Zsh

Zsh is the default shell on macOS. It is highly customizable and compatible with Bash.

When to Use

• macOS: It’s the default.
• Customization: The plugin ecosystem (omz, zinit) is massive.
• Compatibility: Runs most Bash scripts unmodified.

Core Concepts

Oh My Zsh (OMZ)

The community framework. 300+ plugins. plugins=(git docker kubectl)

Globbing

Zsh has powerful wildcard matching. ls **/*.js (Recursive).

Themes

Powerlevel10k is the gold standard for performance and information density.

Best Practices (2025)

Do:

• Use a Fast Plugin Manager: antidote or sheldon are faster than OMZ’s built-in loader.
• Enable Autosuggestions: The zsh-autosuggestions plugin brings Fish-like behavior to Zsh.
• Use Syntax Highlighting: zsh-syntax-highlighting.

Don’t:

• Don’t over-clutter prompt: A prompt that takes 200ms to render makes the terminal feel sluggish.

References

• Zsh Documentation