In this post, MiniTool Software will show you how to reset Windows Terminal settings to defaults in Windows 10 or Windows 11. If you have issues with opening or using it, try these effective methods below to easily reset Terminal to default settings.

Windows Terminal is a modern, powerful, fast, efficient, and productive application to manage multiple command-line tools including PowerShell, Command Prompt, etc. It is developed by Microsoft to replace Windows Console.

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It supports Unicode and UTF-8 character, custom themes, styles, and configurations, multiple tabs, panes, and a GPU accelerated text rendering engine.

If you customize some settings in Windows Terminal and some issues happen, for example, Windows Terminal not opening/starting/responding. In this case, you can reset Windows Terminal to default settings. Well then, how to do this task in Windows 11 or 10? Follow the methods below.

How to Reset Terminal to Default Settings

Tip: If you are using a preview version of Windows Terminal, change the folder name in the path like Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe to Microsoft.WindowsTerminalPreview_8wekyb3d8bbwe.

Clear JSON File to Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Defaults

Windows Terminal settings are stored in a special JSON file. Each time you change the app options, a back copy of that file is automatically created. To reset Windows Terminal to default settings, you can clear the JSON file by following the steps below.

Step 1: Launch Windows Terminal in Windows 11 or 10 by right-clicking the Start icon and choosing Windows Terminal (Admin).

Step 2: Click the down-arrow button and choose Settings to open the Windows Terminal settings window.

Step 3: Click the three-horizontal-line mneu and choose Open JSON file from the left sidebar.

Open JSON file in Windows Terminal settings

Step 4: Press Ctrl + A to select everything and click Delete to empty all the content on this page.

Step 5: Press Ctrl + S. After all the steps are done, Windows Terminal will regenerate the JSON file with the default settings.

Reset Windows Terminal Settings to Defaults via Command Prompt

You can reset Windows Terminal to defaults settings in Command Prompt. Follow these instructions below:

  1. Launch Command Prompt (CMD) in Windows 11 or 10.
  2. Delete the settings.json file by copying and pasting the following command and pressing Enter: del /f /s /q /a “%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json”

delete json file in CMD

This can delete the JSON file. Next time you open the Windows Terminal app, a new one will be created automatically with all the default settings.

In addition, you can reset Windows Terminal settings to defaults via PowerShell. Just launch this app in Windows 10 or 11, then type the command Remove-Item -Path “$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json” –Force and press Enter.

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Reset Windows Terminal to Default Settings in File Explorer

To reset this app to its default settings, follow these steps:

  1. Launch File Explorer in Windows 11 or 10.
  2. Go to the folder containing the configuration file of Windows Terminal by typing the path to the address bar: %LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState
  3. Right-click the settings.json file and choose Delete to remove it. Then, a new settings.json file with the default settings will be recreated automatically.

delete json in File Explorer

Final Words

How to reset Terminal to default settings in Windows 11 or Windows 10? Now, you know some useful solutions after reading this post. Just try one to easily do this work when needed.

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