5 ms·

zsh is still crazy to me. I use bash for everything. I have no idea what I’m missing out on.

mindcrime 9mo ago
FWIW, I still use bash as well. Nothing against zsh per-se, it's just that I know bash, bash works, and there's no particular pain I experience using bash that will obviously be solved by switching. And when you factor in anticipated switching costs, I haven't found any compelling reason to spend any significant time on zsh so far. Maybe one day though.
paodealho 9mo ago
I've been using it for the last 6 or 7 years and I can only remember one specific feature I use a lot: "unset HISTFILE" to disable history when I need to run commands with passwords. Other than that, oh-my-zsh with git, systemd, and fzf plugins. Saves a lot of typing. The main selling point for me is how easy it is to setup.
- sigwinch 9mo ago
  Prefixing a space on that command will keep it out of history.
- danielscrubs 9mo ago
  Space before the command will have the same effect
- theK 9mo ago
  Just out of curiosity, what sort of typing do those plugins save in comparison to doing it in bash? Can you give some examples?
  - paodealho 9mo ago
    The git and systemd ones create several aliases for frequent commands: git commit -> gc git status --short -b -> gsb git checkout -> gco systemctl --user restart -> scu-restart Nothing that you couldn't come up with yourself, but I've been using for so long it has become a standard for me. The fzf plugin enables a fuzzy finder when you hit ctrl+r or ctrl+t. You need fzf installed.
- chuckadams 9mo ago
  I remember when I switched to zsh solely for SUNKEYBOARDHACK.
commandersaki 9mo ago
I don't think it is crazy, but I know and love the bash quirks. I've got permanent history setup thanks to Eli Bandersky [1] which I know zsh has a solution to already. But what annoys me with zsh is some of the ways it tab completes when navigating the filesystem, and not by default allowing comments on the command line, e.g. '# github api key blahblahblah', which I can then pull later using phgrep. Slight pain on a mac to get the latest version and use it as terminal shell, but it gets easier everytime I work on a fresh mac. [1]: https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2013/06/11/keeping-persistent-history-in-bash https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2013/06/11/keeping-persistent-...
mianos 9mo ago
If you want vi history editing like you are used to in bash for the last 20 years it's subtly different in a manner that makes it insanity inducing. If you use the traditional emacs like editing it's much the same.
- hyperadvanced 9mo ago
  Oh that’s good. I’m an emacs guy. I don’t like change.
theK 9mo ago
Yes, I'll throw my hat into this group too. Bash is fine. YMMV but I have found using zsh too frictitious to be helpful. Sure, theoretically zsh living in a bash world (lets face it, all scripts are bash) is completely fine but reality seems to differ. Copied a one liner from shell history into your script? Crash. Use arrays? Weird bugs. Use shell builtins? Whoa unexpected interactivity!!! Etc... Bash is absolutely fine as a default shell. As an added benefit, you don't feel like an invalid once logged in to a container or server.

FWIW, I still use bash as well. Nothing against zsh per-se, it's just that I know bash, bash works, and there's no particular pain I experience using bash that will obviously be solved by switching. And when you factor in anticipated switching costs, I haven't found any compelling reason to spend any significant time on zsh so far. Maybe one day though.

paodealho 9mo ago

I've been using it for the last 6 or 7 years and I can only remember one specific feature I use a lot: "unset HISTFILE" to disable history when I need to run commands with passwords. Other than that, oh-my-zsh with git, systemd, and fzf plugins. Saves a lot of typing. The main selling point for me is how easy it is to setup.

sigwinch 9mo ago
Prefixing a space on that command will keep it out of history.
danielscrubs 9mo ago
Space before the command will have the same effect
theK 9mo ago
Just out of curiosity, what sort of typing do those plugins save in comparison to doing it in bash? Can you give some examples?
- paodealho 9mo ago
  The git and systemd ones create several aliases for frequent commands: git commit -> gc git status --short -b -> gsb git checkout -> gco systemctl --user restart -> scu-restart Nothing that you couldn't come up with yourself, but I've been using for so long it has become a standard for me. The fzf plugin enables a fuzzy finder when you hit ctrl+r or ctrl+t. You need fzf installed.
chuckadams 9mo ago
I remember when I switched to zsh solely for SUNKEYBOARDHACK.

commandersaki 9mo ago

I don't think it is crazy, but I know and love the bash quirks. I've got permanent history setup thanks to Eli Bandersky [1] which I know zsh has a solution to already. But what annoys me with zsh is some of the ways it tab completes when navigating the filesystem, and not by default allowing comments on the command line, e.g. '# github api key blahblahblah', which I can then pull later using phgrep. Slight pain on a mac to get the latest version and use it as terminal shell, but it gets easier everytime I work on a fresh mac. [1]: https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2013/06/11/keeping-persistent-history-in-bash https://eli.thegreenplace.net/2013/06/11/keeping-persistent-...

mianos 9mo ago

If you want vi history editing like you are used to in bash for the last 20 years it's subtly different in a manner that makes it insanity inducing. If you use the traditional emacs like editing it's much the same.

hyperadvanced 9mo ago
Oh that’s good. I’m an emacs guy. I don’t like change.

theK 9mo ago

Yes, I'll throw my hat into this group too. Bash is fine. YMMV but I have found using zsh too frictitious to be helpful. Sure, theoretically zsh living in a bash world (lets face it, all scripts are bash) is completely fine but reality seems to differ. Copied a one liner from shell history into your script? Crash. Use arrays? Weird bugs. Use shell builtins? Whoa unexpected interactivity!!! Etc... Bash is absolutely fine as a default shell. As an added benefit, you don't feel like an invalid once logged in to a container or server.