When you would want it

Most work needs both an editor and a terminal, and switching windows between them adds up.

Where to find it

All Features → Built-in terminal
Open (command:terminal.toggle)

What you get out of it

Editor and shell share one window - alt-tabbing between them stops.
Real pty, real colors, real interactive programs - not a command box pretending.
AI agent tools started here are detected and can be connected to your project notes.

How to use it, step by step

Open the panel at the bottom of the window, or run Terminal: New from the command palette.
The shell starts already cd'd into your project folder.
Run commands as usual - build, test, git, package managers.
Split or add terminals as needed; each remembers its own state.
Switch between them from the terminal list on the panel's right.

Why this beats the usual way

A terminal that is genuinely integrated - pointed at your workspace, restorable with your session, and wired into Run and the debugger - versus an embedded afterthought. It is a full node-pty terminal, the same class of integration the heavyweight IDEs ship.

Find it in Universal Search

Built-in terminal · The workbench · shell · command line · console