Microsoft recently released a brand new terminal application called Windows Terminal. The terminal application has a lot of features that the developers have been asking for years. Among those features is the fact that ability to add any console window to a different tab. Allow me to show you how you can add Ubuntu tab towards the Windows Terminal.

Automatically, Windows Terminal comes with PowerShell and Command Prompt tabs. If you want to, you can include a variety of other consols towards the Windows Terminal. For instance, if you're a web developer and want to add a Linux console to Windows Terminal. It can be done by adding a few lines of code inside a JSON file.

Note: I assume you've already installed the brand new Windows Terminal app. Otherwise, you can install it from the Microsoft Store.

Add Ubuntu Tab to Windows Terminal

1. Make sure that you've installed Ubuntu in Windows 10. If not, you are able to install Ubuntu in Windows 10 with just a few clicks. Follow that Ubuntu installation guide and are available here next.

2. Before you add Ubuntu tab to Windows Terminal, you have to produce a new GUID (Globally Unique Identifier). This is the way Windows Terminal differentiates between different consols. To develop a new GUID, look for Ubuntu within the start menu and open it up.

3. Within the Ubuntu window, execute the uuidgen command. This will give a distinctive GUID, copy it. We are going to need that GUID in the coming steps. So, paste it somewhere safe.

A fast tip: Select the GUID with the mouse and right-click to repeat.

4. Now, keep the windows open Terminal by searching for it within the start menu.

5. In the Terminal window, click the dropdown icon and choose "Settings".

6. The above action will open the profiles.json file in your default code editor. With my case, the default code editor is VS Code. Within the editor, scroll down until you begin to see the Profiles array. After the array add ,.

7. Next, copy and paste the below code underneath the , while replacing YOUR_GUID using the actual GUID you have in step 3.

Note: If you've installed a specific form of Ubuntu then customize the 5th line in the below code and add the version number too. For instance, if you have installed Ubuntu 18.04, modify the line as wsl.exe -d Ubuntu-18.04.

"acrylicOpacity":0.75,
"closeOnExit":true,
"colorScheme":"Campbell",
"commandline":"wsl.exe -d Ubuntu",
"cursorColor":"#FFFFFF",
"cursorShape":"bar",
"fontFace":"Consolas",
"fontSize":12,
"guid":"YOUR_GUID",
"historySize":9001,
"icon":"C:/Dummy/image.png",
"name":"Ubuntu",
"padding":"0, 0, 0, 0",
"snapOnInput":true,
"startingDirectory":"%USERPROFILE%",
"useAcrylic":true

8. Press Ctrl + S in order to save the JSON file.

9. Now, return to the Windows Terminal and click on the dropdown menu. You will notice the new Ubuntu option.

10. Click the Ubuntu option and the Ubuntu terminal will open in Windows Terminal.

Add Custom Tab Icon to Ubuntu Tab in Windows Terminal

Should you consider the dropdown menu, there is no icon next to the Ubuntu option. That is because you have not added any. The good thing is, you can any image you would like because the Ubuntu tab icon.

1. The first thing you need to do is locate the icon you need to set. The icon ought to be in PNG format with transparent background and 32x32 size. You can use this web site to find free icons.

2. After you have the icon, save it somewhere in your hard disk. For instance, I've got a dedicated folder in my I drive that hosts all the icons I use for various folders.

3. Now, open the profiles.json file, go to the Ubuntu profile, find the "icon" value and replace the dummy icon path using the actual icon path. In my case, the icon path is "I:/System Icons/ubuntu.png".

4. Save the file.

That is it. You will notice the new icon applied instantly in the Windows Terminal.