Windows – Has anyone found a (eg bash) shell terminal for Windows as good as the OS X one

bashshellterminalwindows

I am mostly using 'git-bash' which came with the Windows install of Git vcs. I think it is the same one that comes with Cygwin. It works fine technically but the UI sucks:

  • have to right-click the title bar and go to Properties to change the window width
  • most annoyingly… copy and paste and highlight with the mouse are equally cumbersome

In contrast, the Terminal app that comes with OS X manages these with aplomb and makes it so much more comfortable to work with. You can even drag and drop a file on it and it will paste the file path in at your cursor!

I have also tried:

  • http://sourceforge.net/projects/win-bash
  • http://www.steve.org.uk/Software/bash/
  • http://www.hamiltonlabs.com/cshell.htm

None of these do copy and paste of text without cumbersome right-clicking.

I am specifically looking for a Unix-flavoured shell in Windows so I don't have to use different shells between my home dev (Windows), the live server (Linux) or dev at the office (Mac).

Yes I have Googled and haven't found one yet…

Best Answer

Have you tried console2?

It lets you use cmd, bash, or any program as your shell, and allows resizing in any direction.

You can make it default to Git Bash by going to Edit->Settings, then pasting this in the Shell field:

"C:\Program Files\Git\bin\sh.exe" --login -i"

To copy, hold Shift, click and drag with the left mouse button to select, then left click to Copy.

Finally, Git ships with rxvt. You could create a new Windows shortcut with the Target field set to:

"C:\Program Files\Git\bin\rxvt.exe" -e /bin/sh --login -i
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