How to Transform Your WSL Terminal with Oh My Posh, Nerd Fonts, and Custom Themes

Why beautify the terminal?

A visually appealing terminal not only looks good but also surfaces useful information at a glance, such as the current Python version, Git branch, uncommitted changes, background jobs, and command execution time, allowing developers to monitor project status without extra commands.

Step 1 – Install a Nerd Font

Terminal icons and symbols require a Nerd Font; otherwise they appear as garbled blocks.

1. Visit https://www.nerdfonts.com/
2. Click "Download Fonts"
3. Choose one of the following (either is sufficient):
   • JetBrains Mono – monospaced coding font (recommended)
   • CascadiaCode – Microsoft’s default VS Code font
4. After downloading, extract the archive, right‑click the .ttf file and select "Install for all users"
5. Restart Windows Terminal

Alternatively, install via winget:

# Install JetBrains Mono Nerd Font
winget install Dev86.JetBrainsMonoNerdFont -s winget
# Or
winget install DEVCOM.JetBrainsMonoNerdFont

Verify the installation by opening Windows Terminal and confirming that icons such as   󰊬   󰇐 render correctly.

Step 2 – Install Oh My Posh (prompt engine)

# Download the latest binary
wget https://github.com/JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh/releases/latest/download/posh-linux-amd64 -O /usr/local/bin/oh-my-posh
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/oh-my-posh
# Verify installation
oh-my-posh --version

Add the initialization line to ~/.bashrc and reload:

echo 'eval "$(oh-my-posh init bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

The prompt should now change.

Available themes

List built‑in themes:

oh-my-posh get themes   # shows 100+ theme names

Preview a single theme:

oh-my-posh init bash --config $(oh-my-posh config get atomic)

Or browse interactively at https://ohmyposh.dev/docs/themes.

Recommended themes

atomic – clean, modern, double‑line; ideal for full‑stack developers.

jandedobbeleer – classic double‑line, information‑rich; great for everyday use.

paradox – sleek single‑line with a premium feel; suited for users who prioritize aesthetics.

robbyrussell – Oh‑My‑Zsh‑style classic; familiar to Zsh users.

night-owl – eye‑friendly dark theme; good for long coding sessions.

Setting a theme

Example using the atomic theme:

echo 'eval "$(oh-my-posh init bash --config $(oh-my-posh config get atomic))"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Creating a custom theme (advanced)

Place a JSON file in ~/.poshthemes and reference it from the init command. Below is a minimal example:

mkdir -p ~/.poshthemes
cat > ~/.poshthemes/my-theme.omp.json <<'THEME'
{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh/main/themes/schema.json",
  "blocks": [
    {
      "type": "prompt",
      "alignment": "left",
      "segments": [
        {"type": "os", "style": "powerline", "powerline_symbol": "\uE0B0", "foreground": "#ffffff", "background": "#0077c2", "template": " {{.Icon}} "},
        {"type": "path", "style": "powerline", "powerline_symbol": "\uE0B0", "foreground": "#e5c07b", "background": "#313644", "properties": {"style": "full", "home_icon": "~"}, "template": " \uF071 {{ .Path }}"},
        {"type": "git", "style": "powerline", "powerline_symbol": "\uE0B0", "foreground": "#98c379", "background": "#313644", "template": " {{ .HEAD }}{{ if or (.Working.Changed .Staged.Changed) }} \uF044 {{ .Working.String }}{{ end }}{{ if gt .Behind 1 }} \uF044 {{ .Behind }}{{ end }}{{ if gt .Ahead 1 }} \uF044 {{ .Ahead }}{{ end }} "}
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "prompt",
      "alignment": "right",
      "segments": [
        {"type": "python", "style": "plain", "foreground": "#61afef", "template": "{{ .Full }} ", "properties": {"display_version": true}},
        {"type": "executiontime", "style": "plain", "foreground": "#c678dd", "template": "{{ .FormattedMs }}ms ", "properties": {"threshold": 500, "style": "roundrock"}}
      ]
    }
  ],
  "version": 2
}
THEME

# Activate the custom theme
echo 'eval "$(oh-my-posh init bash --config ~/.poshthemes/my-theme.omp.json)"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Windows Terminal color scheme

Open settings.json (Ctrl+,) and add the following configuration:

{
  "profiles": {
    "defaults": {
      "font": {"face": "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font", "size": 13, "ligatures": true},
      "colorScheme": "One Half Dark",
      "cursorShape": "filledBox",
      "cursorHeight": 25,
      "padding": "10, 8, 10, 8",
      "useAcrylic": true,
      "acrylicOpacity": 0.92,
      "scrollbarState": "visible",
      "experimental.rainbowRendering": true
    }
  },
  "schemes": [
    {
      "name": "One Half Dark",
      "background": "#282c34",
      "foreground": "#abb2bf",
      "black": "#282c34",
      "blue": "#61afef",
      "cyan": "#56b6c2",
      "green": "#98c379",
      "orange": "#d19a66",
      "purple": "#c678dd",
      "red": "#e06c75",
      "white": "#abb2bf",
      "yellow": "#e5c07b"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tokyo Night",
      "background": "#1a1b26",
      "foreground": "#a9b1d6",
      "black": "#32344a",
      "blue": "#7aa2f7",
      "cyan": "#7dcfff",
      "green": "#9ece6a",
      "orange": "#ff9e64",
      "purple": "#bb9af7",
      "red": "#f7768e",
      "white": "#787c99",
      "yellow": "#e0af68"
    },
    {
      "name": "Dracula",
      "background": "#282a36",
      "foreground": "#f8f8f2",
      "black": "#21222c",
      "blue": "#bd93f9",
      "cyan": "#8be9fd",
      "green": "#50fa7b",
      "orange": "#ffb86c",
      "purple": "#ff79c6",
      "red": "#ff5555",
      "white": "#f8f8f2",
      "yellow": "#f1fa8c"
    }
  ],
  "window": {"theme": "dark"}
}

Step 5 – Colorized ls output and useful aliases

Install a modern replacement or add color flags:

# Option 1: Rust‑based exa (no longer maintained but still works)
cargo install exa
# Option 2: Actively maintained lsd
sudo apt install lsd || cargo install lsd
# Option 3: Simple color flag for the default ls (most distros support it)
alias ls='ls --color=auto'
alias ll='ls -alF --color=auto'
alias la='ls -A --color=auto'
alias tree='tree -C'
# Append to ~/.bashrc and reload
cat >> ~/.bashrc <<'EOF'
alias ls='ls --color=auto'
alias ll='ls -alF --color=auto'
alias la='ls -A --color=auto'
alias tree='tree -C'
EOF
source ~/.bashrc

Example output with colors:

📁 drwxr-xr-x 2 user user 4096 Apr 14 src        ← directory (blue/cyan)
📄 -rw-r--r-- 1 user user  220 Apr 14 README.md ← file (white)
🔒 -rw------- 1 user user 1234 Apr 14 .env      ← private file (red)
🔧 -rwxr-xr-x 1 user user  512 Apr 14 run.sh    ← executable (green)

Terminal shortcut key reference

Ctrl + Shift + T

– New tab Ctrl + Shift + D – Split vertically Ctrl + Shift + 5 – Split horizontally Alt + Shift + ←/→ – Switch between panes Ctrl + , – Open settings Ctrl + Shift + W – Close current tab Ctrl + Shift + P – Command palette Ctrl + + / - – Zoom font size Ctrl + Shift + Space – Open default dropdown menu