---
title: "Zsh"
category: "Terminal and shell"
tagline: "An interactive shell with strong completion and a large plugin ecosystem."
source: "pacman"
package: "zsh"
command: "zsh"
website: "https://www.zsh.org/"
code: "https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh"
---

## What it is

Zsh is a Unix shell, an alternative to Bash. It runs Bash-style commands and scripts, and adds smarter tab completion, spelling correction, shared history and a lot of options for customizing the prompt and key bindings. Frameworks such as Oh My Zsh build on it.

## Why it's here

- **Better completion.** Tab completes options and arguments for many commands, with menus.
- **Choice.** Some people prefer it to Bash, and macOS uses it by default.

## On CoreDesktop

Zsh is installed from pacman, but Bash stays your login shell, and CoreDesktop's shell setup (prompt, aliases, functions, zoxide and fzf key bindings) is written for Bash. Type `zsh` to try it. To make it your login shell, run `chsh -s /usr/bin/zsh`, then set up your own `~/.zshrc`.

`update` keeps Zsh current along with the rest of the pacman packages.