Starship terminal setup on Windows

This guide covers installing Starship on Windows, setting up Nerd Fonts, and integrating everything into Windows Terminal and VS Code with the OneDark theme.

Install a Nerd Font

Starship uses symbols that require a patched font. Install a Nerd Font of your choice (e.g. FiraCode Nerd Font or CaskaydiaCove Nerd Font):

  1. Download from nerdfonts.com
  2. Extract the archive, select all .ttf files, right-click β†’ Install for all users

Alternatively, use winget:

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winget install --id=Nerdfont.FiraCode -e

Or install via Chocolatey:

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choco install nerd-fonts-firacode

Install Starship

Install Starship via winget:

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winget install --id Starship.Starship

Or via Chocolatey:

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choco install starship

Install PowerShell 7+

This guide targets PowerShell 7+ (cross-platform, pwsh.exe), not the legacy Windows PowerShell 5.1. Install it via winget:

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winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell -e

After installation, pwsh should be available in your PATH. Verify with:

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pwsh --version

Configure your shell to use Starship

PowerShell 7+

Open your PowerShell 7 profile. Note that pwsh uses a separate profile path from Windows PowerShell 5.1:

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pwsh -Command "if (!(Test-Path $PROFILE)) { New-Item -Path $PROFILE -Type File -Force }; notepad $PROFILE"

Add the following line to the profile:

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Invoke-Expression (&starship init powershell)

CMD

For CMD integration, install Clink and add the following to a starship.lua file in your Clink scripts directory (clink info shows the path):

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load(io.popen('starship init cmd'):read("*a"))()

Starship configuration

Starship is configured via ~/.config/starship.toml. Create the file if it doesn’t exist:

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mkdir -Force ~/.config
New-Item -Path ~/.config/starship.toml -Type File

A minimal configuration to get started:

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# ~/.config/starship.toml

format = """
$directory\
$git_branch\
$git_status\
$dotnet\
$nodejs\
$python\
$docker_context\
$line_break\
$character"""

[character]
success_symbol = "[❯](bold green)"
error_symbol = "[❯](bold red)"

[directory]
truncation_length = 5
truncation_symbol = "…/"

[git_branch]
symbol = " "

[git_status]
format = '([\[$all_status$ahead_behind\]]($style) )'

Browse the full configuration options at starship.rs/config.

You can also use one of the bundled presets:

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starship preset nerd-font-symbols -o ~/.config/starship.toml

Windows Terminal – OneDark theme and Nerd Font

Open Windows Terminal settings (Ctrl+,) β†’ Open JSON file, and add the OneDark color scheme to the schemes array:

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{
    "name": "OneDark",
    "background": "#282C34",
    "foreground": "#ABB2BF",
    "cursorColor": "#528BFF",
    "selectionBackground": "#3E4451",
    "black": "#282C34",
    "red": "#E06C75",
    "green": "#98C379",
    "yellow": "#E5C07B",
    "blue": "#61AFEF",
    "purple": "#C678DD",
    "cyan": "#56B6C2",
    "white": "#ABB2BF",
    "brightBlack": "#5C6370",
    "brightRed": "#E06C75",
    "brightGreen": "#98C379",
    "brightYellow": "#E5C07B",
    "brightBlue": "#61AFEF",
    "brightPurple": "#C678DD",
    "brightCyan": "#56B6C2",
    "brightWhite": "#FFFFFF"
}

Then apply the scheme and Nerd Font to your profile in the profiles.defaults or a specific profile:

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{
    "defaults": {
        "colorScheme": "OneDark",
        "font": {
            "face": "FiraCode Nerd Font",
            "size": 11
        },
        "opacity": 95,
        "useAcrylic": false
    }
}

Make sure PowerShell 7 is set as the default profile in Windows Terminal. Under profiles.list, ensure the pwsh.exe entry exists (it is usually auto-detected). Then set it as default via defaultProfile in the JSON root:

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{
    "defaultProfile": "{GUID-of-PowerShell-7-profile}"
}

You can find the GUID in the profiles.list array for the entry named β€œPowerShell” with "source": "Windows.Terminal.PowershellCore". Alternatively, set this via the Terminal UI under Settings β†’ Startup β†’ Default profile.

VS Code – Starship integration with OneDark

Terminal font

In VS Code settings (Ctrl+,), configure the integrated terminal to use the Nerd Font. Add to your settings.json:

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{
    "terminal.integrated.fontFamily": "'FiraCode Nerd Font', monospace",
    "terminal.integrated.fontSize": 14
}

This ensures Starship glyphs render correctly in the VS Code terminal.

