Microsoft has created an open-source fork of Windows Terminal called “Intelligent Terminal,” and it allows you to use AI directly inside Terminal without interfering with the regular session.
Microsoft describes the Intelligent Terminal as a built-in assistant that can help you explain errors, draft commands, and fix problems without leaving the terminal.
First, the agent can stay aware of what is happening in your terminal and help when a command fails. Second, it can remember active and past agent sessions, so you can return to earlier work without losing your place.
Intelligent Terminal first-run
Source: BleepingComputer
When you open Intelligent Terminal for the first time, it lets you choose the AI agent for the Terminal pane.
In my screenshot, it lists GitHub Copilot, Claude, Codex, and Gemini. GitHub Copilot is shown as “will be installed,” while the others are already installed.
Intelligent Terminal allows you to configure your AI session
Source: BleepingComputer
There are also separate toggles for Automatic error detection and Automatic error suggestion.
When you turn on error detection, Terminal can notice failed commands. Similarly, error suggestion goes further and sends the error to the selected AI agent for a possible fix.
There’s another option, Session management, that lets Intelligent Terminal track active and past agent sessions. This is what allows you to reopen previous agent work.
Once you’ve configured Terminal AI, it’s quite easy to use. Terminal opens with an AI pane below the shell, where it says “Welcome to Intelligent Terminal.”
AI shell appears below the standard PS shell in Intelligent Terminal
Source: BleepingComputer
In my hands-on, I selected Claude as my Terminal AI model, which is why Claude Code is running inside the pane. It could plan a coding task and then ask whether I wanted to auto-accept edits, manually approve edits, or keep planning.
How an AI model runs inside Intelligent Terminal
Source: BleepingComputer
On the left side, you can choose to show or hide the agent panel and turn error detection on or off through its icon. On the right, you’ll see the agent management icon that opens your session management panel and agent status bar.
Toggle to show or hide agent chat panel in Intelligent Terminal
Source: BleepingComputer
Intelligent Terminal’s Resume session is one of its best features
As a developer, I use Claude Code in Windows Terminal a lot for help, and while it does the job well, the only issue is that you can’t resume sessions in the standard Terminal unless you’re willing to use Claude’s built-in resume skill, which often makes the model perform worse.
Current Windows Terminal does have a toggle that allows it to open previously closed tabs, but that doesn’t restore your previous sessions.
Intelligent Terminal addresses these concerns with the ability to resume sessions, so you can always go back and forth between your earlier agent work.
Terminal AI is a great idea, but it’s not meant for everyone, and Microsoft understands that, which is why it’s a separate app, and it’s not included with Windows installations yet.
If you’re interested, you can download Intelligent Terminal from the Microsoft Store or Github.
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