starred/terminal
1
0
Fork 0
mirror of https://github.com/microsoft/terminal.git synced 2026-07-08 18:16:28 +00:00
Code Issues 19.0k Packages Projects Releases 20 Wiki Activity

Session 'Onhold' feature #9469

New Issue
Closed
opened 2026-01-31 01:55:19 +00:00 by claunia · 4 comments
claunia commented 2026-01-31 01:55:19 +00:00
Owner
Copy Link

Originally created by @wsy on GitHub (Jul 7, 2020).

Description of the new feature/enhancement

I'm running some scripts with Windows Terminal (Windows App Store version).
I switched to some other app doing something else, and Windows Terminal got updated by Windows App Store.
After Windows Terminal opens again, every tab, every session, everything I was running was gone.
If Windows Terminal could have put those sessions in some sort of 'on-hold' state, and Windows Terminal would pick up those sessions again after it starts again, that would be great.

Proposed technical implementation details (optional)

I purpose that you may separate the concept 'session' from the concept 'window'/'Windows Terminal application'.
After decoupling these concepts, sessions run in standalone processes. When the application of Windows Terminal restarts, or maybe sometimes when it crashes, after we open Windows Terminal again, we may have our sessions back.
Those 'session' processes may have a timeout for maximum idle time. For example, if Windows Terminal quits with these sessions still running, after maybe 5 minutes, Windows Terminal did not connect to these sessions, then these sessions will quit themselves.

If you ever used iTerm on macOS, when sometimes it crashes, and I re-open iTerm within a very short time, everything can be restored. This is a good example of what I'm talking about.

Originally created by @wsy on GitHub (Jul 7, 2020). <!-- 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 I ACKNOWLEDGE THE FOLLOWING BEFORE PROCEEDING: 1. If I delete this entire template and go my own path, the core team may close my issue without further explanation or engagement. 2. If I list multiple bugs/concerns in this one issue, the core team may close my issue without further explanation or engagement. 3. If I write an issue that has many duplicates, the core team may close my issue without further explanation or engagement (and without necessarily spending time to find the exact duplicate ID number). 4. If I leave the title incomplete when filing the issue, the core team may close my issue without further explanation or engagement. 5. If I file something completely blank in the body, the core team may close my issue without further explanation or engagement. All good? Then proceed! --> # Description of the new feature/enhancement I'm running some scripts with Windows Terminal (Windows App Store version). I switched to some other app doing something else, and Windows Terminal got updated by Windows App Store. After Windows Terminal opens again, every tab, every session, everything I was running was gone. If Windows Terminal could have put those sessions in some sort of 'on-hold' state, and Windows Terminal would pick up those sessions again after it starts again, that would be great. <!-- A clear and concise description of what the problem is that the new feature would solve. Describe why and how a user would use this new functionality (if applicable). --> # Proposed technical implementation details (optional) I purpose that you may separate the concept 'session' from the concept 'window'/'Windows Terminal application'. After decoupling these concepts, sessions run in standalone processes. When the application of Windows Terminal restarts, or maybe sometimes when it crashes, after we open Windows Terminal again, we may have our sessions back. Those 'session' processes may have a timeout for maximum idle time. For example, if Windows Terminal quits with these sessions still running, after maybe 5 minutes, Windows Terminal did not connect to these sessions, then these sessions will quit themselves. <!-- A clear and concise description of what you want to happen. --> If you ever used iTerm on macOS, when sometimes it crashes, and I re-open iTerm within a very short time, everything can be restored. This is a good example of what I'm talking about.
claunia added the Issue-FeatureResolution-Duplicate labels 2026-01-31 01:55:19 +00:00
claunia commented 2026-01-31 01:55:20 +00:00
Author
Owner
Copy Link

@KalleOlaviNiemitalo commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2020):

Related issues:

I think this would then be a combination of:

  • https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/issues/960
  • The ability to find and reattach the sessions even after the main Windows Terminal process has crashed and been restarted.
  • Ensuring that updates from Windows Store leave the child processes running. Does Windows Store support leaving OpenConsole.exe of the previous version running across an upgrade?

