How to Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in Windows 10


The Windows Terminal is a modern, fast, efficient, powerful, and productive terminal application for users of command-line tools and shells like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and WSL. Its main features include multiple tabs, panes, Unicode and UTF-8 character support, a GPU accelerated text rendering engine, and custom themes, styles, and configurations.

Starting with Windows 10 build 21337, Windows Terminal is now an inbox app.

The current settings of the Windows Terminal app are saved to the "%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json" file for your account.

Each time you make and save changes to Windows Terminal app settings, a backup of the previous settings are automatically created and saved to a date and time stamped "%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json.2021-04-22T11-29-25.backup" (settings.json.Year-Month-DayTHour-Minute-Seconds.backup) file for your account.

Sometimes, you may want to reset all Windows Terminal app settings back to default without having to reset the app.

This tutorial will show you how to reset all Windows Terminal app settings back to default for your account in Windows 10.


Contents

  • Option One: Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in Command Prompt
  • Option Two: Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in PowerShell
  • Option Three: Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in File Explorer



EXAMPLE: Windows Terminal settings
How to Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in Windows 10-windows_terminal_settings.png






OPTION ONE

Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in Command Prompt


1 Open a command prompt.

2 Copy and paste the command below into the command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

del /f /s /q /a "%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json"

3 When the command successfully deleted the settings.json file, you can close the command prompt if you like.

How to Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in Windows 10-delete_settings.json_for_windows_terminal_command.png






OPTION TWO

Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in PowerShell


1 Open a command prompt.

2 Copy and paste the command below into PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Remove-Item -Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json" -Force

3 When the command successfully deleted the settings.json file, you can close PowerShell if you like.

How to Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in Windows 10-delete_settings.json_for_windows_terminal_powershell.png






OPTION THREE

Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in File Explorer


1 Open File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Copy and paste the path below into the address bar of File Explorer, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState

3 Delete the settings.json file.

4 You can now close File Explorer if you like.

How to Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Default in Windows 10-delete_settings.json_for_windows_terminal.png


That's it,
Shawn Brink


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