For users who are unable to install Terminal from the Microsoft Store, Terminal builds can be manually downloaded from this repository's [Releases page](https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/releases).
> * Be sure to install the [Desktop Bridge VC++ v14 Redistributable Package](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53175) otherwise Terminal may not install and/or run and may crash at startup
> * Terminal will not auto-update when new builds are released so you will need to regularly install the latest Terminal release to receive all the latest fixes and improvements!
[Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org) users can download and install the latest Terminal release by installing the `microsoft-windows-terminal` package:
If you have any issues when installing/upgrading the package please go to the [Windows Terminal package page](https://chocolatey.org/packages/microsoft-windows-terminal) and follow the [Chocolatey triage process](https://chocolatey.org/docs/package-triage-process)
Windows Terminal is a new, modern, feature-rich, productive terminal application for command-line users. It includes many of the features most frequently requested by the Windows command-line community including support for tabs, rich text, globalization, configurability, theming & styling, and more.
The Terminal will also need to meet our goals and measures to ensure it remains fast, and efficient, and doesn't consume vast amounts of memory or power.
The Windows Console host, `conhost.exe`, is Windows' original command-line user experience. It implements Windows' command-line infrastructure, and is responsible for hosting the Windows Console API, input engine, rendering engine, and user preferences. The console host code in this repository is the actual source from which the `conhost.exe` in Windows itself is built.
Since assuming ownership of the Windows command-line in 2014, the team has added several new features to the Console, including window transparency, line-based selection, support for [ANSI / Virtual Terminal sequences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code), [24-bit color](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/24-bit-color-in-the-windows-console/), a [Pseudoconsole ("ConPTY")](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/windows-command-line-introducing-the-windows-pseudo-console-conpty/), and more.
However, because Windows Console's primary goal is to maintain backward compatibility, we've been unable to add many of the features the community has been asking for (and which we've been wanting to add) for the last several years including tabs, unicode text, emoji, etc.
While overhauling the Console, we've modernized its codebase considerably. We've cleanly separated logical entities into modules and classes, introduced some key extensibility points, replaced several old, home-grown collections and containers with safer, more efficient [STL containers](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/standard-library/stl-containers?view=vs-2019), and made the code simpler and safer by using Microsoft's [WIL](https://github.com/Microsoft/wil) header library.
This overhaul work resulted in the creation of several key components that would be useful for any terminal implementation on Windows, including a new DirectWrite-based text layout and rendering engine, a text buffer capable of storing both UTF-16 and UTF-8, and a VT parser/emitter.
## Building a new terminal
When we started building the new terminal application, we explored and evaluated several approaches and technology stacks. We ultimately decided that our goals would be best met by sticking with C++ and sharing the aforementioned modernized components, placing them atop the modern Windows application platform and UI framework.
Further, we realized that this would allow us to build the terminal's renderer and input stack as a reusable Windows UI control that others can incorporate into their applications.
> ⚠ Note: `OpenConsole.exe` is just a locally-built `conhost.exe`, the classic Windows Console that hosts Windows' command-line infrastructure. It is used by Windows Terminal to connect to and communicate with command-line applications (via [ConPty](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/windows-command-line-introducing-the-windows-pseudo-console-conpty/)).
We ask that **before you start work on a feature that you would like to contribute**, please read our [Contributor's Guide](https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/blob/master/doc/contributing.md). We will be happy to work with you to figure out the best approach, provide guidance and mentorship throughout feature development, and help avoid any wasted or duplicate effort.
> 👉 **Remember\!** Your contributions may be incorporated into future versions of Windows\! Because of this, all pull requests will be subject to the same level of scrutiny for quality, coding standards, performance, globalization, accessibility, and compatibility as those of our internal contributors.
> ⚠ **Note**: The Command-Line Team is actively working out of this repository and will be periodically re-structuring the code to make it easier to comprehend, navigate, build, test, and contribute to, so **DO expect significant changes to code layout on a regular basis**.
The easiest way to communicate with the team is via GitHub issues. Please file new issues, feature requests and suggestions, but **DO search for similar open/closed pre-existing issues before you do**.
Please help us keep this repository clean, inclusive, and fun\! We will not tolerate any abusive, rude, disrespectful or inappropriate behavior. Read our [Code of Conduct](https://opensource.microsoft.com/codeofconduct/) for more details.
If you would like to ask a question that you feel doesn't warrant an issue (yet), please reach out to us via Twitter:
* You must have at least [VS 2019](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/) installed.
* You must install the following Workloads via the VS Installer. Opening the solution will [prompt you to install missing components automatically](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/setup/configure-visual-studio-across-your-organization-with-vsconfig/).
* You must also [enable Developer Mode in the Windows Settings app](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/get-started/enable-your-device-for-development) to locally install and run the Terminal app.
This repository uses [git submodules](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Submodules) for some of its dependencies. To make sure submodules are restored or updated, be sure to run the following prior to building:
We've provided a set of convenience scripts as well as [README](./tools/README.md) in the **/tools** directory to help automate the process of building and running tests.
* To debug in VS, right click on CascadiaPackage (from VS Solution Explorer) and go to properties, in the Debug menu, change "Application process" and "Background task process" to "Native Only".
Please review these brief docs below relating to our coding standards etc.
> 👉 If you find something missing from these docs, feel free to contribute to any of our documentation files anywhere in the repository (or make some new ones\!)
This is a work in progress as we learn what we'll need to provide people in order to be effective contributors to our project.
This project has adopted the [Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct][conduct-code].
For more information see the [Code of Conduct FAQ][conduct-FAQ] or contact [opencode@microsoft.com][conduct-email] with any additional questions or comments.
