Other things:

zsh, colloquially known as the “Z shell,” is a souped-up version of the Bourne Shell (sh). Even without plugins, Zsh boasts of features missing in sh, such as:

  • direct directory access: no need to type cd; just enter the directory name.
  • advanced completion: for example, type kill java, hit tab, and Zsh will list all PIDs for Java processes.
  • shared command history: Enter a command in one terminal, and it’s available in the history of another.

However, the true strength of Zsh lies in its extensibility. 1

If you’re on Ubuntu or another Debian-based system, you can use apt:

# Install zsh
$ sudo apt install zsh

# Check if everything works fine
$ zsh --version
zsh 5.9 (x86_64-ubuntu-linux-gnu)

set Zsh as your default shell and reboot your system:

chsh -s $(which zsh)

ohmyzsh

Oh-My-Zsh is a renowned plugin framework for Zsh. Note: Oh-My-Zsh isn’t available via apt, so you’ll need to run the following commands:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.dh
sh install.sh

For peace of mind, you can visit GitHub to review the installation script before executing it. With everything set up, it’s time to explore the world of Zsh plugins! 1

  1. 5 Plugins to Amp Up Your ZSH Journey ↩ ↩2