The fact that it's JSON rather than a nice little window isn't the main issue. That's not great UI, but it's not the biggest pain point of the UX. For comparison, Sublime uses JSON settings too, but it doesn't require a PhD in Sublime Text to figure out what you can actually configure in that file. I seem to recall VSCode had JSON at some point for some things too (though not sure where it is now, I don't see it). It wasn't exactly fantastic, which I assume is why they've provided a better UI for the settings now, but it was usable. They actually described the options available to you right there. And of course they have their own benefits with regards to portability and shareability like you said. Those are all fine. The problem is Windows Terminal on the other hand seems to go out of its way to make your life hard for no reason, in a manner I have never seen another terminal emulator do. For the life of me I don't get what people like about it. It seems terrible on every axis I can measure on.