Windows gets a new terminal

Windows 10 is getting a new terminal for command-line users, Microsoft announced at its Build developer conference today.

The new so-called 'Windows Terminal' will launch in mid-June and promises to be a major update of the existing Windows Command Prompt and PowerShell experience. Indeed, it seems like the Terminal will essentially become the default environment for PowerShell, Command Prompt and Windows Subsystem for Linux users going forward.

The new terminal will feature faster, GPU-accelerated text rending and "emoji-rich" fonts, because everything these days needs to support emojis and those will sure help lighten up the command-line user experience. More importantly, though, the Windows Terminal will also support shortcuts, tabs, tear-away windows, and theming, as well as extensions. It will also natively support Unicode and East Asian fonts.

The idea here, Microsoft says, is to "elevate the command-line user experience on Windows."

The first preview of the new Windows Terminal is now available.