Microsoft Intelligent Terminal 0.1 Launch and Availability
Microsoft’s Command Line team announced Intelligent Terminal version 0.1 on June 12, 2026 (Microsoft DevBlogs announcement). The post frames the release as an open-source experimental fork of Windows Terminal built around developer use of AI agents.
The application installs separately from Windows Terminal. It is available through the Microsoft Store listing, via the command winget install Microsoft.IntelligentTerminal, and documented at the official Intelligent Terminal docs. The existing Windows Terminal installation remains untouched.
The team deprecated Terminal Chat in Canary builds in favor of this new approach. The fork uses version 0.1, signaling an experimental feedback-driven iteration rather than a replacement for mainline Windows Terminal.
Microsoft Intelligent Terminal 0.1 Agent Pane and Error Detection Features
The terminal provides a persistent agent status bar at the bottom of the window. Left-side toggles show or hide the agent pane. An error detection indicator lights up when a fixable error is detected.
The right side hosts an agent management icon that opens a session panel. A docked agent pane houses the developer’s agent CLI of choice. GitHub Copilot CLI ships as the default agent in version 0.1.
The pane supports any Agent Client Protocol (ACP) compatible agent. For example, pressing Ctrl+Shift+. toggles the pane, while Ctrl+Shift+I switches focus between shell and agent pane. Complex multi-step tasks spawn in new background tabs to keep the active shell unblocked.
Failed commands trigger the error indicator. Clicking it or pressing Ctrl+Alt+. opens the agent pane with error context pre-loaded. The agent explains the error and suggests or runs fixes. This behavior is configurable: auto-detect only, or auto-detect plus auto-suggest fixes.
The agent management panel is accessed via Ctrl+Shift+/ or the status bar icon. It shows active agents, past sessions, and background tasks. Completed sessions can be dismissed from this panel.
Configuration and Keyboard Shortcuts
Settings → Agent exposes three primary controls. Agent & Model selects GitHub Copilot by default or any ACP-compatible custom or local agent. Pane Placement sets the pane to top, bottom, left, or right.
Auto Error Detection enables or disables automatic error catching and fix suggestions. The Command Palette integrates agent prompts. Typing ? followed by a prompt injects context from the active pane and starts the agent in a background tab.
Pressing Alt+Shift+/ enters direct prompt mode in the Command Palette. The shell remains unblocked throughout. WSL compatibility is confirmed working per the source, with Ubuntu and other Linux shells operating natively inside the agent pane spanning Windows and Linux contexts.
Agent Client Protocol and Ecosystem Impact
Intelligent Terminal builds on the Agent Client Protocol specification. This open standard allows any compliant agent to plug in. The first attempt at AI in terminal, Terminal Chat, was proprietary and tied to Copilot.
The ACP pivot means organizations that block GitHub Copilot can configure local or approved agents such as Ollama or custom internal tooling. The separate-app strategy avoids forced integration into stable Windows Terminal. Improvements can upstream to the open-source foundation without risking mainline stability.
The utility scales with the number of quality ACP-compatible agents. The devblog emphasizes feedback-driven development. The GitHub repo at the Intelligent Terminal repository will signal priorities through issue triage and milestone planning for version 0.2 and beyond.
Bottom line
Bottom line: Windows developers should install Microsoft Intelligent Terminal 0.1 from the Microsoft Store or via winget install Microsoft.IntelligentTerminal to test the ACP-based agent pane alongside existing Windows Terminal, and configure a non-Copilot ACP agent if their organization blocks GitHub Copilot.
