Supercharge Your Workflow: Enhance Windows Terminal with These PowerShell Tweaks

Want to make your Windows Terminal experience smoother and more efficient? This guide provides actionable tips and tricks to customize your terminal using PowerShell, focusing on enhanced features, beautiful aesthetics, and intelligent auto-completion. Learn how to transform your command-line interface to new heights.

Install Scoop: Your Windows Package Manager

Scoop is a command-line installer that simplifies installing and managing various tools on Windows. Think of it as a package manager for the command line.

• Easy Installation: Get Scoop up and running with a single command.
• Global Access: Make your tools available system-wide quickly.

# Get the installation file
irm get.scoop.sh -outfile 'install.ps1'
# Execute the installation (adjust parameters as needed)
.\install.ps1 -ScoopDir 'D:\Applications\Scoop' -ScoopGlobalDir 'F:\GlobalScoopApps'
# Example: Install coreutils via scoop
scoop install coreutils

Level Up Your Terminal's Look

Personalize your Windows Terminal with icons and themes for a more visually appealing experience. A splash of color and style can make coding way more pleasurable.

• File Icons: Add recognizable icons to your files and folders.
• Themes: Customize the overall look and feel of your terminal.

# Install Terminal Icons module
Install-Module -Name Terminal-Icons -Repository PSGallery

# Add extras bucket to scoop
scoop bucket add extras
# Install terminal-icons
scoop install terminal-icons

# Set execution policy
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope LocalMachine -Force; Invoke-Expression ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://ohmyposh.dev/install.ps1'))

# Set Font
https://ohmyposh.dev/docs/installation/fonts

Get Intelligent Auto-Completion for PowerShell

Say goodbye to tedious typing. Auto-completion streamlines your workflow by predicting commands and arguments and improves overall productivity.

• PSReadLine: Enhance your command-line editing experience.
• Tab Completion: Cycle through available options with the Tab key.

Install-Module PSReadLine -Scope AllUsers
Install-Module posh-git -Scope AllUsers
Install-Module yarn-completion -Scope AllUsers
Install-Module npm-completion -Scope AllUsers

Fine-Tune Your PowerShell Configuration

Customize your PowerShell environment with these tweaks to match your preferences. These setting adjustments allow you to personalize the configuration of the PowerShell language and auto-completion preferences.

• Language Settings: Set your preferred language for PowerShell.
• Predictive Intellisense: Enable history-based command suggestions.
• Key Bindings: customize the actions that occur when pressing certain buttons.

$PSDefaultParameterValues['*:Language'] = 'zh-CN'
Import-Module 'E:\development\vcpkg\scripts\posh-vcpkg'

# PSReadLine configuration
Import-Module PSReadLine
Set-PSReadLineOption -PredictionSource History
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key Tab -Function MenuComplete
Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key UpArrow -Function HistorySearchBackward
Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key DownArrow -Function HistorySearchForward

# oh-my-posh theme settings
oh-my-posh init pwsh --config "$env:POSH_THEMES_PATH\M365Princess.omp.json" | Invoke-Expression
# (Alternative syntax for newer versions)
Set-PoshPrompt -Theme M365Princess

# Import Modules
Import-Module -Name Terminal-Icons
Import-Module npm-completion
Import-Module yarn-completion
Import-Module posh-git

Embrace Coreutils for Enhanced Functionality in Windows Terminal

Extend your command-line toolkit with familiar Unix utilities. By harnessing the versatility of core utilities in PowerShell, users get access to a rich collection of commands typically found in Unix-like systems, which enhances their workflow.

• Cross-Platform Tools: Use commands you already know from Linux or macOS.
• Expanded Capabilities: Get access to a wider range of command-line tools.

# Install via cargo
cargo install coreutils --features windows

# Install via scoop
scoop install uutils-coreutils

By implementing these tips, you can significantly improve your Windows Terminal workflow, enhance its appearance, and boost your overall productivity.