications to the settings.json file, which controls the appearance and behavior of the terminal. First, open your Windows Terminal and navigate to the settings by clicking on the down arrow located at the top bar. Then, select “Settings” from the dropdown menu. In the settings.json file, locate the “profiles” section and find the specific profile you want to customize. Within the profile settings, add the following code snippet:
"profiles":
{
"defaults":
{
// Your default profile settings
},
"list":
[
{
"guid": "{<profile-guid>}",
"acrylicOpacity": 0.5,
"useAcrylic": true
}
]
}
Replace <profile-guid> with the unique identifier of your chosen profile. After saving the changes, close and reopen the Windows Terminal to see the acrylic effect in action. You can further adjust the “acrylicOpacity” value to control the transparency level according to your preference.
Add Caskaydia Cove Font to Windows Terminal
The choice of font can significantly impact the readability and aesthetics of your Windows Terminal. By adding custom fonts, such as the popular Caskaydia Cove, you can personalize the appearance of your terminal and make it more visually appealing. To begin, download the Caskaydia Cove font from the official repository or a trusted source. Once you have the font files, open your Windows Terminal and access the settings.json file as mentioned in the previous section.
In the settings.json file, scroll down to the “profiles” section and locate the specific profile you want to customize. Within the profile settings, add the following code snippet to specify the font family and size:
"profiles":
{
"defaults":
{
// Your default profile settings
},
"list":
[
{
"guid": "{<profile-guid>}",
"fontFace": "CaskaydiaCove NF",
"fontSize": 12
}
]
}
Replace <profile-guid> with the unique identifier of your chosen profile. Save the changes and restart the Windows Terminal to see the new Caskaydia Cove font applied to your selected profile. You can adjust the “fontSize” value to suit your readability preferences.
Customize PowerShell in Windows Terminal With Oh My Posh
PowerShell is a versatile and powerful command-line shell, and with the Oh My Posh customization framework, you can take its visual appearance and functionality to the next level. To begin, you will need to install and configure Oh My Posh by following the official documentation and installation instructions. Once Oh My Posh is set up, open your Windows Terminal and navigate to the settings.json file.
In the settings.json file, locate the specific PowerShell profile you want to customize and add the following code snippet to integrate Oh My Posh:
"profiles":
{
"defaults":
{
// Your default profile settings
},
"list":
[
{
"guid": "{<profile-guid>}",
"commandline": "pwsh.exe -NoLogo",
"fontFace": "CaskaydiaCove NF",
"fontSize": 12,
"useAcrylic": true,
"acrylicOpacity": 0.5,
"backgroundImageOpacity": 0.2,
"backgroundImageStretchMode": "fill",
"cursorShape": "filledBox",
"padding": "0, 0, 0, 0",
"icon": "ms-appdata:///roaming/oh-my-posh/themes/posh-<theme-name>.svg"
}
]
}
Replace <profile-guid> with the unique identifier of your PowerShell profile and <theme-name> with your preferred Oh My Posh theme. After saving the changes, restart the Windows Terminal to experience the enhanced PowerShell customization with Oh My Posh.
Customize WSL/Ubuntu in Windows Terminal With Oh My Posh
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) provides seamless integration of Linux environments within Windows, and by customizing WSL/Ubuntu in Windows Terminal with Oh My Posh, you can achieve a consistent and visually appealing command-line experience across platforms. To begin, ensure that WSL is installed and configured on your Windows 10/11 system. Next, install and configure Oh My Posh within your WSL/Ubuntu environment by following the official instructions and guidelines.
Once Oh My Posh is set up within WSL/Ubuntu, open your Windows Terminal and access the settings.json file. In the settings.json file, locate the specific WSL/Ubuntu profile you want to customize and add the following code snippet to integrate Oh My Posh:
"profiles":
{
"defaults":
{
// Your default profile settings
},
"list":
[
{
"guid": "{<profile-guid>}",
"commandline": "wsl.exe ~ -d Ubuntu",
"fontFace": "CaskaydiaCove NF",
"fontSize": 12,
"useAcrylic": true,
"acrylicOpacity": 0.5,
"backgroundImageOpacity": 0.2,
"backgroundImageStretchMode": "fill",
"cursorShape": "filledBox",
"padding": "0, 0, 0, 0",
"icon": "ms-appdata:///roaming/oh-my-posh/themes/posh-<theme-name>.svg"
}
]
}
Replace <profile-guid> with the unique identifier of your WSL/Ubuntu profile and <theme-name> with your preferred Oh My Posh theme. After saving the changes, restart the Windows Terminal to experience the enhanced WSL/Ubuntu customization with Oh My Posh.
