If you’re using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in tandem with Visual Studio Code, you might be wondering how to change your default integrated terminal from PowerShell to WSL.

Previously, you could set this in a single line in your settings.json file using terminal.integrated.shell.windows, but this has since been deprecated in a later version of Visual Studio Code.

Add the following snippet of JSON to your settings.json file in Visual Studio Code (you can access this file by clicking the gear icon in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, selecting the ‘Settings’ menu option, and then clicking on the ‘Open settings (JSON)’ icon in the top right hand corner of the subsequent screen - alternatively you can open the Command Palette with CTRL + Shift + P and then type in ‘Open settings (JSON)'):

{
  "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows": "WSL",
  "terminal.integrated.profiles.windows": {
    "PowerShell": {
      "source": "PowerShell",
      "icon": "terminal-powershell"
    },
    "Command Prompt": {
      "path": [
        "${env:windir}\\Sysnative\\cmd.exe",
        "${env:windir}\\System32\\cmd.exe"
      ],
      "args": [],
      "icon": "terminal-cmd"
    },
    "Git Bash": {
      "source": "Git Bash"
    },
    "WSL": {
      "path": [
        "C:\\WINDOWS\\System32\\wsl.exe"
      ],
      "args": [],
      "icon": "terminal-ubuntu-wsl"
    }
  }
}

Close any integrated terminals you had open in Visual Studio Code, and then open a new integrated terminal - WSL should now open by default, rather than PowerShell.