What is Windows Terminal used for?

Windows Terminal: The source repository for Windows Terminal and the Windows console host, Microsoft's modern terminal application for command-line shells on Windows. It is a good fit for command-line work on Windows, developers using WSL and learning the Windows Console APIs.

Is Windows Terminal open source?

Yes. Windows Terminal is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at microsoft/terminal and is written mainly in C++.

Is Windows Terminal free?

Yes. Windows Terminal is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

What is Windows Terminal an alternative to?

Windows Terminal is an open-source alternative to Warp. Other open-source alternatives to Warp include kitty, Alacritty and Wave Terminal.

Is Windows Terminal actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Windows Terminal was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.24.11911.0, published on 16 July 2026. The project has 105k stars on GitHub.

Windows Terminal: open-source alternative to Warp

About Windows Terminal

The repository holds the source for Windows Terminal, Windows Terminal Preview and the original Windows console host, conhost.exe, plus the components they share. Windows Terminal is a modern application for working with command-line shells such as Command Prompt, PowerShell and Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows. It is written in C++ and released under the MIT license.

The repo also includes ColorTool and sample projects that show how to use the Windows Console APIs. Related repositories cover the user documentation, the console API documentation and the Cascadia Code font. A Canary build is available for those who want the newest changes, and a Preview release exists alongside the stable one.

Windows Terminal requires Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041) or later. The recommended way to install is from the Microsoft Store, which provides automatic upgrades; other options are GitHub releases, the winget package manager, and unofficial Chocolatey and Scoop packages. It suits developers and administrators who spend time in shells on Windows.

Key features

Hosts Command Prompt, PowerShell and WSL shells
Includes the Windows console host source
Microsoft Store, winget and GitHub installs
Preview and Canary release builds
Shared components and sample console API projects
ColorTool for color schemes

Good fit for

→Command-line work on Windows
→Developers using WSL
→Learning the Windows Console APIs

Built with: C++
Tags: terminal; windows; command-line; powershell; wsl; console; microsoft; cpp

Windows Terminal: questions and answers

What is Windows Terminal used for?: Windows Terminal: The source repository for Windows Terminal and the Windows console host, Microsoft's modern terminal application for command-line shells on Windows. It is a good fit for command-line work on Windows, developers using WSL and learning the Windows Console APIs.
Is Windows Terminal open source?: Yes. Windows Terminal is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at microsoft/terminal and is written mainly in C++.
Is Windows Terminal free?: Yes. Windows Terminal is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
What is Windows Terminal an alternative to?: Windows Terminal is an open-source alternative to Warp. Other open-source alternatives to Warp include kitty, Alacritty and Wave Terminal.
Is Windows Terminal actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Windows Terminal was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.24.11911.0, published on 16 July 2026. The project has 105k stars on GitHub.