zsh

zsh

All files are located in the dots directory.

.zshenv sets environment variables, including $ZDOTDIR, to XDG_CONFIG_DIR/zsh (i.e. ~/.config/zsh). The conf directory is symlinked to that.

Applications and plugins

I was using Oh My Zsh for a long time, but realized I was only using, like, 1% of its capabilities, and it was slowing down my shell quite a bit. Rather than trying to make it work for me, I decided to just rip it out and replace the few things I used it for with either hand-rolled zsh or very specific plugins.

• Prompt: Starship
• NodeJS management: volta
• PHP management: phpenv
• Python management: pyenv
• Ruby management: rbenv
• Caching: smartcache (similar to evalcache, but it automatically updates caches for you)
• Completion: Copied straight from here. Don't need to fix what isn't broken.
• Plugin management: totally manual! I simply clone the repos and source them. Setup scripts are here.

TODO

• More plugin setup scripts, including Starship.
• I've had to put more in .zshrc than I'd like, such as pyenv and volta. Simplify and put more back into .zshenv where possible.

Sourcing order

Definitions:

• Interactive: As the term implies: Interactive means that the commands are run with user-interaction from keyboard. E.g. the shell can prompt the user to enter input.
• Non-interactive: the shell is probably run from an automated process so it can't assume it can request input or that someone will see the output. E.g., maybe it is best to write output to a log file.
• Login: Means that the shell is run as part of the login of the user to the system. Typically used to do any configuration that a user needs/wants to establish his work environment.
• Non-login: Any other shell run by the user after logging on, or which is run by any automated process which is not coupled to a logged in user.

zsh files are sourced in the following order:

interactive login shell

This is a standard terminal or ssh session.

1. .zshenv
2. .zprofile
3. .zshrc
4. .zlogin
5. .zlogout (on logout)

non-interactive login shell

This is any process called by an already-logged-in user that does not and cannot take interactive input from the keyboard, e.g. a script.

1. .zshenv
2. .zprofile
3. .zlogin
4. .zlogout (on logout)

Note that .zshrc is not sourced in this context! Anything that must be accessible via a login script must not rely on anything setup in .zshrc!

interactive non-login shell

This like an interactive login shell, except that it's a shell session subsequently called by an already-logged-in user, e.g. after re-sourcing your zsh.

1. .zshenv
2. .zshrc

Note that .zprofile, .zlogin, and .zlogout are not sourced in this context!

non-interactive non-login shell

This is a subsequent shell context from an already-logged-in shell, e.g. a subshell in a script.

1. .zshenv

Note that .zshrc, .zprofile, .zlogin, and .zlogout are not sourced in this context!

conclusions

Put most configuration in .zshenv. This way, all contexts will use what is defined there in all contexts.

.zprofile and .zlogin are both specifically for login shells -- the only difference is the order in which they're sourced. .zprofile is sourced before .zshrc, and .zlogin is sourced after. .zlogin is therefore pretty rarely utilized.

.zshrc is only for interactive shells. Place here only what you need for interactivity. If that seems like a small context, it is! .zshrc is far too overused -- nearly all use-cases should be placed in .zshenv, or perhaps .zprofile. .zshrc is best utilized for aliases and zsh functions (which I specifically use only for interactive shell use and/or bound to an alias; all other scripts are bash, not zsh, and live in their own repo(s)).

.zlogout is far and away the least used.

Misc notes

Window manager should be specified in/launched from .zprofile (if tty)