How to change the Default Shell in Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal, by default, uses Windows PowerShell as its command-line interpreter. If you use Command Prompt or any other command-line interpreter, you may want to change the default shell in Windows Terminal. We have seen how to change Default Key Bindings – no in this article, we are going to see how to change the default Shell in Windows Terminal.

Windows Terminal is available on Microsoft Store, and it is a consolidation of existing Windows utilities, such as Command Prompt, Windows PowerShell, etc. Many people like to use both of these tools at once to do something, and you can find Windows Terminal handy, being one of them. As it allows users to open multiple tabs in one window, you do not have to switch between apps to enter a command.

Change Default Shell in Windows Terminal

To change the default startup profile in Windows Terminal, follow these steps-

1. Open Windows Terminal of your PC.
2. Click the arrow icon in the title bar and select Settings.
3. Expand the Default profile drop-down list.
4. Select a utility.
5. Click the Save button.

Let us see this in detail now.

We are going to change some codes in the Windows Terminal settings to change the default Shell in Windows Terminal.

First of all, launch the Windows Terminal by searching it out of the Start Menu. Click on the Down Arrow placed after your current tab and select Settings or just use the Keyboard Shortcut, Ctrl+,.

Make sure that you are in the Startup section. If not, switch to the Startup tab and find out the Default profile label.

Now, there are two ways by which you can do the same if after clicking Settings, you see the “Startup” option, change “Default Profile” to Command Prompt (or any other Shell) and click Save. 

This way, when you open the Windows Terminal again, the default Shell will be the Command Prompt (or any other selected Shell).

If after clicking Settings, it opens a text file with Notepad or asks you to do so, use the following method to change default Shell in Windows Terminal.

Scroll down a bit and reach the “defaults” section. Now, copy the “guid” value of the Command-line interpreter you want to make default (exclude the double-quote (” “)) and paste it in “defaultProfile”. 

You can check the screenshot above, we have copied the “guid” value of Command Prompt and paste it in “defaultProfile” to make Command Prompt the default Shell in Windows Terminal.

Read: Windows Terminal Tips and Tricks.

It is also possible to add a custom command-line in Windows Terminal and set it as the default. In case you do not have a custom profile added, click on the Add new option on your left-hand side, fill-up the form according to the requirement, and give it a name before clicking the Save button.

Once done, you can find that custom profile after opening the Default profile drop-down list, as mentioned earlier.

We hope this helped you change the default Shell in Windows Terminal.

Read next: How to Add or Remove Open in Windows Terminal from Context Menu.