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All terminal windows can crash in one go, which wasn't possible in earlier Windows cmd.exe #23680

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opened 2026-01-31 08:49:08 +00:00 by claunia · 10 comments
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:08 +00:00
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Originally created by @juj on GitHub (Oct 9, 2025).

Windows Terminal version

1.22.12111.0

Windows build number

10.0.26100.4351

Other Software

No response

Steps to reproduce

Something that I see occassionally (maybe twice a month) with Windows 11 terminal.. that I have never seen in any earlier Windowses dating back to Windows 95 days with cmd.exe, is that if a crash occurs, sometimes all of your Terminal windows die out, rather than just the single cmd.exe that crashed.

With cmd.exe, I don't remember ever observing a situation where some kind of crash would take out all cmd.exes at a time.

But with new Windows 11 terminal, I see this happening every couple of weeks.

Expected Behavior

Crash in one terminal window should not propagate into all open terminal windows crashing.

Actual Behavior

All terminal windows can crash, rather being separated/siloed/sandboxed into crashing just one at a time.

Originally created by @juj on GitHub (Oct 9, 2025). ### Windows Terminal version 1.22.12111.0 ### Windows build number 10.0.26100.4351 ### Other Software _No response_ ### Steps to reproduce Something that I see occassionally (maybe twice a month) with Windows 11 terminal.. that I have never seen in any earlier Windowses dating back to Windows 95 days with cmd.exe, is that if a crash occurs, sometimes **all** of your Terminal windows die out, rather than just the single cmd.exe that crashed. With cmd.exe, I don't remember ever observing a situation where some kind of crash would take out all cmd.exes at a time. But with new Windows 11 terminal, I see this happening every couple of weeks. ### Expected Behavior Crash in one terminal window should not propagate into all open terminal windows crashing. ### Actual Behavior All terminal windows can crash, rather being separated/siloed/sandboxed into crashing just one at a time.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:09 +00:00
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@lhecker commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025):

Sandboxing/Siloing requires extra effort for development and maintainance since you can't just chug some data directly within or between windows anymore. (Ideally it also needs a clean architecture so you don't have hundreds of paths that need "chugging".)

Because of this we currently use 1 process for all tabs and windows.

@lhecker commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025): Sandboxing/Siloing requires extra effort for development and maintainance since you can't just chug some data directly within or between windows anymore. (Ideally it also needs a clean architecture so you don't have hundreds of paths that need "chugging".) Because of this we currently use 1 process for all tabs and windows.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:09 +00:00
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@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025):

Just to note that this is a major reliability regression with the new terminal. Is there a way to run the old cmd.exe terminal on Windows 11 along with its multiprocess architecture?

@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025): Just to note that this is a major reliability regression with the new terminal. Is there a way to run the old cmd.exe terminal on Windows 11 along with its multiprocess architecture?
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:10 +00:00
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@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025):

1 process for all tabs and windows

@lhecker could you clarify? You mention "tabs and windows".. When experimenting, I notice that if I open a new tab with the shortcut Ctrl-Shift-T, I get a new instance of OpenConsole.exe in the process list.

That is:

Image

Same if I open a new window with Ctrl-Shift-N, I get a new instance of OpenConsole.exe in the process list. (Task Manager -> Details window).

But.. this is actually not how I am using the command prompt.

I always open a new command prompt by typing Win+R followed by typing cmd and Enter. I.e. with:

Image

I see that launches a new copy of cmd.exe but also a conhost.exe:

Image

.. but, I am still experiencing the issue that occassionally all my command prompts get wiped at once.

So I should have multiple instances of cmd.exe running (and not "just" Openconsole.exes), but still a mass decimation of the command prompts.

You mention "1 process for all tabs and windows." . I wonder which process this is referring to? Was that conhost.exe, or is there maybe a more higher overseer process involved that might be dying here?

@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025): > 1 process for all tabs and windows @lhecker could you clarify? You mention *"tabs and windows"*.. When experimenting, I notice that if I open a new tab with the shortcut Ctrl-Shift-T, I get a new instance of `OpenConsole.exe` in the process list. That is: <img width="1409" height="297" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7959b76b-7ff3-4efc-ad47-9b555cbbd45d" /> Same if I open a new window with Ctrl-Shift-N, I get a new instance of `OpenConsole.exe` in the process list. (`Task Manager` -> `Details` window). But.. this is actually not how I am using the command prompt. I always open a new command prompt by typing `Win+R` followed by typing `cmd` and Enter. I.e. with: <img width="436" height="243" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d389543a-92df-48fc-9a23-6c087cb8bff6" /> I see that launches a new copy of `cmd.exe` but also a `conhost.exe`: <img width="218" height="157" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d72b3cb5-b678-40a9-860a-c44109df719b" /> .. but, I am still experiencing the issue that occassionally all my command prompts get wiped at once. So I should have multiple instances of `cmd.exe` running (and not "just" `Openconsole.exe`s), but still a mass decimation of the command prompts. You mention *"1 process for all tabs and windows.*" . I wonder which process this is referring to? Was that conhost.exe, or is there maybe a more higher overseer process involved that might be dying here?
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:10 +00:00
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@lhecker commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025):

Is there a way to run the old cmd.exe terminal on Windows 11 along with its multiprocess architecture?

