Bash is the major shell client I use. On Windows 10 I really enjoy git-bash. But how to set bash to the default terminal in the new Windows terminal?

Brief steps:

  • Install a Linux style shell like git-bash.
  • Install the Windows Terminal
  • Make git-bash the default terminal in Windows Terminal
  • Make the theme looks like Ubuntu style.
  • Allow Ctrl + V to paste
  • Allow starting WT in the directory right-click context menu.

Install git-bash

Before starting, you need to have git bash already installed. Install it here: https://git-scm.com

Install Windows Terminal

And then, download the new Windows terminal in the Microsoft store.

After installing it, you will open a new PowerShell session by default.

Change the default shell to bash

To change it to bash, first, open the settings page.

Past the following object to the list.

            {
                "commandline": "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\bash.exe -li",
                "guid": "{11a66a21-0c86-4522-aa0d-415cce5f172c}",
                "name": "Bash",
                "cursorShape": "filledBox",
                "startingDirectory": null,
                "icon" : "ms-appx:///ProfileIcons/{574e775e-4f2a-5b96-ac1e-a2962a402336}.png",
                "hidden": false,
                "acrylicOpacity" : 0.8,
                "useAcrylic" : true
            },

This enables the bash in Windows Terminal. But bash is not the default. To change the default, edit here:

Save it, and restart the Windows Terminal. Now bash shall be the default.

And to run Windows terminal from any path, just run:

wt

Like this:

Change the terminal theme to make it looks like Ubuntu

To make it looks more like the bash in Ubuntu, add a color theme:

    // Add custom color schemes to this array
    "schemes": [
        {
            "name": "Ubuntu",
            "background": "#2C001E",
            "black": "#0C0C0C",
            "blue": "#0037DA",
            "brightBlack": "#767676",
            "brightBlue": "#3B78FF",
            "brightCyan": "#61D6D6",
            "brightGreen": "#16C60C",
            "brightPurple": "#B4009E",
            "brightRed": "#E74856",
            "brightWhite": "#F2F2F2",
            "brightYellow": "#F9F1A5",
            "cursorColor": "#FFFFFF",
            "cyan": "#3A96DD",
            "foreground": "#EEEEEC",
            "green": "#53E14E",
            "purple": "#A837B8",
            "red": "#C50F1F",
            "selectionBackground": "#FFFFFF",
            "white": "#CCCCCC",
            "yellow": "#E1AC10"
        }
    ],

And use the color theme like this:

            {
                "commandline": "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\bash.exe -li",
                "guid": "{11a66a21-0c86-4522-aa0d-415cce5f172c}",
                "name": "Bash",
                "cursorShape": "filledBox",
                "startingDirectory": null,
                "icon" : "ms-appx:///ProfileIcons/{574e775e-4f2a-5b96-ac1e-a2962a402336}.png",
                "hidden": false,
                "acrylicOpacity" : 0.8,
                "useAcrylic" : true,
                // Add this:
                "colorScheme": "Ubuntu",
                "fontFace": "Cascadia Code",
                "fontSize": 12
            },

And it looks better. Use it just like you do in Ubuntu!

Allow Ctrl + V to paste

And to enable Ctrl + V paste binding, consider adding this:

    "keybindings": [
        { "command": "paste", "keys": "ctrl+v" },
        { "command": "copy", "keys": "ctrl+c" }
    ]

Additional steps

Install PowerShell 7. Download it here: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases

And consider running the project to add it to the context menu with advanced options:

https://github.com/lextm/windowsterminal-shell

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