'VSCode Change Default Terminal
I am using Visual Studio Code on my Windows 10 PC. I want to change my default terminal from Windows PowerShell to Bash on Ubuntu (on Windows).
How can I do that?
Solution 1:[1]
Configure your default integrated terminal by running the Terminal: Select Default Profile command, which is also accessible via the terminal dropdown.
See https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/integrated-terminal#_terminal-profiles
Solution 2:[2]
I just type following keywords in the opened terminal;
- powershell
- bash
- cmd
- node
- python (or python3)
See details in the below image. (VSCode version 1.19.1 - windows 10 OS)

It works on VS Code Mac as well. I tried it with VSCode (Version 1.20.1)
Solution 3:[3]
Go to File > Preferences > Settings (or press Ctrl+,) then click the leftmost icon in the top right corner, "Open Settings (JSON)"
In the JSON settings window, add this (within the curly braces {}):
"terminal.integrated.shell.windows": "C:\\WINDOWS\\System32\\bash.exe"`
(Here you can put any other custom settings you want as well)
Checkout that path to make sure your bash.exe file is there otherwise find out where it is and point to that path instead.
Now if you open a new terminal window in VS Code, it should open with bash instead of PowerShell.
Solution 4:[4]
Going off of @arielhad's solution...
My VSCode version was 1.57.1.
Open settings.xml file:
- Ctrl + Shift + p
- Type 'Open Settings (JSON)' and select.
Add the following:
"terminal.integrated.profiles.windows": {
"PowerShell": {
"path": [
"${env:windir}\\Sysnative\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe",
"${env:windir}\\System32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe"
],
"source": "PowerShell",
"icon": "terminal-powershell",
"args": [
"-NoLogo",
"-ExecutionPolicy",
"Bypass"
]
},
"Command Prompt": {
"path": [
"${env:windir}\\Sysnative\\cmd.exe",
"${env:windir}\\System32\\cmd.exe"
],
"icon": "terminal-cmd"
},
//START: THIS DOES NOT WORK
"Git Bash": {
"path": [
"C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\bash.exe",
],
"source": "Git Bash",
"icon": "terminal-bash"
}
// END: THIS DOES NOT WORK
//START: THIS WORKS
"GitBash": {
"path": [
"C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\bash.exe",
],
"icon": "terminal-bash"
}
// END: THIS WORKS
}
I don't know why the second way works but it does. It appears the 'Git Bash' is a reserved name and I guess you cannot set the path.
Solution 5:[5]
Since you use WSL, VSCode has dedicated Remote - WSL extension so you can use Linux environment directly in VSCode. When you open the project inside Linux, by default, it's use Linux default shell (bash by default), so no config needed.
If you want to switch to other profile, there is Terminal > Integrated > Default Profile: Linux section so you can pick your favorite one.
Solution 6:[6]
If you want to select the type of console, you can write this in the file "keybinding.json" (this file can be found in the following path "File-> Preferences-> Keyboard Shortcuts") `
//with this you can select what type of console you want
{
"key": "ctrl+shift+t",
"command": "shellLauncher.launch"
},
//and this will help you quickly change console
{
"key": "ctrl+shift+j",
"command": "workbench.action.terminal.focusNext"
},
{
"key": "ctrl+shift+k",
"command": "workbench.action.terminal.focusPrevious"
}`
Solution 7:[7]
The integrated shell option still works but has been depreciated. The fix is to use the integrated profile instead:
"terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows": "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\bash.exe (migrated)",
"terminal.integrated.profiles.windows": {
"C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\bash.exe (migrated)": {
"path": "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\\bash.exe",
"args": []
}
}
Solution 8:[8]
To change the default terminal for your project in Visual Studio Code:
- Create a folder by name of
.vscode - Create a
settings.jsonfile in this folder: - Write the settings you want
for example, if you are a window user and want to set "Command Prompt" as the default terminal you can write:
"terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows": "Command Prompt"
values You can pass: "Git Bash", "PowerShell", and "Command Prompt".
for Linux you will use terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.linux and for mac os you will use: terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.osx
Solution 9:[9]
You can change the terminal by opening command pallete by pressing CTRL SHIFT P
or you can go to View in the top and click "Open Command Pallete"
then type Terminal: Select Default Profile
and you you type which terminal you want.
Solution 10:[10]
press ctrl+Shift+p -> type settings.json at the of file change the 'powershell' to 'Git Bash'
Sources
This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Overflow and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Source: Stack Overflow




