What this book covers

This book covers Windows Terminal up to version 1.7, and comprises the following chapters.

Section 1 – Introducing the New Windows Terminal

Chapter 1, Getting started with the new Windows Terminal, discusses how Windows Terminal works with existing shells such as PowerShell, cmd.exe, and the Windows Subsystem for Linux. It discusses the speed, configurability, and open source development of Windows Terminal, and how to install, update, and launch it.

Chapter 2, Learning the Windows Terminal UI, covers how to use Windows Terminal's tabs, manage terminal panes, and open different shells, including PowerShell and cmd.exe. Relevant hotkeys are mentioned wherever applicable and useful. This chapter covers all the major parts of Windows Terminal's UI.

Chapter 3, Configuring an Ubuntu Linux profile, gives an overview of the benefits of the Windows Subsystem For Linux (WSL2), guides you through setting up a WSL2 Ubuntu system, and shows how to launch it as a Windows Terminal profile. It also discusses how to access Windows from Linux, and vice versa.

Section 2 – Configuring your Windows Terminal and its shells

Chapter 4, Customizing your Windows Terminal settings, covers the settings.json file and the settings UI. It guides you through the overall structure and editing of this file and covers a number of useful settings to enable in Windows Terminal.

Chapter 5, Changing your Windows Terminal appearance, shows how to tweak the appearance of Windows Terminal to make it both beautiful and more functional. It broadly has two parts: customizing Windows Terminal itself and then customizing the shells to match.

Chapter 6, Setting up keyboard shortcuts, covers the basics of Windows Terminal's command/key binding system, and recommends some additional key bindings to set.

Chapter 7, Hidden Windows Terminal Actions, details the many commands that are hidden by default—that is, unbound and inaccessible until they're mapped to keyboard shortcuts in the settings. This chapter covers some of the more practical hidden key bindings, such as "focus mode" and "pin on top."

Chapter 8, Tips for using PowerShell like a Pro, focuses on using PowerShell as an interactive shell in Windows Terminal. It shows some time-saving tips and tricks for accomplishing tasks quickly and effortlessly.

Chapter 9, Tips for using Ubuntu like an Expert, covers how to use WSL2 Ubuntu with Windows. Additionally, this chapter shares a selection of useful tips for configuring WSL2 Ubuntu in Windows Terminal to provide a richer and more productive environment.

Section 3 – Using your Windows Terminal for development

Chapter 10, Using Git and GitHub with Windows Terminal, contains tips and tricks for using Git and GitHub quickly and efficiently. It covers both the initial setup and the installation of these systems, as well as workflow optimization tools such as gh.

Chapter 11, Building web applications with React, covers how to build a frontend React application inside WSL2 using Windows Terminal and VS Code. It focuses on efficient workflows when using Windows Terminal for frontend development.

Chapter 12, Building REST APIs with C# and Windows Terminal, shows how to build a simple web API using .NET. It details various Windows Terminal pane layouts for running the application, continuously testing, and experimenting with C#.

Chapter 13, Connecting to remote systems, introduces both WinRM and SSH. It uses SSH to connect remotely to both Windows and Linux systems, and provides useful tips on how to create a streamlined setup for connecting to frequently used remote machines.

Chapter 14, Managing systems in the cloud, covers setting up Azure Cloud Shell and Google Cloud Shell in Windows Terminal, and additionally covers the Amazon Web Services command line for administering cloud systems.