Yes, this setting:

Image

You mention "1 process for all tabs and windows." . I wonder which process this is referring to? Was that conhost.exe, or is there maybe a more higher overseer process involved that might be dying here?

I'm referring to the UI process. When it dies, it destroys the console (PTY) handles, which is an orderly exit signal for any console/terminal process. It'll trigger all the cmd processes to exit.

@lhecker commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025): > Is there a way to run the old cmd.exe terminal on Windows 11 along with its multiprocess architecture? Yes, this setting: <img width="1730" height="924" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/010a1c86-7a3c-4137-bd45-f1e5a5aad757" /> > You mention "1 process for all tabs and windows." . I wonder which process this is referring to? Was that conhost.exe, or is there maybe a more higher overseer process involved that might be dying here? I'm referring to the UI process. When it dies, it destroys the console (PTY) handles, which is an orderly exit signal for any console/terminal process. It'll trigger all the cmd processes to exit.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:10 +00:00
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@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025):

Thanks, this is super informative, and gives me a way to work around. Much appreciated!

@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025): Thanks, this is super informative, and gives me a way to work around. Much appreciated!
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:10 +00:00
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@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025):

On my Windows 11, the setting was in System -> For Developers -> Terminal

Image

Set it back to Windows Console Host now.

It does result in a bit quirky visual appearance of the command prompt:

Image

though for my purposes will work well as a workaround. I wish I knew what is causing the crashing, though maybe this will help troubleshoot to find a clue of the root cause. In my case, I am running a C++ compilation CI build server, which occassionally suffers from these mass prompt shutdowns.

@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 13, 2025): On my Windows 11, the setting was in `System -> For Developers -> Terminal` <img width="1648" height="820" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/da0ecff9-7a3b-4229-a89c-9cd0f26eac57" /> Set it back to `Windows Console Host` now. It does result in a bit quirky visual appearance of the command prompt: <img width="1211" height="763" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/30d83627-8af1-43ad-a144-b883e1d0047d" /> though for my purposes will work well as a workaround. I wish I knew what is causing the crashing, though maybe this will help troubleshoot to find a clue of the root cause. In my case, I am running a C++ compilation CI build server, which occassionally suffers from these mass prompt shutdowns.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:10 +00:00
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@DHowett commented on GitHub (Oct 15, 2025):

Thanks for filing!

It would be nice (though perhaps more complicated and almost certainly less reliable in some other ways) if we were to have content processes which are separate from the UI process, but that's really somewhat beside the point here. I'd love to fix the root cause of the crash you're seeing instead! Can you share anything from the Event Viewer, a crash dump for WindowsTerminal.exe, or any other information that might help us do that instead? 🙂

@DHowett commented on GitHub (Oct 15, 2025): Thanks for filing! It would be nice (though perhaps more complicated and almost certainly less reliable in some other ways) if we were to have content processes which are separate from the UI process, but that's really somewhat beside the point here. I'd love to fix the root cause of the crash you're seeing instead! Can you share anything from the Event Viewer, a crash dump for WindowsTerminal.exe, or any other information that might help us do that instead? 🙂
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:11 +00:00
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@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 17, 2025):

I searched through Windows Event Viewer in System and Application logs, but unfortunately there were nothing that stood out to be related to this.

@juj commented on GitHub (Oct 17, 2025): I searched through Windows Event Viewer in `System` and `Application` logs, but unfortunately there were nothing that stood out to be related to this.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:11 +00:00
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@lhecker commented on GitHub (Oct 17, 2025):

Our wiki contains steps to set up automatic crash dump collection: https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/wiki/Troubleshooting-Tips#capture-automatically
If you follow these steps and get a dump, I recommend reverting the registry changes again. You can send the dump(s) to <my github username>@microsoft.com.

@lhecker commented on GitHub (Oct 17, 2025): Our wiki contains steps to set up automatic crash dump collection: https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/wiki/Troubleshooting-Tips#capture-automatically If you follow these steps and get a dump, I recommend reverting the registry changes again. You can send the dump(s) to `<my github username>@microsoft.com`.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 08:49:11 +00:00
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@microsoft-github-policy-service[bot] commented on GitHub (Oct 26, 2025):

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has been marked as requiring author feedback but has not had any activity for 4 days. It will be closed if no further activity occurs within 3 days of this comment.

@microsoft-github-policy-service[bot] commented on GitHub (Oct 26, 2025): This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has been marked as requiring author feedback but has not had any activity for **4 days**. It will be closed if no further activity occurs **within 3 days of this comment**. <!-- Policy app identification https://img.shields.io/static/v1?label=PullRequestIssueManagement. -->
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