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Windows Terminal Group Policy settings

2 settings · 1.25.2733.0 · 2 Oct 2026

2 settingsCSV
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Windows Terminal

Default terminal application

UserIntune-readyDefaultTerminalApplication

Supported on At least Windows 11 22H2 or Windows 10 22H2 (Build 19045.3031, KB5026435) with Windows Terminal 1.17

What it does

Select the default terminal application used in Windows. If you select Windows Terminal Preview and it is not installed the system will fall back to the legacy Windows Console Host. (Please note that the settings interfaces showing "Let windows decide" in this case as configuration.)

What it writes

Hive
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key
Console\%%Startup

Options

OptionTypeRegistry valueAllowed values
Select from the following optionsRequiredDefault: Automatic selection (Windows Terminal, if available) Drop-down list DelegationTerminal
  • Automatic selection (Windows Terminal, if available){00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
  • Windows Console Host (legacy){B23D10C0-E52E-411E-9D5B-C09FDF709C7D}
  • Windows Terminal{E12CFF52-A866-4C77-9A90-F570A7AA2C6B}
  • Windows Terminal Preview (if available){86633F1F-6454-40EC-89CE-DA4EBA977EE2}

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

State
Options used when Enabled

Enabled · User · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%Startup]
"DelegationConsole"="{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}"
"DelegationTerminal"="{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}"


PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Default terminal application
# Name: DefaultTerminalApplication
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsTerminal.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%Startup' -Name 'DelegationTerminal' -PropertyType 'String' -Value '{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}'

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%Startup' -Name 'DelegationConsole' -PropertyType 'String' -Value '{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}'
  • The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
  • Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_WindowsTerminal/DefaultTerminalApplication

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_WindowsTerminal/DefaultTerminalApplication</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="TermAppSelect" value="{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>
Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Default terminal application
# Name: DefaultTerminalApplication
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsTerminal.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%Startup' -Name 'DelegationTerminal' -Kind 'String' -Expected '{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}'
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%Startup\DelegationTerminal') | Out-Null
}

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%Startup' -Name 'DelegationConsole' -Kind 'String' -Expected '{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}'
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%Startup\DelegationConsole') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Default terminal application
# Name: DefaultTerminalApplication
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsTerminal.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%Startup' -Name 'DelegationTerminal' -PropertyType 'String' -Value '{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}'

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\%%Startup' -Name 'DelegationConsole' -PropertyType 'String' -Value '{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}'

History 18 retained releases

  1. 1.24.10621.05 Mar 2026
    • Description … select Windows Terminal Preview and it is not installed the system will fall[added: ]back to the legacy Windows Console Host. (Please note that the settings interfaces …
      Whole description, marked

      Select the default terminal application used in Windows. If you select Windows Terminal Preview and it is not installed the system will fall[added: ]back to the legacy Windows Console Host. (Please note that the settings interfaces showing "Let windows decide" in this case as configuration.)

  2. 1.23.12681.026 Sep 2025
    • Description … select Windows Terminal Preview and it is not installed the system will fall[removed: ]back to the legacy Windows Console Host. (Please note that the settings interfaces …
      Whole description, marked

      Select the default terminal application used in Windows. If you select Windows Terminal Preview and it is not installed the system will fall[removed: ]back to the legacy Windows Console Host. (Please note that the settings interfaces showing "Let windows decide" in this case as configuration.)

  3. 1.23.12371.026 Aug 2025
    • Description … select Windows Terminal Preview and it is not installed the system will fall[added: ]back to the legacy Windows Console Host. (Please note that the settings interfaces …
      Whole description, marked

      Select the default terminal application used in Windows. If you select Windows Terminal Preview and it is not installed the system will fall[added: ]back to the legacy Windows Console Host. (Please note that the settings interfaces showing "Let windows decide" in this case as configuration.)

  4. 1.22.11141.025 Apr 2025
    • Added in this release.

10 later releases left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name
DefaultTerminalApplication
Namespace
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal
Template file
WindowsTerminal.admx
Release
Windows Terminal 1.25.2733.0 · file set 93c732305245b595…
Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="User" displayName="$(string.DefaultTerminalApplication)" explainText="$(string.DefaultTerminalApplicationText)" key="Console\%%Startup" name="DefaultTerminalApplication" presentation="$(presentation.TermAppSelection)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal:WindowsTerminal" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal:SUPPORTED_DefaultTerminalApplication" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="TermAppSelect" required="true" valueName="DelegationTerminal">
          <item displayName="$(string.TermAppAutomatic)">
            <value>
              <string>{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}</string>
            </value>
            <valueList>
              <item key="Console\%%Startup" valueName="DelegationConsole">
                <value>
                  <string>{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}</string>
                </value>
              </item>
            </valueList>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.TermAppConsoleHost)">
            <value>
              <string>{B23D10C0-E52E-411E-9D5B-C09FDF709C7D}</string>
            </value>
            <valueList>
              <item key="Console\%%Startup" valueName="DelegationConsole">
                <value>
                  <string>{B23D10C0-E52E-411E-9D5B-C09FDF709C7D}</string>
                </value>
              </item>
            </valueList>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.TermAppWindowsTerminal)">
            <value>
              <string>{E12CFF52-A866-4C77-9A90-F570A7AA2C6B}</string>
            </value>
            <valueList>
              <item key="Console\%%Startup" valueName="DelegationConsole">
                <value>
                  <string>{2EACA947-7F5F-4CFA-BA87-8F7FBEEFBE69}</string>
                </value>
              </item>
            </valueList>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.TermAppWindowsTerminalPreview)">
            <value>
              <string>{86633F1F-6454-40EC-89CE-DA4EBA977EE2}</string>
            </value>
            <valueList>
              <item key="Console\%%Startup" valueName="DelegationConsole">
                <value>
                  <string>{06EC847C-C0A5-46B8-92CB-7C92F6E35CD5}</string>
                </value>
              </item>
            </valueList>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="TermAppSelection" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="0" noSort="true" refId="TermAppSelect">Select from the following options:</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal:category:WindowsTerminal
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsTerminal)" name="WindowsTerminal" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal:definition:SUPPORTED_DefaultTerminalApplication
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_DefaultTerminalApplication)" name="SUPPORTED_DefaultTerminalApplication" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal:category:WindowsTerminal
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsTerminal)" name="WindowsTerminal" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal:WindowsTerminal">Windows Terminal</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal:definition:SUPPORTED_DefaultTerminalApplication
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_DefaultTerminalApplication)" name="SUPPORTED_DefaultTerminalApplication" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsTerminal:SUPPORTED_DefaultTerminalApplication">At least Windows 11 22H2 or Windows 10 22H2 (Build 19045.3031, KB5026435) with Windows Terminal 1.17</string></strings>
ChangeIntel

An IT change radar: releases, security, known issues, retirements, documentation changes, and service status from public sources. Every item links to supporting evidence; dates and statuses can change after they are read.

Sources read 18 Oct 22:28 UTC · 253 of 255 readable · 252 fully read · documentation 0/410 current