Thursday, November 7th 2024

Microsoft Brings Copilot AI Assistant to Windows Terminal

Microsoft has taken another significant step in its AI integration strategy by introducing "Terminal Chat," an AI assistant now available in Windows Terminal. This latest feature brings conversational AI capabilities directly to the command-line interface, marking a notable advancement in making terminal operations more accessible to users of all skill levels. The new feature, currently available in Windows Terminal (Canary), leverages various AI services, including ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and Azure OpenAI, to provide interactive assistance for command-line operations. What sets Terminal Chat apart is its context-aware functionality, which automatically recognizes the specific shell environment being used—whether it's PowerShell, Command Prompt, WSL Ubuntu, or Azure Cloud Shell—and tailors its responses accordingly.

Users can interact with Terminal Chat through a dedicated interface within Windows Terminal, where they can ask questions, troubleshoot errors, and request guidance on specific commands. The system provides shell-specific suggestions, automatically adjusting its recommendations based on whether a user is working in Windows PowerShell, Linux, or other environments. For example, when asked about creating a directory, Terminal Chat will suggest "New-Item -ItemType Directory" for PowerShell users while providing "mkdir" as the appropriate command for Linux environments. This intelligent adaptation helps bridge the knowledge gap between different command-line interfaces. Below are some examples courtesy of Windows Latest and their testing:
While the feature shows promising potential for both newcomers and experienced users, it does require a paid API key from either GitHub Copilot, OpenAI, or Azure OpenAI services. Microsoft has also implemented privacy-conscious features, such as not saving chat histories by default, though users can export conversations to text files if needed. This integration is making complex computing tasks more approachable through natural language interaction. However, as AI is prone to mistakes, caution is advised when using system commands you don't have idea about (famous fork bomb and rm -rf).
Sources: Windows Latest, via HardwareLuxx
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9 Comments on Microsoft Brings Copilot AI Assistant to Windows Terminal

#1
b1k3rdude
Still not interested.

In related news, Im just waiting patiently for ChrisTitusTech or someone else to find a way to remove Recall direct from the iso without breaking windows explorer.
Posted on Reply
#2
Random_User
The command promt, should be the most simple and reliable thing, ever present in the OS. And this is an additional point of failure. Since it not only may cause the data "leakage", but is an additional point for attention, and errors. Yes, some might find it speeding the process. But at same time, one would need to keep both eyes open, to prevent the code errors, while the "assistant" auto-finishes the job.
b1k3rdudeStill not interested.

In related news, Im just waiting patiently for ChrisTitusTech or someone else to find a way to remove Recall direct from the iso without breaking windows explorer.
Good luck. By the time he, and his "collegues" will find out how to do it, MS will most likely roll out an update, that scr*ws all the hard work entirely. This is a catch game, where MS always has an advantage, and ance in it's sleeve. Sadly.
Posted on Reply
#3
Shihab
AleksandarKFor example, when asked about creating a directory, Terminal Chat will suggest "New-Item -ItemType Directory" for PowerShell users while providing "mkdir" as the appropriate command for Linux environments.
This is actually one of the very few good uses to come out of this LLM farce. Disregarding the stigma of anything with "chat" attached to it these days, this isn't that much different from querying Google for the same question (which we all do, noobs to pros), at least for simple queries.
Still wouldn't touch it for anything more complex than a single command.
Posted on Reply
#4
Vayra86
I thought copilot went in terminal status and was about to die.

Alas.
Posted on Reply
#5
MrDweezil
This is cool, but I'm still not onboard until this runs locally.
Posted on Reply
#6
Wirko
Random_UserThe command promt, should be the most simple and reliable thing, ever present in the OS. And this is an additional point of failure. Since it not only may cause the data "leakage", but is an additional point for attention, and errors. Yes, some might find it speeding the process. But at same time, one would need to keep both eyes open, to prevent the code errors, while the "assistant" auto-finishes the job.
What can I say here ... about 4000 years ago we invented the hammer, and in the next one hundred years or so, we gradually became unable to drive nails by hand.
Posted on Reply
#7
Lycanwolfen
I asked it how can I enable the old F8 safe mode and last know good configuration.

No answer.

The correct answer is

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

Works on all windows 11 computers 10 and others.
Posted on Reply
#8
zmeul
bloat and even more bloat

why?!!? just fucking google it
Posted on Reply
#9
DaemonForce
It's the equivalent of a --help switch. It would have very limited purpose but good.
This would be ideal in a solo tree Server Core situation or any full development box.
Would be much preferred over the default error outs.


Yet these futuristic products are in a Win11 ecosystem which is a very heavy line in the sand.
My workstation and server deployments are all very much still Win10/2016/2019 only.
Someday I'll make the jump to 2022. Today is not that day (or week/month/year).
Posted on Reply
Dec 11th, 2024 20:28 EST change timezone

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