"Ghost" windows appear on every launch when background run is enabled #19823
Description
Windows Terminal version
1.23.20211.0
Windows build number
10.0.19044.6809
Other Software
N/A
Steps to reproduce
- Open Windows Terminal Settings.
- Navigate to the "Startup" / "Compatibility" page (此页面在中文版中被标注为“兼容性” | This page is called "兼容性" in a Chinese version, but we don't know what it's called in an English version).
- Find and enable the option: "Allow Windows Terminal to run in the background” (中文选项为“允许在后台运行” | what is called "允许在后台运行" in a Chinese version, we also don't know what's the name in an English version).
- Completely close all Windows Terminal windows (so it's not in the taskbar).
- Launch Windows Terminal again (a normal, full startup).
- Observe the taskbar: one or two “ghost” window named "DesktopWindowXamlSource" entries will appear, which have no visible UI and cannot be interacted with. They will merge with the main terminal window's taskbar icon.
Expected Behavior
The option “Allow Windows Terminal to run in the background” should allow the terminal process to stay alive silently after closing all windows, to speed up the next launch. It should not create any visible or invisible lingering window entries on the taskbar. The user should be unaware of the background process until they open the terminal again.
Actual Behavior
Instead of running silently, enabling this option causes one or two invisible, non-interactive “ghost” windows to appear on the taskbar with every full launch of Windows Terminal. These windows have the class name "DesktopWindowXamlSource" (a Windows XAML UI framework host window). They serve no purpose to the user, clutter the taskbar, and defeat the intended “background” experience. The option essentially does not work as intended.