Microsoft Intelligent Terminal brings AI agents to the command line with familiar experience

Microsoft Intelligent Terminal is an experimental Windows Terminal fork with native agent integration. The useful distinction is in the name: it adds an agent pane beside the shell instead of replacing the shell’s normal input and output. You can install it next to Windows Terminal, connect an ACP-compatible agent, ask about command failures, and choose whether a suggested command runs.

The current workflow is practical for developers who spend time in PowerShell, Bash, or WSL: keep the terminal visible, open assistance only when needed, and preserve approval at the point where an agent wants to act. Microsoft’s 0.1 announcement introduced the pane, error detection, session management, command-palette prompts, and WinGet installation. Version 0.2 added local models, per-tab agent selection, WSL-side agents, token usage, image paste, and broader Autofix coverage.

What is Microsoft Intelligent Terminal?

Intelligent Terminal is an experimental fork of Windows Terminal with native agent integration. Microsoft’s 0.1 announcement says it installs as a separate app, works with GitHub Copilot CLI by default, and supports any Agent Client Protocol-compatible agent CLI.

The separation is the important product decision. Your existing Windows Terminal installation and muscle memory remain available. Intelligent Terminal is an opt-in workspace for agent-assisted shell work, not a forced change to every terminal session.

The project’s official repository lists Windows Terminal features such as tabs, profiles, themes, settings, shells, and keyboard shortcuts, then adds the agent pane and related controls. It also documents a current minimum requirement of Windows 10 version 2004 or later, a supported agent CLI and subscription, and installation through the Microsoft Store or WinGet.

Think of it as a shell with a reviewable assistant surface, not as an autonomous command runner.

How does the agent pane work?

The agent pane receives context from the active shell output. When a command fails, you can open the pane with the documented shortcut Ctrl+Alt+. and inspect the error with the agent. You can ask for an explanation, request a different flag, or choose whether to run the resulting command.

command fails
    -> error context appears in the agent pane
    -> agent explains or suggests a fix
    -> you run, copy, or dismiss the command

This flow matters because command suggestions are not the same as command execution. The repository documentation states that the pane does not run commands in your shell without explicit approval. That is the right boundary for destructive operations such as deleting files, changing permissions, stopping services, or modifying a deployment environment.

The pane also supports background tasks in new tabs when an agent needs to perform multiple or complex tasks. Your active shell can remain available while you inspect the other task through agent management.

For everyday use, keep automatic error detection separate from automatic fixes. Detection can load context for review. A fix should still pass your own approval and verification step.

How do you install Intelligent Terminal?

Microsoft documents two straightforward installation paths:

winget install --id Microsoft.IntelligentTerminal -e

Or install Intelligent Terminal from the Microsoft Store. The project’s repository recommends the Store when you want updates delivered automatically, while WinGet is useful for a repeatable workstation setup.

After the first launch, choose an installed ACP-compatible agent. The repository says the application can detect agents such as Copilot, Claude, Codex, Gemini, and OpenCode, subject to what is installed and allowed by policy. If you are setting up a new machine, verify the detected agent and its working directory before asking it to inspect a project.

If PowerShell blocks profile scripts, the official repository documents this fix for the current user scope:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Apply that only when the error matches the documented situation and your workstation policy allows it. Do not weaken a machine-wide policy to make a developer tool start.

The useful first test is deliberately harmless:

Get-Location
Get-ChildItem -Name

Ask the agent to explain the output, then dismiss the suggestion. This confirms that the pane sees the intended shell and directory without giving it a risky task.

What changed in Intelligent Terminal 0.2?

Microsoft’s 0.2 release announcement adds several features that matter for production-minded workflows.

Local model support. In Agent settings, you can add a BYOM provider with a Base URL and Model ID. Microsoft says this supports local servers such as Ollama through GitHub Copilot or OpenCode, allowing agent workflows to run against a model on your own machine.

Per-tab agents. The /agent command lets each tab use a different installed or policy-allowed agent. That is useful when one tab handles a code review, another handles shell diagnosis, and a third runs a local model. Conversations stay isolated per tab.

