Set PowerShell or Command Prompt as the Windows Terminal Default

On current Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems, the Windows+X menu usually opens Windows Terminal rather than switching directly between Command Prompt and PowerShell. To choose which shell appears in a new Terminal tab, set the Default profile to Windows PowerShell, PowerShell 7, or Command Prompt. This does not uninstall the other shells and does not convert CMD scripts into PowerShell scripts.

Set PowerShell as the Windows Terminal default

1. Open Windows Terminal.
2. Select the arrow beside the new-tab button and choose Settings. You can also press Ctrl+,.
3. Open Startup.
4. Under Default profile, choose Windows PowerShell or an installed PowerShell profile.
5. Select Save.
6. Open a new Terminal window or tab and confirm the expected prompt appears.

Windows PowerShell is the version included with Windows. PowerShell 7 is a separate, newer cross-platform product and appears as another profile when installed. Choose the profile your scripts and modules require.

Set Command Prompt as the default instead

Follow the same path—Windows Terminal > Settings > Startup > Default profile—and choose Command Prompt. Save the change and open a new tab.

The current shell can be identified by its prompt and variables:

echo %COMSPEC%

This syntax works in CMD and normally reports a path ending in cmd.exe. In PowerShell, use:

$PSVersionTable
$PSVersionTable.PSVersion

Default profile and default terminal application are different

Changing the default terminal application does not choose between PowerShell and CMD. Microsoft documents both settings in its Windows Terminal setup guide.

Open a specific shell without changing the default

Use the profile menu beside the new-tab button, or launch a named profile with wt:

wt -p "Command Prompt"
wt -p "Windows PowerShell"

If PowerShell 7 is installed, its profile may be named PowerShell. Profile names can be customized, so use the exact name shown in Terminal settings. Microsoft's Windows Terminal command-line reference documents the -p option.

What happened to the old Windows 10 Taskbar toggle?

Windows 10 Creators Update included a Taskbar setting named Replace Command Prompt with Windows PowerShell in the menu when I right-click the Start button or press Windows key+X. That historical toggle applied to the old Quick Link menu and is absent from current Windows 11 and many updated Windows 10 configurations.

Old screenshots showing Settings > Personalization > Taskbar are therefore not a reliable current procedure. The supported current workflow is to use Windows Terminal profiles or open the desired shell from Search.

PowerShell has not made Command Prompt disappear

PowerShell is more capable for structured automation because its pipeline passes .NET objects and its modules expose administrative APIs. CMD remains useful for:

• existing .bat and .cmd scripts;
• legacy installers and tools that expect CMD parsing;
• simple commands and environment checks;
• documentation written specifically for cmd.exe.

TipsMake's article on a missing Command Prompt menu entry explains why CMD is still available even when Win+X shows Terminal.

CMD and PowerShell syntax are not interchangeable

PowerShell defines aliases such as dir, but the result is still a PowerShell object pipeline, not CMD's text behavior. Review a command in the shell for which it was written before running it.

Choose the right default

• Choose PowerShell 7 for modern cross-platform PowerShell scripts and modules that support it.
• Choose Windows PowerShell for Windows-only modules that still require version 5.1.
• Choose Command Prompt when most daily work uses batch files or CMD-specific syntax.
• Keep multiple profiles and select per task when the workload is mixed.

The default affects convenience, not capability. Any installed profile remains available from the Terminal menu.

Administrator access is separate from the default shell

A shell is not elevated merely because it is PowerShell, nor is CMD always less privileged. Elevation depends on how Windows Terminal or the shell was launched. Use Terminal (Admin) or Run as administrator only when a trusted task requires it, and verify the full command before pasting.

If the selected default profile will not start

1. Open Terminal settings and confirm the profile is not hidden.
2. Check that its executable path exists.
3. Try another profile to determine whether Terminal itself is working.
4. Restore the profile's command line to the generated default instead of downloading a replacement executable.
5. On a managed device, ask the administrator whether policy controls shells or profiles.

For CMD launch methods, see how to open Command Prompt in Windows 10 and 11. After choosing CMD, TipsMake's common Command Prompt commands guide provides safe examples.