Windows Terminal is the window that can host several command-line environments. A tab may run Windows PowerShell, another PowerShell version, Command Prompt or a WSL distribution. Those environments do not interpret every command in the same way.

Before copying a command, read which environment its instructions expect. Also identify whether the task applies to Windows or to a particular Linux distribution. An error in the wrong shell is not enough evidence that the requested program is missing.

Open the matching profile for this task

In Windows Terminal, use the arrow beside the plus button to choose an existing profile. The plus button or Ctrl+Shift+T opens the default profile instead, which may differ from the one needed for this guide.

Read the tab and prompt before proceeding. If profiles have been renamed, inspect the profile’s command-line setting to see which executable it launches. Microsoft documents that installed WSL distributions and additional PowerShell versions can create profiles automatically, so the list may grow as the computer changes.

For a one-time instruction, selecting a different tab is enough. There is no need to replace the default just because today’s command uses another shell.

Set a deliberate everyday default

If the same profile is normally required, open Terminal Settings, Startup and change Default profile. This is separate from Default terminal application, which chooses the window host used for command-line applications.

Save the setting, open a fresh default tab and check what actually starts. Then open a different profile explicitly to confirm that it remains available for other tasks. Changing the default should not become an accidental removal of another working environment.

Also check whether the instructions require administrator privileges. The profile’s name alone does not establish its privilege level, and an elevated Terminal window can contain elevated tabs. Avoid making every everyday command run as administrator merely to avoid one permission error.

Record the expected profile alongside any reusable command notes. The useful handover includes both the command and the environment that interprets it.

Sources: Microsoft Windows Terminal setup; Microsoft Terminal profile settings.