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Install Windows Terminal on Windows Server 2022

Thomas Maurer
Updated
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20 comments on Install Windows Terminal on Windows Server 2022
Install Windows Terminal on Windows Server 2022

As you might know, I am a huge fan of the Windows Terminal, and since Windows Server 2022 by default does not include the Windows Terminal, I wanted to quickly show you how you can install the Windows Terminal on Windows Server 2022.

How to install Windows Terminal on Windows Server 2022

Luckily, we can simply download the MSIX bundle from the Windows Terminal GitHub release page. You can also run the following PowerShell command to download the file (Make sure you change the Uri to the latest version).

# Install Prerequisites
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://aka.ms/Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.Desktop.appx -outfile Microsoft.VCLibs.x86.14.00.Desktop.appx
Add-AppxPackage Microsoft.VCLibs.x86.14.00.Desktop.appx

# Download Terminal (Change version)
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/releases/download/v1.7.1091.0/Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.7.1091.0_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle -outfile Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.7.1091.0_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle

Now you can run the following PowerShell command to add the msixbudle and install the Windows Terminal on Windows Server 2022.

Add-AppxPackage Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_<versionNumber>.msixbundle

In my example this would be:

Add-AppxPackage -Path .\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.7.1091.0_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle

Keep in mind, when you install the Windows Terminal manual like this, it will not automatically update itself.

Install Windows Terminal on Windows Server 2022
Install Windows Terminal on Windows Server 2022

Conclusion

I hope this blog post is helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below. Also if you want to make out more of your Windows Terminal, check out my blogs:

If you want to provide feedback for Windows and Windows Server, the team wants to hear from you!

The most important part of a frequent release cycle is to hear what’s working and what needs to be improved, so your feedback is extremely valued. For Windows Server, use your registered Windows 10 Insider device and use the Feedback Hub application.  In the app, choose the Windows Server category and then the appropriate subcategory for your feedback. In the title of the Feedback, please indicate the build number you are providing feedback on as shown below:

     [Server #####] Title of my feedback

Have fun!

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Thomas Maurer
Thomas is the EMEA Global Black Belt (GBB) for Sovereign Cloud at Microsoft, helping organizations across the region harness Microsoft’s sovereign, hybrid, multicloud, and edge solutions. He works directly with C-level leaders and technical teams to remove roadblocks, accelerate digital transformation, and shape long-term cloud strategies that meet business and regulatory needs. With over 15 years of experience in cloud and datacenter, including his previous role as Principal Program Manager and Chief Evangelist for Azure Hybrid, he combines deep technical expertise with a passion for customer success. He specializes in creating scalable architectures, solution accelerators, and thought leadership that drive adoption and innovation on Azure. Thomas is a passionate community advocate and frequently speaks at industry events such as Microsoft Ignite and Microsoft TechDays. He shares his expertise through his Cloud and Datacenter Blog at www.thomasmaurer.ch and on LinkedIn and X.com www.twitter.com/thomasmaurer.

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20 responses

  1. T Avatar
    T

    you can use winget to install this on the server

    Reply
  2. Jules R. Avatar
    Jules R.

    i’m sorry but you can’t install winget on windows server 2019 LTSC or SAC and 2022 as far as i know.
    so the only way is the appxbundle from github.

    Reply
  3. Tinen Avatar
    Tinen

    I downloaded the evaluation version, and bought a product key from keyingo.com, they help me to convert the evaluation version to standard version , then I use the key to activate , the server 2022 is running now

    Reply
  4. Jane Avatar
    Jane

    This does not work on Windows Server 2022 that has no Internet access. After install, clicking the Windows Terminal app in the Start menu does nothing, it doesn’t even show an error message.

    Reply
  5. Joel Cottrell Avatar
    Joel Cottrell

    Do you know if there’s a way (maybe via the json file) to change the default terminal app for Windows Server 2022 from the classic cmd prompt to Windows Terminal?

    Reply
  6. Uwe Avatar
    Uwe

    For uninstall do:

    1.) Get-AppxPackage —> List all packages installed.
    2.) Search in that list for the package to uninstall.
    3.) Copy the “PackageFullName” value (e.g. “Microsoft.WindowsTerminalPreview_1.13.10395.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe”)
    4.) Call Remove-AppxPackage, (e.g. Remove-AppxPackage -Package “Microsoft.WindowsTerminalPreview_1.13.10395.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe”)

    Reply
  7. Bjoern Avatar
    Bjoern

    Looking at the GitHub page there are downloads for the latest versions with win_10 and win_11 in the name.
    Which one to choose for Windows Server 2022?

