diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ed93e47ea6..3aec6716a2 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -772,7 +772,12 @@
         "powershell.integratedConsole.showOnStartup": {
           "type": "boolean",
           "default": true,
-          "description": "Shows the Extension Terminal when the PowerShell extension is initialized."
+          "description": "Shows the Extension Terminal when the PowerShell extension is initialized. When disabled, the pane is not opened on startup, but the Extension Terminal is still created in order to power the extension's features."
+        },
+        "powershell.integratedConsole.startInBackground": {
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "default": false,
+          "description": "Starts the Extension Terminal in the background. WARNING: If this is enabled, to access the terminal you must run the 'Show Extension Terminal' command, and once shown it cannot be put back into the background. This option completely hides the Extension Terminal from the terminals pane. You are probably looking for the 'showOnStartup' option instead."
         },
         "powershell.integratedConsole.focusConsoleOnExecute": {
           "type": "boolean",
diff --git a/src/process.ts b/src/process.ts
index 36437fca32..94623016d2 100644
--- a/src/process.ts
+++ b/src/process.ts
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ export class PowerShellProcess {
             cwd: this.sessionSettings.cwd,
             iconPath: new vscode.ThemeIcon("terminal-powershell"),
             isTransient: true,
+            hideFromUser: this.sessionSettings.integratedConsole.startInBackground,
         };
 
         this.consoleTerminal = vscode.window.createTerminal(terminalOptions);
@@ -119,7 +120,8 @@ export class PowerShellProcess {
         const pwshName = path.basename(this.exePath);
         this.log.write(`${pwshName} started.`);
 
-        if (this.sessionSettings.integratedConsole.showOnStartup) {
+        if (this.sessionSettings.integratedConsole.showOnStartup
+            && !this.sessionSettings.integratedConsole.startInBackground) {
             // We still need to run this to set the active terminal to the extension terminal.
             this.consoleTerminal.show(true);
         }
diff --git a/src/session.ts b/src/session.ts
index a5a6a98164..6db8de96ae 100644
--- a/src/session.ts
+++ b/src/session.ts
@@ -462,17 +462,12 @@ Type 'help' to get help.
 
         // Detect any setting changes that would affect the session
         if (!this.suppressRestartPrompt &&
-            (settings.cwd?.toLowerCase() !==
-                this.sessionSettings.cwd?.toLowerCase() ||
-                settings.powerShellDefaultVersion.toLowerCase() !==
-                this.sessionSettings.powerShellDefaultVersion.toLowerCase() ||
-            settings.developer.editorServicesLogLevel.toLowerCase() !==
-                this.sessionSettings.developer.editorServicesLogLevel.toLowerCase() ||
-            settings.developer.bundledModulesPath.toLowerCase() !==
-                this.sessionSettings.developer.bundledModulesPath.toLowerCase() ||
-            settings.integratedConsole.useLegacyReadLine !==
-                this.sessionSettings.integratedConsole.useLegacyReadLine)) {
-
+            (settings.cwd?.toLowerCase() !== this.sessionSettings.cwd?.toLowerCase()
+                || settings.powerShellDefaultVersion.toLowerCase() !== this.sessionSettings.powerShellDefaultVersion.toLowerCase()
+                || settings.developer.editorServicesLogLevel.toLowerCase() !== this.sessionSettings.developer.editorServicesLogLevel.toLowerCase()
+                || settings.developer.bundledModulesPath.toLowerCase() !== this.sessionSettings.developer.bundledModulesPath.toLowerCase()
+                || settings.integratedConsole.useLegacyReadLine !== this.sessionSettings.integratedConsole.useLegacyReadLine
+                || settings.integratedConsole.startInBackground !== this.sessionSettings.integratedConsole.startInBackground)) {
             const response: string = await vscode.window.showInformationMessage(
                 "The PowerShell runtime configuration has changed, would you like to start a new session?",
                 "Yes", "No");
diff --git a/src/settings.ts b/src/settings.ts
index 5d5c616e44..7225c3160d 100644
--- a/src/settings.ts
+++ b/src/settings.ts
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ export interface IStartAsLoginShellSettings {
 
 export interface IIntegratedConsoleSettings {
     showOnStartup?: boolean;
+    startInBackground?: boolean;
     focusConsoleOnExecute?: boolean;
     useLegacyReadLine?: boolean;
     forceClearScrollbackBuffer?: boolean;
@@ -196,6 +197,7 @@ export function load(): ISettings {
 
     const defaultIntegratedConsoleSettings: IIntegratedConsoleSettings = {
         showOnStartup: true,
+        startInBackground: false,
         focusConsoleOnExecute: true,
         useLegacyReadLine: false,
         forceClearScrollbackBuffer: false,