Windows Terminal 1.22 is here: Everything you need to know about the platform's biggest patch to date

Windows Terminal Preview 1.22 and its stable counterpart, version 1.21 (the preview was made available earlier this year), are now available to users and developers. Buckle up because you’re in for a ride: these patches are enormous and bring dozens of new features, changes, and improvements.

For example, one of the standout additions is the support for Sixel graphics. Imagine viewing images directly in your terminal without popping open a new window. This feature, primarily driven by community feedback and contributions, is a game-changer for anyone who works with graphics or data visualization. Whether you’re plotting a graph with matplotlib or want to display a cute panda image, Sixel support has got you covered.

Grapheme Cluster Support is another hero feature. It tackles the annoying issue of emojis and complex characters not displaying correctly. With this update, that frustrating cursor dance happens when you enter an emoji is history. This means your polar bear emoji will appear just as intended without breaking into its bear and snowflake components. A slight quality-of-life improvement makes a big difference in daily use.

The Snippets Pane is like having a cheat sheet built right into your terminal. This feature is a lifesaver for anyone who’s ever been on call and had to scramble to remember the exact command to troubleshoot an issue at 3 AM. You can save frequently used commands and access them with a click, making your workflow smoother and reducing the chance of error when under pressure.

Quick Fixes in CMD and the New Cooked Read Popup aim to make the command-line interface more intuitive and helpful. If you mistype a command or try to run something that isn’t installed, Windows Terminal now offers suggestions on how to fix it. This intelligent feedback can save time and frustration, especially for beginners.

The new hosting subsystem is this update’s unsung hero. It’s designed to improve everything from terminal applications’ speed and reliability to resizing and text reflow handling. This foundational change might not be immediately visible but will enhance the user experience.

Usability and UI updates make the terminal more customizable and easier to navigate. From saving snippets directly from the command line to searching with regular expressions, these improvements are all about tailoring the terminal to fit your needs and making it more powerful and user-friendly.

In essence, these updates to Windows Terminal are about bridging the gap between power and usability. Whether you’re a developer, a system administrator, or a tech enthusiast, there’s something in these updates for you.

If you want to explore what Windows Terminal 1.22 Preview and version 1.21 offer, you might want to check the official blog post.