microsoft/Terminal

Dragging window in F11 Fullscreen makes it movable but fails to exit Fullscreen state (Controls remain hidden)

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#19,800 opened on Jan 27, 2026

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Help WantedImpact-VisualIssue-BugPriority-3Product-Terminal

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Description

Windows Terminal version

1.23.20211.0

Windows build number

10.0.26200.7628

Other Software

No response

Steps to reproduce

  1. Set "showTabsFullscreen": true in settings.json.
  2. Press F11 to enter Fullscreen mode.
  3. Click and drag the tab strip/title bar.

Expected Behavior

Standard Windows behavior suggests that dragging a snapped or fullscreen window should trigger a "Restore" event, exiting Fullscreen mode, resizing the window to its previous dimensions, and showing the window controls. (Alternatively: If Fullscreen is intended to be locked, the window should not be draggable at all).

Actual Behavior

  1. The window detaches and follows the mouse (is draggable).
  2. State persists: The app logic remains in "Fullscreen" mode.
  3. UI broken: The window does not resize to its "Restored" dimensions, and the caption buttons remain hidden.
  4. Recovery: Pressing F11 again is required to properly exit this state and restore standard window controls.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ba18b83d-5277-44e2-80e2-0a3e298b67a6

Contributor guide

Research direction
Investigate how the Fullscreen state flag interacts with window dragging. Look for the code that handles the WM NCLBUTTONDOWN or similar message that initiates dragging, and determine if the fullscreen state should be exited when dragging starts.
Tech stack
cpp
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
Half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
C++Windows API
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
30