How to Customise Windows Terminal: Themes and Profiles
Colours, backgrounds and a settings.json file for finer control, without needing to touch any code.
If you already know what Windows Terminal is, the next step is making it your own: colours, font, transparency and a different profile for each shell you use. Most guides on this jump straight to editing a configuration file by hand — there's an easier way first.
The easy way: the settings panel
Press Ctrl + , (comma) with Windows Terminal open, or
the arrow next to the "+" button → "Settings". A full graphical panel
opens, with no file to touch:
- Appearance: light/dark theme, transparency.
- Inside each profile (CMD, PowerShell...): colour, font type and size, background image, cursor shape.
- Default profile: which one opens by default when you open a new tab.
Tip: for most people, the graphical panel covers everything they'll want to change. You only need to go to the configuration file if you're after something very specific that the panel doesn't offer as a direct option.
For more control: settings.json
From the dropdown menu → "Settings" → "Open JSON file" button (bottom-left corner of the panel). A text file opens with all the configuration in JSON format — each profile is a block with its own properties.
{
"name": "PowerShell",
"colorScheme": "Campbell",
"backgroundImageOpacity": 0.3,
"cursorShape": "bar"
}
You don't need to know how to code to touch this file — it's basically a list of "property: value" for each profile. Even so, keep a copy of the original file before making big changes, in case you want to easily go back.
A different theme for each profile
This is what most people are after: making CMD, PowerShell and your
Linux distro (if you use WSL) look visually different from each
other, so you know at a glance which one you're in. Just assign a
different colorScheme to each profile, whether from the
graphical panel or the JSON.
Custom background
Inside each profile's graphical panel → "Appearance" → "Background image" → select any image on your machine. You can adjust the opacity so it doesn't interfere with reading the text.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know how to code to customise Windows Terminal?
No. The graphical settings panel covers colours, font, transparency and background with no code to touch. You only need the JSON file for more specific adjustments the panel doesn't offer directly.
Can I have a different look for each command shell?
Yes, it's one of the most common customisations — each profile (CMD, PowerShell, WSL) can have its own colour, font and background, so you can tell at a glance which one you're working in.
Can I break something if I edit the JSON file wrong?
At most, Windows Terminal will stop loading your custom configuration and use the default values until you fix the error — it doesn't affect CMD, PowerShell or your files, only the window's appearance.