Microsoft Intelligent Terminal 0.3 Adds Headless Mode to Keep AI Agent Tasks Running

Microsoft has released Intelligent Terminal 0.3, an experimental standalone terminal based on Windows Terminal. The update introduces Headless Mode to prevent long-running tasks from terminating when windows close. By enabling this mode via right-click on a tab, processes in that tab and its panes continue running after window closure and can be restored from the Windows system tray; Microsoft notes this preserves active processes but does not survive system reboots or complete app exits. Version 0.3 defaults to a vertical sidebar consolidating tabs, panes, and AI agent sessions, displaying states like active execution, awaiting user input, or requiring tool approval, alongside Git repository and directory details. The release also adds session search, automatically detects installed AI agent CLIs (such as GitHub Copilot CLI and Claude) to generate profiles, and improves the Agent Pane with Markdown formatting.

Key takeaways

• Introduces Headless Mode to keep active processes running after closing windows, allowing recovery via the system tray, though it does not persist across reboots.
• Defaults to a vertical sidebar consolidating terminal tabs and AI agent states (e.g., awaiting input or tool approval), integrated with Git status.
• Adds session management and search filtering to locate running agents across windows or restore prior sessions where supported.
• Automatically detects installed AI agent CLIs (including GitHub Copilot CLI, Claude, and Gemini) to generate launch profiles and refines the Agent Pane.