WSL 2 on Windows Part 2 - Terminal Interface Settings

Bringing the terminal settings from Linux and Mac to Windows for easier operation.

Windows Terminal Features

With Windows Terminal, you can:

• Enable multiple tabs (quickly switch between multiple Linux CLIs, Windows CLIs, PowerShell, etc.)
• Customize key bindings (shortcuts for opening/closing tabs, copy/paste, etc.)
• Use search functionality
• Customize themes

These features offer much more than native WSL support, and allow for a setup similar to my Linux or Mac development environments, which is why I decided to use Windows Terminal.

Windows Terminal Settings

After searching for and installing Windows Terminal from the Microsoft Store, you can start configuring it.

Setting WSL as the Default Opening Environment for Windows Terminal

In the Windows Terminal’s [V] arrow menu, select “Settings,” which will open a JSON file for modification. From the profiles > list, find the Linux distribution you want to set as default, for example:

{
    "guid": "{xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx}",
    "hidden": false,
    "name": "Ubuntu-18.04",
    "commandline": "wsl.exe",
    "source": "Windows.Terminal.Wsl"
}

Copy the GUID string enclosed in curly braces after guid, and replace the ID of the originally default profile with that ID:

"defaultProfile": "{yyyyyy}"

(Replace yyyyyy with the GUID of your Linux distribution)

Setting the Default Starting Directory for Windows Terminal

In the Linux distribution profile within the JSON settings file, append the default directory to open (~ refers to the user’s Linux home directory) to the commandline:

"commandline": "wsl.exe ~",

Setting the Windows Terminal Scheme

Add this line to the Linux distribution profile in the JSON settings file:

"colorScheme": "One Half Dark",

One Half Dark is one of the color schemes provided by Windows. Other schemes can be found in Microsoft Doc: Color schemes in Windows Terminal.

Setting the Windows Terminal Font

Add this to the Linux distribution profile in the JSON settings file:

"fontFace": "xxxxx",

xxxxx is the name of the font. If you need to use Powerline, you can first install Powerline fonts, then fill in the desired font name.

Reference

Microsoft Doc: Install and set up Windows Terminal
Microsoft Doc: Color schemes in Windows Terminal
Set Windows Terminal as WSL operating interface