WSL agents. A profile can use an agent hosted on Windows or inside its WSL distribution. That keeps the agent close to the files and tools it needs instead of forcing every workflow across a host boundary.

Session and cost visibility. The /sessions command searches sessions, while the status bar can show token usage and cost. Those details make a long-running terminal workflow easier to inspect before it quietly consumes resources.

Image paste. Alt+V pastes a clipboard image into the agent pane. The release notes say this can be useful for diagrams, error screenshots, or UI mockups, although what the agent does with an image depends on the agent’s own support.

The release remains experimental. Treat each feature as something to test against your workstation policy and repository sensitivity.

How should you use it for a real codebase?

Use Intelligent Terminal as a controlled inspection and execution surface. Do not begin by asking the agent to “clean up the project.” Start with a bounded task and an explicit no-touch list.

Inspect the repository in the current directory.

Report:
- the package manager and available test commands
- the two existing files closest to this requested change
- generated files that must not be edited directly
- environment variables referenced by the task
- any uncertainty about the canonical pattern

Do not edit files or run mutating commands. Stop after the report.

Once the report is correct, authorize one small change:

Implement only the requested validation change.

Constraints:
- do not change authentication, billing, deployment, or secrets
- reuse the nearest tested pattern
- show the proposed files before editing
- run the focused test command after editing
- report failures without modifying tests to hide them

Keep the agent pane’s shell context useful. Start it from the repository root, check the active profile, and confirm the WSL or Windows path before delegating. When a suggested command affects the filesystem or network, copy it into your own review loop rather than accepting it on sight.

This is the same discipline described in Xcode’s agent workflow: project-aware tools shorten the edit loop, but acceptance checks and human review decide whether a change is ready. For longer asynchronous work, background jobs for AI features covers state, retries, and idempotency—concerns a terminal pane does not solve for you.

What should you check before enabling full context?

The agent pane can see shell output, paths, and the commands you choose to expose. Before enabling automatic error suggestions or session tracking, identify what could appear in that context:

• access tokens accidentally printed by a failed command;
• customer data in generated exports;
• internal hostnames or repository paths;
• database errors containing sensitive values;
• deployment commands with irreversible effects.

Keep secrets out of command output and use redacted fixtures for failure tests. Configure local models when the workflow and model support are appropriate, but do not assume local execution makes every surrounding tool safe. The shell, installed agent, plugins, logs, and repository all have their own boundaries.

Use separate profiles for ordinary development and sensitive operations. Keep production credentials out of a developer terminal session. When a task needs elevated access, stop the agent and run the approved command through the team’s existing change process.

Does Intelligent Terminal replace the normal terminal?

No. Microsoft designed it as a separate experimental application that installs next to Windows Terminal. That makes it a good trial surface for developers who want agent assistance without changing every shell session.

Keep the two tools side by side while evaluating it. Use the normal terminal for known, low-risk commands and Intelligent Terminal when the agent pane adds enough value to justify the extra context. Compare time to diagnosis, number of suggested commands accepted, corrections required, and errors caught by tests—not just whether the pane feels convenient.

For developers working across products, Grok 4.5’s measured agent workflow is another useful comparison: model choice matters, but the repository contract and verification loop matter more. OTF’s full-stack app templates are a complementary starting point for builders who want owned application code, shared web and mobile components, AI-tool configuration, and deployment scripts before an agent starts extending the project.

Microsoft Intelligent Terminal is worth trying when you want contextual shell help without surrendering the shell itself. Install it beside your existing terminal, begin with read-only inspection, keep command execution explicit, and measure the result on real repository tasks. The agent can reduce context switching; your approvals, tests, and deployment boundaries remain the production system.

Sources

• Announcing Intelligent Terminal 0.1 — Microsoft
• Intelligent Terminal 0.2 is here with local model support — Microsoft
• Microsoft Intelligent Terminal repository

Originally published at otf-kit.dev — full-stack app templates for web and mobile. See the templates →