How to always run Windows Terminal as administrator on Windows 10

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Although Windows Terminal lets you access virtually any command-line experience, such as Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Linux, by default on Windows 10, the app always runs in user mode since there is no option to always open it elevated as an administrator.

While this behavior is by design, there is a workaround you can use that allows you to configure Windows Terminal to always run as an administrator using a shortcut approach, instead of having to do the extra steps to access the option from the app context menu.

In this guide, you will learn the steps to configure the command-line experience to open elevated by default.

Always open Windows Terminal as administrator

Use the following steps to always run Windows Terminal as administrator:

1. Right-click the Windows 10 Desktop.

2. Select the New submenu and choose the Shortcut option.

   

   Context menu Shortcut option

3. In the path field, type the following path:

   %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\WindowsApps\wt.exe

   

   Shortcut with path to wt.exe

4. Click the Next button.

5. Confirm a name for the shortcut – for example, Windows Terminal.

   

   Windows Terminal shortcut

6. Click the Finish button.

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7. Right-click the newly created shortcut and select the Properties option.

8. Click the Shortcut tab.

9. Click the Advanced button.

   

   Shortcut advanced option

10. Check the Run as administrator option for the Windows Terminal shortcut.

    

    Run as administrator option

11. Click the OK button.

12. (Optional) Click the Change Icon button.

13. In the Look for icons in this file field, type the following path and press Enter:

    %systemroot%\system32\shell32.dll

    

    Change shortcut icon

14. Select an icon you want to use.

15. Click the OK button.

16. Click the Apply button.

17. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, you can double-click the shortcut to open always open the Windows Terminal as administrator.

If you want, you could also drag the shortcut to the taskbar to pin it. Or you can right-click the shortcut and select the Pin to Start option to run the app as an administrator from the Start menu.