I have a powershell script that opens several powershell terminals and cd's into different directories and runs the applications in those directories:

start powershell @'
    $host.ui.RawUI.WindowTitle = \"application 1\"
    cd application1\backend
    npm install
    npm run build
    npm run start
'@

start powershell @'
    $host.ui.RawUI.WindowTitle = \"application 2\"
    cd application2\backend
    npm install
    npm run build
    npm run start
'@

start powershell @'
    $host.ui.RawUI.WindowTitle = \"application 3\"
    cd application3\backend
    npm install
    npm run build
    npm run start
'@

As you can see, the first thing I do for each terminal is set the title. However, the title gets replaced with each subsequent command. For example, for application1, I see "application 1" as the title but then "npm install" and then "npm run build" and then "npm run start".

How do I set the title so that it sticks? That is, I don't want the title changing to each subsequent command after setting it.

Note... I tried this:

start powershell @'
    cd application1\backend
    npm install
    npm run build
    npm run start
    $host.ui.RawUI.WindowTitle = \"application 1\"
'@

...hoping the title would stick since it would be the last command to run, but the terminal stays on npm run start because the application doesn't quit until I hit ctrl-c.

Is there another way to accomplish what I'm trying to do?

Thanks!

I have a powershell script that opens several powershell terminals and cd's into different directories and runs the applications in those directories:

start powershell @'
    $host.ui.RawUI.WindowTitle = \"application 1\"
    cd application1\backend
    npm install
    npm run build
    npm run start
'@

start powershell @'
    $host.ui.RawUI.WindowTitle = \"application 2\"
    cd application2\backend
    npm install
    npm run build
    npm run start
'@

start powershell @'
    $host.ui.RawUI.WindowTitle = \"application 3\"
    cd application3\backend
    npm install
    npm run build
    npm run start
'@

As you can see, the first thing I do for each terminal is set the title. However, the title gets replaced with each subsequent command. For example, for application1, I see "application 1" as the title but then "npm install" and then "npm run build" and then "npm run start".

How do I set the title so that it sticks? That is, I don't want the title changing to each subsequent command after setting it.

Note... I tried this:

start powershell @'
    cd application1\backend
    npm install
    npm run build
    npm run start
    $host.ui.RawUI.WindowTitle = \"application 1\"
'@

...hoping the title would stick since it would be the last command to run, but the terminal stays on npm run start because the application doesn't quit until I hit ctrl-c.

Is there another way to accomplish what I'm trying to do?

Thanks!

• powershell
• terminal
• scripting

• 1 npm is changing the title. You need to look into preventing that. You could also try calling npm in a separate process. – Doug Maurer Commented Nov 20, 2024 at 20:33
• Alternatively, you could define a Prompt function. This would allow npm or other commands to change the title, but should set it back once done (untested) - about_Prompts – G42 Commented Nov 22, 2024 at 17:57
• 1 @G42, I'm not sure what the prompt function has to do with npm setting the title. And I need the title set WHILE npm is running (because it shouldn't stop unless the application stops). – Gibran Shah Commented Nov 26, 2024 at 4:26
• @GibranShah Glad to see you found an answer. The prompt function runs each time a command ends and the terminal returns to the prompt, hence it would re-set your title AFTER each command. Seeing as you need the title set WHILE npm is running, I agree this isn't a good solution here. – G42 Commented Nov 26, 2024 at 14:17
• @G42, note that in the case of npm even the restoring-afterward problem doesn't need solving, because the original title is automatically restored when npm exits. – mklement0 Commented Nov 26, 2024 at 14:41

2 Answers 2

The trick is that I have to set the title in the application, not from the command line or the script. I had to add the line process.title = 'application 1'; to the application code.

To provide some background and offer an alternative to your own solution:

• npm temporarily changes the terminal title while it runs to its invocation command line, e.g., npm run test; that is, it automatically reverts to the previous title when it exits.

• Short of configuring your terminal to disallow title changes altogether (see this answer for how do to that in Windows Terminal), this cannot be avoided, but you can override the title from within the code being invoked by npm run:

  • If what is being invoked is (ultimately) Node.js JavaScript code that is under your control, you can set process.title to the title of interest, as shown in your own answer.

  • Otherwise or if you'd rather not modify your application, your only option is to modify the "scripts" keys in your package.json file to prepend a shell-appropriate title-change command to the existing shell command lines - see below.

Sample "start" property in the "scripts" property of a package.json file, building on the approach in this answer:

• In this example, the shell-specific title-changing code, which sets the title to Custom Title, is followed by printing a message telling the user that the title was set, and waiting for the user to press Enter.
  In the real world, the title-changing code would be followed by the original command line for the "scripts" entry at hand.

• After inserting the shell-appropriate "start" line from below into a given project's package.json, invoking npm run start from that project's directory should exhibit the behavior described.

  • The custom terminal title should display until the user presses Enter.

Using cmd.exe as the shell (which is npm's default on Windows):

  "scripts": {
    "start": "title Custom^ Title & echo Custom terminal title is now set, will revert on exit. & pause"
    // ...
  },    

Using powershell.exe; this assumes you've configured it as npm's shell, via npm config set script-shell powershell; or, if you've installed PowerShell (Core) 7, via npm config set script-shell pwsh, which also works in Unix-like environments:

  "scripts": {
    "start": "[Console]::Title='Custom Title'; 'Custom terminal title is now set, will revert on exit.'; pause"
    // ...
  },

Using a POSIX-like shell (/bin/sh is npm's default in Unix-like environments):

"scripts": {
    "start": "printf '\\033]0;Custom Title\\a'; echo 'Custom terminal title is now set, will revert on exit.'; printf 'Press ENTER to exit:'; read"
    // ...
},