Why Use Windows Terminal? Compared to WSL and Git Bash

Every day someone asks the same question:

“Windows Terminal vs Git Bash vs WSL — which one should I use?”

The question sounds reasonable, but it hides a common misunderstanding. These three things are not rivals. They live on different layers of your stack:

You picked a shell (Git Bash or WSL Bash). Windows Terminal is the fancy window that shows that shell to you.

ELI5: Front-end vs Engine#

Think of a cinema.

• The screen is the terminal front-end.
• The movie projector is the shell.
• The film reel is a program like git or bun.

The screen does not choose which movie plays. You can play many movies on the same screen. Windows Terminal is the screen. Git Bash and WSL are movie projectors. You can point several projectors at one screen — and switch between them with a click.

What Is Git Bash Actually?#

Git Bash = a terminal emulator (mintty) + Bash shell + a set of GNU/Unix tools (ls, grep, sed, ssh, …) bundled together when you install Git for Windows.

It was great in 2014 because Windows had nothing Unix-like. But:

• It uses the old mintty terminal (no tabs, no GPU rendering, dated look).
• Unix tools are a translation layer — real Windows programs often behave oddly.
• It gives you Bash only, not a place to also run PowerShell or cmd with a nice UI.

Why not just use WSL instead?#

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) runs a real Linux kernel inside Windows. That is excellent for Linux-native development: docker, node, ruby gems, native libs — everything works like on a Linux server.

But WSL has two walls:

1. It is a separate machine. Files live on an ext4 virtual disk, not your Windows disk. Copying between Windows and Linux (/mnt/c) is slow.
2. It uses your Windows Terminal anyway. When you open WSL, the shell output still needs a window. That window is — or should be — Windows Terminal.

So WSL vs Windows Terminal is not even a real contest. They are at different layers; you want both.

Comparison table#

The theme: everything “visual/UX” column is where Windows Terminal wins. Everything “Linux runtime” is where WSL wins. They are complements, not competitors.

How to run everything together in Windows Terminal#

1. Install Windows Terminal ↗ — it is the default terminal on Windows 11 already.
2. Install WSL 2 ↗ for real Linux.
3. Install Git for Windows for its Git Bash profile.
4. Optionally install PowerShell 7 ↗.

Open Windows Terminal, click the ∨ arrow next to the tab + — you will see all profiles. Pick any, or open several side by side:

┌─ Ubuntu (WSL) ──┐┌─ PowerShell 7 ─┐
│ $ ls            ││ PS> node ver  │
│ ...             ││ ...            │
└─────────────────┘└────────────────┘

Useful keybindings#

Customize without installing bloated tools#

{
  "profiles": {
    "defaults": {
      "font": { "face": "Cascadia Mono" },
      "opacity": 90,
      "useAcrylic": true
    }
  }
}

Everything is open source (MIT).

[!TIP] The fastest, least dangerous win: run Git Bash inside Windows Terminal by pointing a profile at C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe. You keep your Unix tools, but gain tabs, GPU, split panes and modern color.

Common pitfalls#

[!WARNING] WSL and Windows use different filesystems. Keep working files on the Linux side (~/projects) for speed. Jumping into /mnt/c/... often for node/docker make things slow.

When to use which#

• PowerShell + you manage Windows (registry, services, Active Directory): use PowerShell inside Windows Terminal.
• You need real Linux: use WSL 2 — but open it from Windows Terminal.
• You just want git + Unix commands quickly, low setup: Git Bash inside Windows Terminal.
• Never use the raw mintty/Git Bash shortcut or the default cmd window again — they all lose tabs, color and GPU.

Summary#

• Windows Terminal is not a shell; Git Bash and WSL are not terminal front-ends.
• They solve operating-system layers, so use them together, not “one vs the other”.
• Windows Terminal gives you tabs, split panes, GPU rendering, theme and one home for combined shells.
• WSL gives you a real Linux runtime; Git Bash gives you Unix tools without a Linux kernel.

References#

• microsoft/terminal — GitHub ↗
• Windows Terminal — Wikipedia ↗
• Windows Terminal Documentation — Microsoft Learn ↗
• WSL Installation Guide — Microsoft Learn ↗
• Git for Windows ↗
• Cascadia Code — GitHub ↗