Best Practices and Q&A

Best Practices

• Keep settings.json in a dotfiles repo and link it.
• Set one default shell and trim hidden profiles.
• Bind your most common actions to muscle memory.
• Use focus mode and zoom for deep concentration.
• Test new schemes before adopting them globally.

Interview Q&A

Q: How do you run two shells side by side?

A: Alt+Shift+D splits a pane to the right or Alt+Shift+Minus down, then switch panes with Alt+Arrow keys.

Q: Where do profiles and settings live?

A: In settings.json under the Windows Terminal LocalState folder, opened with Ctrl+Shift+, and reloaded live on save.

Q: How do you add a custom Linux terminal?

A: Add a profile whose commandline points at the shell's executable, such as Git Bash bash.exe or a WSL distro executable.

Q: Terminal vs shell, what's the difference?

A: The terminal renders text and sends input; the shell (PowerShell/CMD/bash) interprets commands. Windows Terminal is the former, hosting any of the latter.

Key Points

• Profiles and panes make the terminal a workspace.
• settings.json is portable and scriptable.
• WSL and SSH integrate as first-class profiles.
• Keyboard-first use multiplies productivity.