How to create command tool profile on Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal lets you create a profile for each command tool you use, and here's how.

By Mauro Huculak (@Pureinfotech) , Windows How-To Expert and IT Specialist with 21 years of experience.

November 7, 2022

2022-11-07T10:23:00-05:00

On Windows 11, when you launch the Windows Terminal, you have to run a command to start the tool or move to the tool’s directory to use it. Although it’s easy for those who are used to running commands, it can take some extra steps.

If you usually use the same tool, you can save some extra steps by creating a Terminal profile that will launch the program automatically. In the case that the command-line tool doesn’t have an interface, meaning that you only need to run the command with specific options to return the output, then you can create a profile that starts the Windows Terminal in the program’s location to make it easier to use the tool.

This guide will teach you the steps to create a profile for a command-line tool on Windows Terminal.

Create command tool profile on Windows Terminal

To create a profile for a specific command-line tool on Windows Terminal, use these steps:

Open Windows Terminal.
Click the menu (down-arrow) button and select the Settings option.
Under the “Profiles” section, click the “Add a new profile” option from the left pane.
Click the “New empty profile” button.
Click the Name setting.
Confirm a name for the profile.
Click the Command line setting.
Click the Browse button.
Select the application to start in this profile – for example, %SystemRoot%\System32\diskpart.exe to start with the DiskPart tool.

Quick note: If the application doesn’t have an interface, then you can set the Starting directory to the path of the application instead.
Click the Starting directory setting.
Clear the “Use parent process directory” option.
Click the Browse button.
Select the folder with the command-line application and click the Select folder button.
(Optional) Click the Icon setting./p>
Select an emoji or image location to use as an icon.
(Optional) Turn on the “Run this profile as Administrator” toggle switch if the program needs administrative rights.
Click the Save button.

Once you complete the steps, you can now open the tool directly from the Windows Terminal menu or Jump List in the Taskbar.

You can further customize the profile using additional settings that allow you to change the appearance with custom color schemes, font, and more.