In another blockbuster post, our Summer 2017 Intern, @craigaloewen unveils a subtle, but important improvement to the Console in Windows 10 Insider build 16257. I know many of you have been asking for this! Over to you Craig ...

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The Windows Console's colors are getting their first overhaul in more than 20 years! Hurray!

The default color values have been changed to improve legibility of darker colors on modern screens, and to give the Console a more modern look & feel.

For example, Windows Console's legacy blue is very difficult to read on a modern high-contrast displays ...



... and the improved blue is much more legible:



What might not be immediately apparent from the above screenshots is that we didn't just change the blue, we actually tweaked all of the colors!

Why Change the Entire Color Scheme?

During the past 20 years, screens & display technology, contrast ratio, and resolution have changed significantly, from CRT's through TFT LCD's to modern-day nano-scale 4K displays.

The legacy default scheme was not built for modern displays and does not render as well on newer high-contrast LCD displays. This is particularly apparent with deeply saturated darker colors like blue.

The new default colors will modernize the look of the Windows Console and make it more congruent with other terminal experiences, such as the integrated terminal in VSCode.

Where Will I See these Changes?

If you clean-install a new build of Windows 10 >= 16257, you'll get the new colors as the default Console scheme.

If you upgraded to this new build of Windows, you will still see the original legacy colors, not the new defaults! This is because we do NOT want to overwrite any of your existing custom color settings. To better understand how color settings are stored, please read this blog post on Windows Console settings.

So how will you see the new color scheme if you have upgraded from a previous build? We'll soon be publishing a tool that will help you apply this new scheme and a selection of alternative color schemes to your Windows Console. Stay tuned for more details.

The New Default Scheme Details

Here is the legacy color scheme (top), and the new default scheme (below):



Additionally, the following table describes the color scheme change in terms of RGB values.

Color Name	Console Legacy RGB Values	New Default RGB Values
BLACK	0,0,0	12,12,12
DARK_BLUE	0,0,128	0,55,218
DARK_GREEN	0,128,0	19,161,14
DARK_CYAN	0,128,128	58,150,221
DARK_RED	128,0,0	197,15,31
DARK_MAGENTA	128,0,128	136,23,152
DARK_YELLOW	128,128,0	193,156,0
DARK_WHITE	192,192,192	204,204,204
BRIGHT_BLACK	128,128,128	118,118,118
BRIGHT_BLUE	0,0,255	59,120,255
BRIGHT_GREEN	0,255,0	22,198,12
BRIGHT_CYAN	0,255,255	97,214,214
BRIGHT_RED	255,0,0	231,72,86
BRIGHT_MAGENTA	255,0,255	180,0,158
BRIGHT_YELLOW	255,255,0	249,241,165
WHITE	255,255,255	242,242,242

Source: Updating the Windows Console Colors Windows Command Line Tools For Developers

Posted By: Brink
02 Aug 2017