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I started using Linux Subsystem for Windows, and it is Rad! But, it is running in a terminal which behaves like cmd.exe (yuk!). This carries with it everything I hate aobut cmd. e.g., copy & paste, window sizing, etc.

I don't know how in 2018, Microsoft has allowed this to still exist.

Here are some alternatives: Alternative Windows shells, besides CMD.EXE?

How do I run Ubuntu, Linux Subsystem for Windows in an alternative command prompt?

Phillip Scott Givens
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  • WSL processes use a Windows console (i.e. conhost.exe), which is only related to the CMD shell in that CMD also (usually) runs attached to a Windows console, as does every other console program (e.g. powershell.exe, cscript.exe, python.exe, etc). If you're using WSL, then you must be using Windows 10, which has significantly improved the way the console works with window resizing (including text reflowing and fullscreen support) and clipboard access, assuming it's configured for this in the console window properties and/or default properties. – Eryk Sun Nov 22 '18 at 03:48
  • CMD is shell and ConHost is console which are different than terminals. WSL has no relation with CMD. If you want posix like environment then use cygwin/mintty in [wsltty](https://github.com/mintty/wsltty). If you want in depth of WSL check out my repo [WslReverse](https://github.com/biswa96/wslreverse). – Biswapriyo Nov 22 '18 at 04:02
  • @eryksun, in powershell, I can use ctrl-c, ctrl-v. How do I get that functionality in ubuntu-wsl? It is maddening to have to right-click-title-bar > edit > copy. – Phillip Scott Givens Nov 22 '18 at 13:46
  • This issue was addressed already with a [new option](https://github.com/Microsoft/WSL/issues/235#issuecomment-374782051) that allows the console to consume Ctrl+Shift+C/V for copy and paste, even when the console is doing a low-level read. If you're using an older version of Windows 10, I suggest enabling quick-edit mode, which lets the console consume mouse events for text selection and right-click paste. Note that these are optional console modes since they can interfere with applications that need unfiltered keyboard and mouse input. – Eryk Sun Nov 22 '18 at 17:07
  • Watch out with quick-edit mode enabled. It's easy to accidentally select text. The console blocks some operations, such as writing to the screen, while there's an active selection, so a single-threaded console application will block until the selection is cleared. – Eryk Sun Nov 22 '18 at 17:14

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Windows cmd is really poor compared to the gnome-terminal or any other *nix-based terminals. Gets really messed up with Linux fonts. Try hyper terminal.

https://medium.com/@ssharizal/hyper-js-oh-my-zsh-as-ubuntu-on-windows-wsl-terminal-8bf577cdbd97

Madushan Lamahewa
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  • Thank you Madushan. This article looks promising, but it 'yada yada yada's over the important part. Is this saying that "Scroll down to shell and change it to `C:\\Windows\\System32\\bash.exe`" starts the Ubuntu LSW? – Phillip Scott Givens Nov 28 '18 at 01:50