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Provide Terminal program path reliably / ability to open new Terminal instance using a keyboard shortcut #3059

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opened 2026-01-30 23:12:00 +00:00 by claunia · 6 comments
claunia commented 2026-01-30 23:12:00 +00:00
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Originally created by @drk-mtr on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019).

Apologies if this is a duplicate - I was unable to find anything related after a few searches - if it is then please feel free to remove without any warning!

Description of the new feature/enhancement

Currently in Windows 10, the only way to open the program with a keyboard shortcut is by:

  • Opening a run prompt and running shell:AppsFolder
  • Dragging a shortcut to the desktop
  • Binding keys to this shortcut and leaving it on the desktop

This clutters the desktop unnecessarily and is brittle in that (I suspect) the folder changes upon update due to the version number in the path (e.g. C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_0.2.1831.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\...).

Technical considerations

It would be great if there was a way to bind a key as part of the install process or within the settings file, but I realise this may reasonably be regarded as an OS level concern. I'm stunned that Microsoft doesn't provide a simple way to do this within Windows, but this is not an issue for the Windows Terminal team.

I'm sure I could get around this by using something like AutoHotKey though, so I guess we just need a way to reliably derive the path of the application...

Originally created by @drk-mtr on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019). **Apologies if this is a duplicate - I was unable to find anything related after a few searches - if it is then please feel free to remove without any warning!** # Description of the new feature/enhancement Currently in Windows 10, the only way to open the program with a keyboard shortcut is by: - Opening a run prompt and running `shell:AppsFolder` - Dragging a shortcut to the desktop - Binding keys to this shortcut and leaving it on the desktop This clutters the desktop unnecessarily and is brittle in that (I suspect) the folder changes upon update due to the version number in the path (e.g. `C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_0.2.1831.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\...`). # Technical considerations It would be great if there was a way to bind a key as part of the install process or within the settings file, but I realise this may reasonably be regarded as an OS level concern. I'm stunned that Microsoft doesn't provide a simple way to do this within Windows, but this is not an issue for the Windows Terminal team. I'm sure I could get around this by using something like `AutoHotKey` though, so I guess we just need a way to reliably derive the path of the application...
claunia added the Issue-FeatureNeeds-TriageNeeds-Tag-FixResolution-Answered labels 2026-01-30 23:12:01 +00:00
claunia commented 2026-01-30 23:12:02 +00:00
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@bitcrazed commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019):

There are a few easy ways to run Terminal via the keyboard:

  1. Hit WINDOWS, type wt and hit ENTER (thanks @zadjii-msft for the suggestion below 😁)
  2. Hit WINDOWS+R to open the run dialog, type wt and hit ENTER
  3. Hit WINDOWS, type term which should find Windows Terminal app, and hit ENTER

But if you prefer to just hit a single key chord/combo:

  1. Pin any app to your taskbar. You can launch any app pinned to your taskbar by hitting the WINDOWS+[n] where n is the 1-based index of that pinned app - 1st = 1, 2nd = 2, etc.

    I always layout my pinned icons so my favorite browser is 1st, Terminal is 2nd, Outlook is 3rd, VSCode is 4th, etc. I can then launch Terminal, for example, by hitting WINDOWS+2 with my left hand.

HTH.

@bitcrazed commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019): There are a few easy ways to run Terminal via the keyboard: 1. Hit <kbd>WINDOWS</kbd>, type `wt` and hit <kbd>ENTER</kbd> _(thanks @zadjii-msft for the suggestion below 😁)_ 1. Hit <kbd>WINDOWS</kbd>+<kbd>R</kbd> to open the run dialog, type `wt` and hit <kbd>ENTER</kbd> 1. Hit <kbd>WINDOWS</kbd>, type `term` which should find Windows Terminal app, and hit <kbd>ENTER</kbd> But if you prefer to just hit a single key chord/combo: 3. Pin any app to your taskbar. You can launch any app pinned to your taskbar by hitting the <kbd>WINDOWS</kbd>+<kbd>[n]</kbd> where n is the 1-based index of that pinned app - 1st = 1, 2nd = 2, etc. I always layout my pinned icons so my favorite browser is 1st, Terminal is 2nd, Outlook is 3rd, VSCode is 4th, etc. I can then launch Terminal, for example, by hitting <kbd>WINDOWS</kbd>+<kbd>2</kbd> with my left hand. HTH.
claunia commented 2026-01-30 23:12:02 +00:00
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@zadjii-msft commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019):

To pile on Rich's bullet 2: you can also just hit Windows and type wt and hit enter. That should execute wt.exe, which is the execution alias we've registered for the terminal.

You may also be interested in #653

@zadjii-msft commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019): To pile on Rich's bullet 2: you can also just hit Windows and type `wt` and hit enter. That should execute `wt.exe`, which is the execution alias we've registered for the terminal. You may also be interested in #653
claunia commented 2026-01-30 23:12:02 +00:00
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@bitcrazed commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019):

Ooh, nice one @zadjii-msft - adding with credit to the list above :)

@bitcrazed commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019): Ooh, nice one @zadjii-msft - adding with credit to the list above :)
claunia commented 2026-01-30 23:12:02 +00:00
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@drk-mtr commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019):

Thanks both - really appreciate it!

@drk-mtr commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019): Thanks both - really appreciate it!
claunia commented 2026-01-30 23:12:03 +00:00
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@bitcrazed commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019):

Glad we could help :)

@bitcrazed commented on GitHub (Aug 1, 2019): Glad we could help :)
claunia commented 2026-01-30 23:12:03 +00:00
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@letmaik commented on GitHub (Apr 25, 2020):

I actually still prefer the solution by the issue poster. To avoid the icon on the desktop you can change it to "hidden", assuming you're hiding hidden files/folders. I now made ctrl+alt+t the shortcut to open Terminal. It takes a surprisingly long time to pop up though (4-5s) compared to launching from the start menu (~0.5s).
EDIT: The delay went away when disabling Windows background apps, see https://superuser.com/a/957210.

@letmaik commented on GitHub (Apr 25, 2020): I actually still prefer the solution by the issue poster. To avoid the icon on the desktop you can change it to "hidden", assuming you're hiding hidden files/folders. I now made ctrl+alt+t the shortcut to open Terminal. It takes a surprisingly long time to pop up though (4-5s) compared to launching from the start menu (~0.5s). EDIT: The delay went away when disabling Windows background apps, see https://superuser.com/a/957210.
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Reference: starred/terminal#3059
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