In principle, condrv could allow detaching the console host process (conhost or openconsole) and later attaching a different one. That way, you could even upgrade OpenConsole.exe in an existing session. It would require:

  • condrv would have to freeze the console I/O until a console host is attached again.
  • condrv would have to support console IDs (perhaps LUID or GUID) so that the console host could attach to the correct console when restarting.
  • OpenConsole would have to save the console modes to a file and restore them when restarting.

However, such a change would increase the attack surface in the kernel, so it would be safer to leave OpenConsole.exe running.

@KalleOlaviNiemitalo commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2020): Related issues: - <https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/issues/766> (restarting Windows Terminal should automatically open new sessions with the same profiles as last time). - <https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/issues/960> (closing a tab should keep the session alive so it can be reattached) - <https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/issues/961> (restarting Windows Terminal should restore buffer contents and perhaps child processes) - <https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/issues/6726> (Windows Store should not update Windows Terminal without asking and cause it to lose sessions) I think this would then be a combination of: - <https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/issues/960> - The ability to find and reattach the sessions even after the main Windows Terminal process has crashed and been restarted. - Ensuring that updates from Windows Store leave the child processes running. Does Windows Store support leaving OpenConsole.exe of the previous version running across an upgrade? In principle, condrv could allow detaching the console host process (conhost or openconsole) and later attaching a different one. That way, you could even upgrade OpenConsole.exe in an existing session. It would require: - condrv would have to freeze the console I/O until a console host is attached again. - condrv would have to support console IDs (perhaps LUID or GUID) so that the console host could attach to the correct console when restarting. - OpenConsole would have to save the console modes to a file and restore them when restarting. However, such a change would increase the attack surface in the kernel, so it would be safer to leave OpenConsole.exe running.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 01:55:20 +00:00
Author
Owner
Copy Link

@DHowett commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2020):

@KalleOlaviNiemitalo Wow, this is absolutely comprehensive. Thank you.

We've also got #5000 tracking process model changes that might be required to pull something like this off. The main issue with keeping OpenConsole running is that it's also serviced as part of the store package so it wouldn't be particularly robust in the upgrade scenario.

This is really close to a request for a windows implementation of screen/tmux using ConPTY.

/dup #5000 #766 #960 ec.

@DHowett commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2020): @KalleOlaviNiemitalo Wow, this is absolutely comprehensive. Thank you. We've also got #5000 tracking process model changes that might be required to pull something like this off. The main issue with keeping OpenConsole running is that it's also serviced as part of the store package so it wouldn't be particularly robust in the _upgrade_ scenario. This is really close to a request for a windows implementation of screen/tmux using ConPTY. /dup #5000 #766 #960 ec.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 01:55:20 +00:00
Author
Owner
Copy Link

@ghost commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2020):

Hi! We've identified this issue as a duplicate of another one that already exists on this Issue Tracker. This specific instance is being closed in favor of tracking the concern over on the referenced thread. Thanks for your report!

@ghost commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2020): Hi! We've identified this issue as a duplicate of another one that already exists on this Issue Tracker. This specific instance is being closed in favor of tracking the concern over on the referenced thread. Thanks for your report!
claunia commented 2026-01-31 01:55:20 +00:00
Author
Owner
Copy Link

@KalleOlaviNiemitalo commented on GitHub (Jul 9, 2020):

I don't think those other issues cover the case where the main Windows Terminal process crashes and the user starts a new one and wants to attach the sessions to that. I haven't seen such crashes myself, though.

The main issue with keeping OpenConsole running is that it's also serviced as part of the store package so it wouldn't be particularly robust in the upgrade scenario.

The store platform installs each version of Windows Terminal to a different directory, doesn't it? So it would be able to leave the files of the previous version on disk as long as that version has processes running.

Or are you concerned that the new version of WindowsTerminal.exe would require features that the old version of OpenConsole.exe does not support?

Perhaps, a few years from now, Windows will include a conhost that has all the same features as OpenConsole, and Windows Terminal can just use that. Such a conhost might be easier to leave running across a Windows Terminal upgrade.

