Prezto — Instantly Awesome Zsh

Prezto is the configuration framework for Zsh; it enriches the command line interface environment with sane defaults, aliases, functions, auto completion, and prompt themes.

Installation

Prezto will work with any recent release of Zsh, but the minimum required version is 4.3.11.

1. Launch Zsh:

   zsh
   

2. Clone the repository:

   git clone --recursive https://git.julia.network/julia/prezto.git "${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zprezto"
   

   Optional: Installing in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME

   Optionally, if you already have $XDG_CONFIG_HOME configured (usually as $HOME/.config by default) and intend to install Prezto under $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/zsh instead, you can clone the repository there and configure $ZDOTDIR separately if not already configured.

   • Clone the repository:

     git clone --recursive https://github.com/sorin-ionescu/prezto.git "${ZDOTDIR:-${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/zsh}/.zprezto"
     

   • Configure $XDG_CONFIG_HOME and $ZDOTDIR in $HOME/.zshenv:

     export XDG_CONFIG_HOME="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:=$HOME/.config}"
     export ZDOTDIR="${ZDOTDIR:=$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/zsh}"
     source "$ZDOTDIR/.zshenv"
     

3. Create a new Zsh configuration by copying/linking the Zsh configuration files provided:

   setopt EXTENDED_GLOB
   for rcfile in "${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}"/.zprezto/runcoms/^README.md(.N); do
     ln -s "$rcfile" "${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.${rcfile:t}"
   done
   

   Note: If you already have any of the given configuration files, ln in the above operation will cause an error. In simple cases, you can load Prezto by adding the line source "${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zprezto/init.zsh" to the bottom of your ${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zshrc and keep the rest of your Zsh configuration intact. For more complicated setups, we recommend that you back up your original configs and replace them with the provided Prezto runcoms.

4. Set Zsh as your default shell:

   chsh -s /bin/zsh
   

5. Open a new Zsh terminal window or tab.

Troubleshooting

If you are not able to find certain commands after switching to Prezto, modify the PATH variable in ${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zprofile then open a new Zsh terminal window or tab.

Updating

Run zprezto-update to automatically check if there is an update to Prezto. If there are no file conflicts, Prezto and its submodules will be automatically updated. If there are conflicts you will be instructed to go into the $ZPREZTODIR directory and resolve them yourself.

To pull the latest changes and update submodules manually:

cd $ZPREZTODIR
git pull
git submodule sync --recursive
git submodule update --init --recursive

Usage

Prezto has many features disabled by default. Read the source code and the accompanying README files to learn about what is available.

Modules

1. Browse modules to see what is available.
2. Load the modules you need in ${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zpreztorc and then open a new Zsh terminal window or tab.

Themes

1. For a list of themes, type prompt -l.

2. To preview a theme, type prompt -p name.

3. Load the theme you like in ${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zpreztorc and then open a new Zsh terminal window or tab.

   Note that the git module may be required for special symbols to appear, such as those on the right of the above image. Add 'git' to the pmodule list (under zstyle ':prezto:load' pmodule \ in your ${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zpreztorc) to enable this module.

External Modules

1. By default modules will be loaded from /modules and /contrib.

2. Additional module directories can be added to the :prezto:load:pmodule-dirs setting in ${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zpreztorc.

   Note that module names need to be unique or they will cause an error when loading.

   zstyle ':prezto:load' pmodule-dirs $HOME/.zprezto-contrib
   

Customization

The project is managed via Git. We highly recommend that you fork this project so that you can commit your changes and push them to your fork on GitHub to preserve them. If you do not know how to use Git, follow this tutorial and bookmark this reference.

Resources

The Zsh Reference Card and the zsh-lovers man page are indispensable.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.