When end users in Windows 11 want to use a command line, the default option becomes Windows Terminal. Alternatives are also supported.
Making Windows Terminal the default command line application eliminates the mandatory use of Windows Console Host or the conhost.exe command. In Console Host, so-called ‘shells’ such as the Command Prompt, PowerShell and Windows Subsystem for Linux always opened in a single application.
Windows Console Host Replacement
Many users and developers have been looking for a console host replacement for a long time. There were alternative solutions that linked to Windows, but they were never really supported by Microsoft.
Microsoft now makes it possible for Windows 11 to use terminals other than Control Host, including the Windows Terminal self-released in 2019. This makes this own terminal for the command line the default option.
Rollout
The rollout of making Windows Terminal the default will happen sometime in the next year. Probably in the Windows 11 22H2 Update or earlier through other means. Users can of course adjust the settings themselves. The settings for this can be found in the Developer settings pages in the operating system, in the Windows Terminal settings on the Startup page, and within the Windows Console Host property sheet.