    Reply
    1. David Knight Avatar
      David Knight

      The win_10 is the package you want to use for Server 2022.

      Reply
      1. DM Avatar
        DM

        No, Windows 10 package does not install on Windows Server 2022.

        Reply
        1. Desy Avatar
          Desy

          Neither does the Win11 one

          Reply
  8. Justin Avatar
    Justin

    Does this work on Server 2019? I just keep getting the following error after running
    “Add-AppxPackage -Path .\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.7.1091.0_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle”.

    “Add-AppxPackage: The ‘Add-AppxPackage’ command was found in the module ‘Appx’, but the module could not be loaded due to the following error: [Operation is not supported on this platform. (0x80131539)]
    For more information, run ‘Import-Module Appx’.”

    Reply
  9. Muhammad Avatar
    Muhammad

    Works flawlessly! Thanks

    Reply
    1. Thomas Maurer Avatar
      Thomas Maurer

      great! thank you for the feedback :)

      Reply
  10. Toni Avatar
    Toni

    Worked fine for me. Those having problems, I used powershell.exe (run “import-module Appx” first), the new pwsh.exe gave me the error mentioned in the comments. And you need to install windows 10 version of terminal.

    Reply
  11. Mantvydas Avatar
    Mantvydas

    Beside those two Add-AppxPackage commands I needed also
    Add-AppxPackage Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.7.x64.appx

    My machine only had Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.4 installed.

    Reply
  12. Robert Alexander Avatar
    Robert Alexander

    For regular people that aren’t developers… as this will take a fair amount of head scratching for you as written, but you need 3 items:

    ****NOTE: Powershell commands are marked with “*” at the beginning of the line, the * is not actually part of the command!

    #1: “C++ Runtime framework packages for Desktop Bridge”, reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/developer/visualstudio/cpp/libraries/c-runtime-packages-desktop-bridge
    You may want to check that link for updates and substitute the URL for the latest one. This version is current as of 11/2/2023.
    * Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://aka.ms/Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.Desktop.appx -outfile Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.Desktop.appx # downloads the file
    * Add-AppxPackage Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.Desktop.appx # installs it

    #2: Microsoft.UI.Xaml
    Go to https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.UI.Xaml/
    Look for a link that says “Download Package (##.## MB)”, download it.
    Rename the file to .zip
    Extract the .appx file from tools\AppX\x64\Release (in this case it’s “Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.8.appx”).
    Step to install the version downloaded above after extraction, modify for updates:
    * Add-AppxPackage Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.8.appx

    #3: The terminal package from https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/releases?WT.mc_id=modinfra-26926-thmaure
    Find the version you want there, I went with “latest”. Go into that (clicking the green box that says “latest” next to the version takes you there). Scroll down to the downloads section and right-click copy the link to the msixbundle. Doing this will eliminate reliance on hard-links to specific versions.
    * Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/releases/download/v1.18.2822.0/Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.18.2822.0_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle -outfile Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.18.2822.0_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle
    # Note: -outfile parameter is the downloaded file’s name, just remove the part from the URL up to last “/”, so only the filename is left.
    * Add-AppxPackage Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.18.2822.0_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle

    This should work like a champ with little-to-no head scratching.

    Reply
    1. Joshua McKinnon Avatar
      Joshua McKinnon

      Thanks for making this guide. And also thanks to Robert Alexander for adding the extra detail about Microsoft.UI.Xaml, as I got stuck when trying to install the latest version and this solved it for me!

      Reply
    2. Sam Cannon Avatar
      Sam Cannon

      Thank you, your guidance is very clear and has been helpful to me. Perhaps you know if there is an official way to install Windows Terminal on Windows Server 2019/2022, or are there any limitations? Why is it so complicated with framework dependencies and extracting missing components?

      Reply
  13. Marko Vukovic Avatar
    Marko Vukovic

    I’m a little late to this party but one can also use Chocolatey to install it. It will install all the dependencies:
    choco install microsoft-windows-terminal

    Reply
  14. Br. Bill Avatar
    Br. Bill

    This is helpful, or would have been helpful in 2021. But the versions of everything in your explanation seem to be out of date, not just the version of Terminal. And these instructions are probably useful to someone who already knows how this all works, so … gonna take the hint from the person who suggested using Chocolatey. Much less hassle and more modern. And easy to update.

    Reply

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