\uD83E\uDD14 Problem
Terminal apps adopt the Windows native Console Host (conhost.exe) executable for implementation.
Under Windows 10, the conhost.exe exhibits a bug that limits ACLI Shell functionality.
In this environment, conhost.exe incorrectly interprets a critical VT100 control sequence as a VT52 sequence, which breaks the ACLI Shell interactive renderer. As a result, terminal apps that rely on conhost.exe executable under Windows 10 fail to function as designed.
The issue is rectified in the conhost.exe shipped with Windows 11 as well as when running apps in Windows Terminal and other VT100-compliant terminal emulators (e.g. ConEmu, CMDER, Alacritty, and WezTerm) in Windows 10.
\uD83C\uDF31 Solution
The Windows terminal compatibility table shows how to handle environment variables on Windows 10 and Windows 11 for ACLI 10.6 and earlier and ACLI 11.0
Windows terminal compatibility
Windows Version | ACLI Version | Description |
|---|---|---|
Windows 10 | In ACLI 10.6, set the WT_SESSION variable | Setting WT_session variable enables non-Windows terminal emulators on Windows 10 for ACLI v10.6 and earlier. |
Windows 10 | ACLI v11 | The WT_SESSION variable is not required, when using one of these terminals:
|
Windows 11 | ACLI v11 | No constraints on the choice of terminal, including the legacy Windows console (conhost.exe). |
ACLI v10.6 and earlier
How to fix the conhost.exe interpreting of VT100 control sequence
To remedy the issue with Windows 10, apply the workaround as shown:
Open the environment variables settings on your system.
Create a new environment variable named
WT_SESSIONand set its value to any non-empty string (e.g.,1).Save the changes, and restart your terminal application.
Launch the ACLI shell.
Remember that the shell proper functioning depends on the correct implementation of the VT100 specification of the terminal emulator.
Setting the WT_SESSION environment variable alone may not be sufficient for the shell to function correctly.
If the terminal emulator still uses the broken conhost exe, users may notice that the terminal renders garbage on the screen as soon as the app provides completions.
To ensure the best experience with the ACLI shell, it is recommended to use a fully VT100-compliant terminal emulator or upgrade to Windows 11 or Windows Terminal.
ACLI 11.0.0
How to fix the conhost.exe interpreting of VT100 control sequence
The issue is resolved using the additional terminals that ACLI v11 supports, removing the need for additional configuration (i.e. WT_SESSION).
The supported terminal emulators on Windows 10 are:
Windows Terminal
WezTerm
Alacritty
ConEmu
CMDER
If you know of another VT100-compliant terminal on Windows 10, you can test it using the instructions given for ACLI 10.6.0 and earlier.
If the shell works, contact us so that we can add official support for that terminal.