OneDark theme

Install the One Dark Pro extension from the marketplace:

  1. Open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
  2. Search for One Dark Pro
  3. Click Install
  4. Set it as active: Ctrl+K Ctrl+T β†’ select One Dark Pro

Terminal color scheme (OneDark)

To apply OneDark colors specifically to the integrated terminal, add to settings.json:

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{
    "workbench.colorCustomizations": {
        "terminal.background": "#282C34",
        "terminal.foreground": "#ABB2BF",
        "terminalCursor.foreground": "#528BFF",
        "terminal.ansiBlack": "#282C34",
        "terminal.ansiRed": "#E06C75",
        "terminal.ansiGreen": "#98C379",
        "terminal.ansiYellow": "#E5C07B",
        "terminal.ansiBlue": "#61AFEF",
        "terminal.ansiMagenta": "#C678DD",
        "terminal.ansiCyan": "#56B6C2",
        "terminal.ansiWhite": "#ABB2BF",
        "terminal.ansiBrightBlack": "#5C6370",
        "terminal.ansiBrightRed": "#E06C75",
        "terminal.ansiBrightGreen": "#98C379",
        "terminal.ansiBrightYellow": "#E5C07B",
        "terminal.ansiBrightBlue": "#61AFEF",
        "terminal.ansiBrightMagenta": "#C678DD",
        "terminal.ansiBrightCyan": "#56B6C2",
        "terminal.ansiBrightWhite": "#FFFFFF"
    }
}

Note: If you’re using the One Dark Pro theme, the terminal colors are already included. The above is useful if you want to override or use a different editor theme while keeping OneDark in the terminal.

Default shell

Ensure VS Code uses PowerShell 7 as the default terminal profile so Starship initializes correctly. The profile name for pwsh is "PowerShell" (not "Windows PowerShell", which refers to the legacy 5.1):

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{
    "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows": "PowerShell"
}

Verify the correct shell is used by running $PSVersionTable.PSVersion in the VS Code terminal β€” it should show version 7.x or higher.

OneDark Preset

A preset that I currently use is based on the pastel-powerline preset, but with the linebreak after the prompt like in tokyo-night. I fixed the format ending of the prompt, tho.

File: ~\.config\starship.toml

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"$schema" = 'https://starship.rs/config-schema.json'

command_timeout = 2000

format = """
[ξ‚Ά](#9A348E)\
$os\
$username\
[ξ‚°](bg:#DA627D fg:#9A348E)\
$directory\
[ξ‚°](fg:#DA627D bg:#FCA17D)\
$git_branch\
$git_status\
[ξ‚°](fg:#FCA17D bg:#86BBD8)\
$c\
$elixir\
$elm\
$golang\
$gradle\
$haskell\
$java\
$julia\
$nodejs\
$nim\
$rust\
$scala\
[ξ‚°](fg:#86BBD8 bg:#06969A)\
$docker_context\
[ξ‚°](fg:#06969A bg:#33658A)\
$time\
[ξ‚° ](fg:#33658A)\
$line_break\
$character\
"""

[character]
success_symbol = "[❯](bold #06969A)"
error_symbol = "[❯](bold red)"

# Disable the blank line at the start of the prompt
# add_newline = false

# You can also replace your username with a neat symbol like ο„   or disable this
# and use the os module below
[username]
show_always = true
style_user = "bg:#9A348E"
style_root = "bg:#9A348E"
format = '[$user ]($style)'
disabled = false

# An alternative to the username module which displays a symbol that
# represents the current operating system
[os]
style = "bg:#9A348E"
disabled = true # Disabled by default

[directory]
style = "bg:#DA627D"
format = "[ $path ]($style)"
truncation_length = 3
truncation_symbol = "…/"

# Here is how you can shorten some long paths by text replacement
# similar to mapped_locations in Oh My Posh:
[directory.substitutions]
"Documents" = "σ°ˆ™ "
"Downloads" = "ο€™ "
"Music" = " "
"Pictures" = "ο€Ύ "
# Keep in mind that the order matters. For example:
# "Important Documents" = " σ°ˆ™ο„ͺ "
# will not be replaced, because "Documents" was already substituted before.
# So either put "Important Documents" before "Documents" or use the substituted version:
# "Important σ°ˆ™ " = " σ°ˆ™ο„ͺ "

[c]
symbol = " "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[cpp]
symbol = " "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[docker_context]
symbol = " "
style = "bg:#06969A"
format = '[ $symbol $context ]($style)'

[elixir]
symbol = " "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[elm]
symbol = " "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[git_branch]
symbol = ""
style = "bg:#FCA17D"
format = '[ $symbol $branch ]($style)'

[git_status]
style = "bg:#FCA17D"
format = '[$all_status$ahead_behind ]($style)'

[golang]
symbol = " "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[gradle]
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[haskell]
symbol = " "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[java]
symbol = "ξ‰– "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[julia]
symbol = " "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[nodejs]
symbol = ""
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[nim]
symbol = "σ°†₯ "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[rust]
symbol = ""
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[scala]
symbol = " "
style = "bg:#86BBD8"
format = '[ $symbol ($version) ]($style)'

[time]
disabled = false
time_format = "%R" # Hour:Minute Format
style = "bg:#33658A"
format = '[ β™₯  $time ]($style)'

starship terminal)