zsh config guide

Installation

sudo apt install zsh

Activate:

zsh

You will see this message:

This is the Z Shell configuration function for new users,
zsh-newuser-install.
You are seeing this message because you have no zsh startup files
(the files .zshenv, .zprofile, .zshrc, .zlogin in the directory
~).  This function can help you with a few settings that should
make your use of the shell easier.

You can:

(q)  Quit and do nothing.  The function will be run again next time.

(0)  Exit, creating the file ~/.zshrc containing just a comment.
     That will prevent this function being run again.

(1)  Continue to the main menu.

(2)  Populate your ~/.zshrc with the configuration recommended
     by the system administrator and exit (you will need to edit
     the file by hand, if so desired).

--- Type one of the keys in parentheses ---

Press 1 to continue to the main menu:

Please pick one of the following options:

(1)  Configure settings for history, i.e. command lines remembered
     and saved by the shell.  (Recommended.)

(2)  Configure the new completion system.  (Recommended.)

(3)  Configure how keys behave when editing command lines.  (Recommended.)

(4)  Pick some of the more common shell options.  These are simple "on"
     or "off" switches controlling the shell's features.  

(0)  Exit, creating a blank ~/.zshrc file.

(a)  Abort all settings and start from scratch.  Note this will overwrite
     any settings from zsh-newuser-install already in the startup file.
     It will not alter any of your other settings, however.

(q)  Quit and do nothing else.  The function will be run again next time.
--- Type one of the keys in parentheses ---

Configure (1) and (2), then press 0 to save and exit. You will see the following message and be taken to the prompt:

The function will not be run in future, but you can run
it yourself as follows:
  autoload -Uz zsh-newuser-install
  zsh-newuser-install -f

The code added to ~/.zshrc is marked by the lines
# Lines configured by zsh-newuser-install
# End of lines configured by zsh-newuser-install
You should not edit anything between these lines if you intend to
run zsh-newuser-install again.  You may, however, edit any other part
of the file.

Change default shell to zsh:

chsh -s $(which zsh)

Restart the terminal and check the default shell has been changed:

echo $SHELL

Install Oh My Zsh

Download the installation script:

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

Run the script:

chmod +x ./install.sh
./install.sh

Adjust .zshrc to your likings. For example, you can uncomment the following two lines:

# DISABLE_AUTO_TITLE="true"
...
# COMPLETION_WAITING_DOTS="true"

Reload the zsh config:

source ~/.zshrc

Switch to the agnoster theme

Open .zshrc:

nano ~/.zshrc

Locate the ZSH_THEME variable:

ZSH_THEME="robbyrussell"

Change it to agnoster and save:

ZSH_THEME="agnoster"

(Optional) disable git branch information for agnoster

Start by opening the agnoster config file:

nano ~/.oh-my-zsh/themes/agnoster.zsh-theme

Comment out the prompt_git line inside the function build_prompt() {...}, then save and exit:

# prompt_git

Reload the zsh config:

source ~/.zshrc

Install the Powerline fonts:

sudo apt install fonts-powerline

Update the font cache:

sudo fc-cache -vf

In the terminal preferences, change the dark blue color of the palette to #68A4F1 for more visible blue.

Plugins

Recommended plugins that works out-of-the-box with Oh My Zsh

timer: displays command’s execution time

Recommended plugins that need to be installed

Install zsh-autosuggestions for autosuggestions:

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions

Install zsh-syntax-highlighting for syntax highlighting:

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

Check the installed plugins:

cd $ZSH_CUSTOM/plugins
ls

Enable the plugins

Start by opening .zshrc:

nano ~/.zshrc

Locate the plugins variable:

plugins=(git)

Append the plugins to enable them. The plugins are space-separated inside the brackets.

plugins=(git timer zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting)

Save, exit, and reload the zsh config:

source ~/.zshrc

Reference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNP_ULriGN4

https://ohmyz.sh/

https://github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/wiki/Themes

https://github.com/agnoster/agnoster-zsh-theme

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/48535475/hiding-git-branch-information-in-oh-my-zsh

https://github.com/powerline/fonts

https://powerline.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation/linux.html#fonts-installation

https://gabrieltanner.org/blog/customizing-terminal-using-ohmyzsh/

https://github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/wiki/Plugins

Appendix A: Tips for using zsh-autosuggestions

Shortcuts

To accept the entire suggestion, press Right Arrow.

To accept the next word, press Ctrl + Right Arrow.

Style

The ZSH_AUTOSUGGEST_HIGHLIGHT_STYLE variable controls the style of the autosuggestions. The default value is fg=8.

To make the autosuggestions more visible, append the following to .zshrc to set the foreground color to 7:

# zsh-autosuggestions
ZSH_AUTOSUGGEST_HIGHLIGHT_STYLE="fg=7"

To choose from more colors, check the color chart at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Xterm_256color_chart.svg.

Save, exit, and reload the zsh config:

source ~/.zshrc

Appendix B: integrate existing conda into zsh

Switch to bash:

bash

Perform a dry run of conda init to check what will be modified:

conda init zsh -d

If satisfied, remove the -d flag and run again:

conda init zsh

Restart the terminal to take effect.