@KalleOlaviNiemitalo commented on GitHub (Jul 9, 2020): I don't think those other issues cover the case where the main Windows Terminal process crashes and the user starts a new one and wants to attach the sessions to that. I haven't seen such crashes myself, though. > The main issue with keeping OpenConsole running is that it's also serviced as part of the store package so it wouldn't be particularly robust in the _upgrade_ scenario. The store platform installs each version of Windows Terminal to a different directory, doesn't it? So it would be able to leave the files of the previous version on disk as long as that version has processes running. Or are you concerned that the new version of WindowsTerminal.exe would require features that the old version of OpenConsole.exe does not support? Perhaps, a few years from now, Windows will include a conhost that has all the same features as OpenConsole, and Windows Terminal can just use that. Such a conhost might be easier to leave running across a Windows Terminal upgrade.
Sign in to join this conversation.
No Branch/Tag Specified
Branches Tags
Labels
Clear labels
⛺ Reserved
A11yCO
A11yMAS
A11ySev1
A11ySev2
A11ySev3
A11yTTValidated
A11yUsable
A11yVoiceAccess
A11yWCAG
Area-Accessibility
Area-AtlasEngine
Area-AzureShell
Area-Build
Area-Build
Area-Chat
Area-CmdPal
Area-CodeHealth
Area-Commandline
Area-CookedRead
Area-DefApp
Area-Extensibility
Area-Fonts
Area-GroupPolicy
Area-i18n
Area-Input
Area-Interaction
Area-Interop
Area-Localization
Area-Output
Area-Performance
Area-Portable
Area-Quality
Area-Remoting
Area-Rendering
Area-Schema
Area-Server
Area-Settings
Area-SettingsUI
Area-ShellExtension
Area-ShellExtension
Area-ShellExtension
Area-Suggestions
Area-Suggestions
Area-TerminalConnection
Area-TerminalControl
Area-Theming
Area-UserInterface
Area-VT
Area-Windowing
Area-WPFControl
AutoMerge
Blocking-Ingestion
Culprit-Centennial
Culprit-WinUI
Disability-All
Disability-Blind
Disability-LowVision
Disability-Mobility
External-Blocked-WinUI3
Fixed
Gathering-Data
good first issue
HCL-E+D
HCL-WindowsTerminal
Help Wanted
Impact-Compatibility
Impact-Compliance
Impact-Correctness
Impact-Visual
In-PR
InclusionBacklog
InclusionBacklog-Windows TerminalWin32
InclusionCommitted-202206
Issue-Bug
Issue-Docs
Issue-Feature
Issue-Feature
Issue-Question
Issue-Samples
Issue-Scenario
Issue-Task
Needs-Attention
Needs-Author-Feedback
Needs-Bisect
Needs-Discussion
Needs-Repro
Needs-Tag-Fix
Needs-Tag-Fix
Needs-Triage
No-Recent-Activity
Priority-0
Priority-1
Priority-2
Priority-3
Product-Cmd.exe
Product-Colortool
Product-Colortool
Product-Colortool
Product-Conhost
Product-Conpty
Product-Meta
Product-Powershell
Product-Terminal
Product-WSL
pull-request
Mirrored from GitHub Pull Request
 Resolution-Answered
Resolution-By-Design
Resolution-Duplicate
Resolution-External
Resolution-Fix-Available
Resolution-Fix-Committed
Resolution-No-Repro
Resolution-Won't-Fix
Severity-Blocking
Severity-Crash
Severity-DataLoss
spam
this-will-be-a-breaking-change
Tracking-External
WindowsTerminal_Win32
Work-Item
zAskModeBug
zInbox-Bug
No Label Issue-Feature Resolution-Duplicate
Milestone
No items
No Milestone
Projects
Clear projects
No project
Assignees
Clear assignees
claunia
No Assignees
1 Participants
Notifications
Due Date
No due date set.
Dependencies

No dependencies set.

Reference: starred/terminal#9469
Delete Branch "%!s()"

Deleting a branch is permanent. Although the deleted branch may continue to exist for a short time before it actually gets removed, it CANNOT be undone in most cases. Continue?