I have been having a lot of fun experimenting with Windows Terminal, and that is the reason I decided to share this guide. It will be updated over time as I add new content and practical examples.
Requirements: Windows 10 (version 19041 or later) or Windows 11, PowerShell 5.1 or later, and an active internet connection.
To begin, install Scoop, a package manager for Windows.
Open a PowerShell, copy and paste the code below, then press enter.
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://get.scoop.sh | Invoke-Expression
If you are using Windows 11, Windows Terminal is already installed by default, so you can skip this step.
Open a PowerShell, copy and paste the code below, then press enter.
scoop bucket add extras scoop install extras/vcredist2022 scoop install extras/windows-terminal
All the commands shown below are intended to be executed inside Windows Terminal.
YT-DLP is a feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader with support for thousands of sites.
Install the tools required for audio downloading and stream playback:
scoop install yt-dlp mpv ffmpeg
To download a YouTube video as an MP4 file:
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[ext=mp4]+bestaudio[ext=m4a]/mp4" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfTpKaKXbG4
To download audio only from a YouTube video in MP3 format:
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfTpKaKXbG4
MPV is a free media player for the command line.
To watch a Twitch stream with mpv:
mpv https://www.twitch.tv/User_name
To listen to a Twitch stream audio only:
mpv --no-video https://www.twitch.tv/User_name
To loop a YouTube track with audio only:
mpv --no-video --loop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfTpKaKXbG4
To stop playback in mpv, press Ctrl + C.
FFmpeg is a powerful command-line tool for processing video.
To capture the desktop screen as a video file (video only, no audio):
ffmpeg -f gdigrab -framerate 30 -i desktop output.mp4
This command captures the Windows desktop at 30 FPS and saves it as output.mp4. Audio is not recorded.
Press Q to stop the capture.
To convert a video file into a GIF:
ffmpeg -i output.mp4 -vf "fps=15,scale=600:-1:flags=lanczos" output.gif
This command takes output.mp4 as input, sets the output frame rate to 15 FPS, rescales the video to a width of 600 pixels while preserving aspect ratio, and uses the Lanczos scaling algorithm for better quality.
To generate scaled thumbnail images:
ffmpeg -i %d.jpg -vf "scale=320:-1" %d_thumb.jpg
This command reads a sequence of images named 1.jpg, 2.jpg, 3.jpg and creates scaled thumbnails with a width of 320 pixels while preserving aspect ratio.
Fastfetch is a lightweight system information tool for the terminal. It displays details about the operating system, hardware, and environment in a clean and fast way.
To install Fastfetch using Scoop:
scoop install fastfetch
To display system information, simply run:
fastfetch
Btop is a modern resource monitor for the terminal. It shows real-time information about CPU, memory, disk, network usage, and running processes.
To install btop using Scoop:
scoop install btop
To start the resource monitor:
btop
Aria2 is a lightweight and fast command-line download manager. It supports HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, BitTorrent, and Metalink, and can download multiple files simultaneously.
To install Aria2 using Scoop:
scoop install aria2
To download a file using a direct URL:
aria2c https://example.com/file.zip
To resume an interrupted download:
aria2c -c https://example.com/file.zip
Chafa is a terminal graphics utility that renders images using ANSI characters and colors. It allows viewing images directly inside Windows Terminal.
To install chafa using Scoop:
scoop install chafa
To display an image in the terminal:
chafa image.png
Chafa supports multiple output modes and automatically adapts to the terminal size and color capabilities.
Nano is a simple and user-friendly terminal-based text editor. It is useful for quickly editing configuration files or scripts directly from Windows Terminal.
To install nano using Scoop:
scoop bucket add main scoop install main/nano
To open or create a file with nano:
nano filename.txt
Common keyboard shortcuts in nano:
Ani-cli is a command-line tool for searching anime directly from the terminal, using external media players such as MPV and VLC for playback.
Installation
Make sure Scoop is installed and the extras bucket is added:
scoop bucket add extras
Install ani-cli:
scoop install ani-cli
Install the required dependencies:
scoop install git fzf ffmpeg mpv
For downloading support, it is recommended to also install:
scoop install yt-dlp aria2
Usage
Search and watch an anime:
ani-cli one piece
Update ani-cli:
ani-cli -U
Display help:
ani-cli -h
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