How to Change Windows Terminal Launch Mode in Windows 11

What happens when done?

The setting applies to every new Terminal window you open from then on. A window that is already open keeps its current layout until you close it and start a new one.

How to change the Windows Terminal launch mode

Here is the short version. Open Terminal, click the down arrow at the top of the window and choose Settings. In the left pane, select Startup, find the Launch mode list, pick the option you want, and click Save. The steps below walk through each part in detail.

1. Open the Terminal app. Click the Start button, type “Terminal,” and select Terminal from the results. A Terminal window opens, usually with a PowerShell tab. On Windows 11 the Terminal app is installed by default on current builds. If the search 🔍 finds nothing, install Windows Terminal from the Microsoft Store.

2. Once the app is open, click the down arrow at the top of the window, next to the tabs. Select Settings from the menu. You can also press Ctrl + , (the comma key) on your keyboard to open this screen. The Settings ⚙️ page opens in a new tab inside Terminal, with a list of categories on the left.

3. Select the Startup section in the left pane. Find the Launch mode setting and choose your preferred option from the list. The list contains these choices:

• Default: Opens in the standard window size. This is the setting Terminal ships with.
• Maximized: Opens as a full-size window. The title bar and tabs stay visible, and you can still see the taskbar 🖥️.
• Full screen: Opens covering your entire screen, including the taskbar 🖥️. Press F11 to leave full screen once Terminal is open.
• Focus: Opens in a normal window but hides the tabs and title bar. This gives you a clean, minimal window.
• Maximized focus: Opens as a full-size window with the tabs and title bar hidden. It is a good pick for a single long-running session where you want as much text on screen as possible.

4. Click the Save button at the bottom of the page to apply your changes. Close Terminal and open it again. The new window should now start in the mode you chose. To undo the change, return to Startup, set Launch mode back to Default, and click Save again.

Understanding JSON Configuration

Windows Terminal stores your preferences in a plain-text configuration file named settings.json. Every change you make on the Settings ⚙️ page is written to this file, so you can also edit it by hand if you prefer. To open it, select Open JSON file at the bottom of the left pane in Settings. Editing the file gives the same result as using the Settings ⚙️ page, but a typo can stop a setting from loading, so make a copy of the file before you change it.

Launch mode decides how the window looks when it opens. The machine startup option decides whether Terminal opens automatically when you sign in to Windows.

Launch Position, Size, and Behavior

Beyond the launch mode, you can also tell Windows Terminal exactly where to appear on your screen and how large it should be. Look through the other options on the Startup page for the launch size and position settings. Keep in mind that a size you set only matters when Launch mode is Default or Focus. A maximized or full screen mode fills the screen regardless of the size you chose.

Summary

Getting your Windows Terminal launch mode right helps you work more efficiently, because your workspace is set up the same way every time you open the app. If you later want a different layout, the same setting is always one Settings page away.