Windows Terminal vs PowerShell

When it comes to command-line interfaces on Windows, you may have heard of Windows Terminal and PowerShell. While they both serve similar purposes, there are some key differences between them.

In this tutorial, I will explain the differences between Windows Terminal and PowerShell and explore their features and use cases with examples.

Table of Contents

What is Windows Terminal?

Windows Terminal is a modern, feature-rich terminal application for Windows 10 and later versions. It provides a unified interface for accessing multiple command-line tools, including Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Azure Cloud Shell.

Windows Terminal offers a sleek and customizable user interface, supporting multiple tabs, panes, and themes.

Key features of Windows Terminal include:

Multiple tabs and panes for running different shells simultaneously
Extensive customization options for appearance and behavior
Better Unicode and UTF-8 character support
GPU-accelerated text rendering for improved performance

Here’s an example of how to open PowerShell in a new tab within Windows Terminal:

Open Windows Terminal
Click the “+” button to open a new tab
Select “Windows PowerShell” from the dropdown menu

Check out Windows PowerShell vs CMD

What is PowerShell?

PowerShell is a powerful scripting language and command-line shell developed by Microsoft. It is built on the .NET Framework and provides an extensive set of cmdlets (pronounced “command-lets”) for automating tasks, managing systems, and interacting with various Microsoft technologies.

PowerShell is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it a versatile tool for cross-platform automation.

Key features of PowerShell include:

Object-oriented pipeline for passing structured data between commands
Extensive library of cmdlets for system administration and automation
Integration with .NET Framework and access to .NET classes and APIs
Support for scripts, modules, and remote execution

Here’s an example of a PowerShell command to retrieve a list of running processes:

Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.CPU -gt 10}

This command retrieves all running processes and filters the results to include only those using more than 10% CPU.

Check out Install Windows Updates Using PowerShell

Differences between Windows Terminal and PowerShell

While both Windows Terminal and PowerShell are command-line tools, they serve different purposes:

Functionality: PowerShell is a scripting language and shell, whereas Windows Terminal is a terminal application that hosts other shells like PowerShell, Command Prompt, and Azure Cloud Shell.
Customization: Windows Terminal offers more extensive customization options for appearance and behavior compared to PowerShell’s default console.
Cross-platform compatibility: PowerShell is available on multiple platforms, while Windows Terminal is designed specifically for Windows 10 and later versions.
Use cases: PowerShell is ideal for scripting, automation, and system administration tasks, while Windows Terminal is best suited for users who frequently work with multiple command-line tools and desire a more modern and customizable interface.