Document session restore interaction with command-line arguments by Copilot · Pull Request #913 · MicrosoftDocs/terminal

Copilot · 2025-12-18T20:10:26Z

When firstWindowPreference: "persistedWindowLayout" is enabled, running wt nt -p <profile> opens two windows: one restoring the previous session and one executing the command. This behavior was undocumented.

Changes

Added IMPORTANT callout in command-line syntax section explaining the dual-window behavior and referencing --window option for control
Added new section "Session restore and command line arguments" with three workarounds:
- wt -w 0 nt -p <profile> - Opens in most recently used window (avoids second window)
- wt -w -1 nt -p <profile> - Forces new window without session restore
- wt -w <name> nt -p <profile> - Opens in named window
Included shell-specific examples for Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Linux/WSL

Example

// Without -w flag: opens TWO windows (restored session + new command)
wt nt -p "Ubuntu-18.04"

// With -w 0: opens ONE window (new tab in existing window)
wt -w 0 nt -p "Ubuntu-18.04"

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Feedback: wt nt -p opens two windows</issue_title>
<issue_description>### Type of issue

Other (describe below)

Feedback

Currently, if "Startup / When Terminal starts = Open windows from a previous session" option is set, then a command like wt nt -p <profile> will open two windows. The documentation should add instructions to disable this feature when starting Windows Terminal from the command line, or add a switch to disable session restore.

Page URL

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/terminal/command-line-arguments?tabs=windows

Content source URL

https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/terminal/blob/main/TerminalDocs/command-line-arguments.md

Author

@nguyen-dows

Document Id

0d5d0fe3-01ef-66e8-263d-a0a7852ffa7a</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

Fixes Feedback: wt nt -p <profile> opens two windows #835

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

learn-build-service-prod · 2025-12-18T20:11:29Z

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learn-build-service-prod · 2025-12-18T20:24:33Z

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zadjii-msft

as noted

zadjii-msft · 2026-05-19T15:34:23Z


+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> If you have enabled the **"Open windows from a previous session"** startup option ([`firstWindowPreference: "persistedWindowLayout"`](./customize-settings/startup.md#behavior-when-starting-a-new-terminal-session)), running `wt` from the command line will restore your previous session **and** execute the command you provided, potentially opening two windows. To prevent this behavior, use the `--window, -w` option to control where your command executes:
+> - `wt -w 0 nt -p <profile>` - Opens in the most recently used window (prevents a second window from opening)


(starting from "To prevent this behavior, use the --window, -w option to control where your command executes:")

Nope. This doesn't work this way. Don't add any commentary on how to prevent that behavior - when firstWindowPreference is set to restore things, then any cold wt nt command will both restore and run the new command.

zadjii-msft · 2026-05-19T15:34:54Z

+To avoid this behavior when session restore is enabled, use the `--window, -w` option to control where your commands execute:
+
+<!-- Start tab selectors. -->
+#### [Command Prompt](#tab/windows)
+
+```cmd
+// Open a new tab with a specific profile in the most recently used window (avoids opening a second window)
+wt -w 0 nt -p "Ubuntu-18.04"
+
+// Force a new window with the profile, without restoring previous session
+wt -w -1 nt -p "Command Prompt"
+
+// Open in a named window (creates it only if it doesn't exist)
+wt -w mywork nt -p "PowerShell"
+```
+
+#### [PowerShell](#tab/powershell)
+
+```powershell
+// Open a new tab with a specific profile in the most recently used window (avoids opening a second window)
+wt -w 0 nt -p "Ubuntu-18.04"
+
+// Force a new window with the profile, without restoring previous session
+wt -w -1 nt -p "Command Prompt"
+
+// Open in a named window (creates it only if it doesn't exist)
+wt -w mywork nt -p "PowerShell"
+```
+
+#### [Linux](#tab/linux)
+
+```bash
+// Open a new tab with a specific profile in the most recently used window (avoids opening a second window)
+cmd.exe /c "wt.exe" -w 0 nt -p "Ubuntu-18.04"
+
+// Force a new window with the profile, without restoring previous session
+cmd.exe /c "wt.exe" -w -1 nt -p "Command Prompt"
+
+// Open in a named window (creates it only if it doesn't exist)
+cmd.exe /c "wt.exe" -w mywork nt -p "PowerShell"
+```
+
+Execution aliases don't work in WSL distributions. If you want to use wt.exe from a WSL command line, you can spawn it from CMD directly by running `cmd.exe`. The `/c` option tells CMD to terminate after running.
+
+---
+<!-- End tab selectors.  -->


similarly, drop this all.

Initial plan

10c15a7

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and mattwojo Dec 18, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of mattwojo December 18, 2025 20:18 View session

Add documentation for session restore behavior with command line argu…

397b755

…ments Co-authored-by: mattwojo <[email protected]>

Fix comment syntax in PowerShell and Bash examples

e1ee1d2

Co-authored-by: mattwojo <[email protected]>

Fix comment syntax for Command Prompt to use REM

fb863f0

Co-authored-by: mattwojo <[email protected]>

Revert to consistent comment syntax matching existing documentation s…

84e538c

…tyle Co-authored-by: mattwojo <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Update documentation to address multiple window issue~~ Document session restore interaction with command-line arguments Dec 18, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from mattwojo December 18, 2025 20:32

Copilot finished work on behalf of mattwojo December 18, 2025 20:32

zadjii-msft requested changes May 19, 2026

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Document session restore interaction with command-line arguments#913

Document session restore interaction with command-line arguments#913
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Copilot AI commented Dec 18, 2025 •

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Copilot AI commented Dec 18, 2025 •

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