Document session restore interaction with command-line arguments

[Copilot]

When firstWindowPreference: "persistedWindowLayout" is enabled, running wt nt -p <profile> opens two windows: one restoring the previous session and one executing the command. This behavior was undocumented.

Changes

• Added IMPORTANT callout in command-line syntax section explaining the dual-window behavior and referencing --window option for control
• Added new section "Session restore and command line arguments" with three workarounds:
  • wt -w 0 nt -p <profile> - Opens in most recently used window (avoids second window)
  • wt -w -1 nt -p <profile> - Forces new window without session restore
  • wt -w <name> nt -p <profile> - Opens in named window
• Included shell-specific examples for Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Linux/WSL

Example

// Without -w flag: opens TWO windows (restored session + new command)
wt nt -p "Ubuntu-18.04"

// With -w 0: opens ONE window (new tab in existing window)
wt -w 0 nt -p "Ubuntu-18.04"

Original prompt

---

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Feedback: wt nt -p opens two windows</issue_title>
<issue_description>### Type of issue

Other (describe below)

Feedback

Currently, if "Startup / When Terminal starts = Open windows from a previous session" option is set, then a command like wt nt -p <profile> will open two windows. The documentation should add instructions to disable this feature when starting Windows Terminal from the command line, or add a switch to disable session restore.

Page URL

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/terminal/command-line-arguments?tabs=windows

Content source URL

https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/terminal/blob/main/TerminalDocs/command-line-arguments.md

Author

@nguyen-dows

Document Id

0d5d0fe3-01ef-66e8-263d-a0a7852ffa7a</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes Feedback: wt nt -p <profile> opens two windows #835

---

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