Advice on ZSH

balanga · 2026-02-19T21:19:18+0000

I'm thinking of adopting zsh as my shell but there seems to be so much to it that I don't know where to start.

I believe I need to install ohmyzsh and there seem to be hundreds of plugins. Are any of them specific to FreeBSD? And what would anyone recommend?

Is there a recommended guide on YouTube for a new user?

cracauer@ · 2026-02-19T21:22:04+0000

Don't start with extra plugins. None are needed for running on FreeBSD. The pkg should be just fine.

JohnK · 2026-02-19T21:22:55+0000

You don't need ohmyzsh. Just install and edit ~/.zshrc. Should be very similar to ~/.bashrc.

skhal · 2026-02-19T21:29:24+0000

start with ZSH, pure install, no plugins. Add plugins one by one once you become comfortable with it.

balanga · 2026-02-19T21:43:57+0000

JohnK said:
You don't need ohmyzsh. Just install and edit ~/.zshrc. Should be very similar to ~/.bashrc.

I don't use bash

mer · 2026-02-19T21:52:15+0000

balanga said:
I don't use bash

I think what JohnK meant/implied is "syntax in a .zshrc is similar to .bashrc syntax". VARIABLE = value ; export $VARIABLE instead of csh/tcsh "setenv VARIABLE value".

Others may not care enough to ask but your OP states "... I'm thinking about adoptin zsh as my shell..." which leads me to ask:
What are you using now?
What benefits to you expect from using zsh over what you are currently using?

It's perfectly fine to say "I just want to use it because it's new and shiny" but to me, like a new programming language, I need to have at least one or two defined benefits from switching.

JohnK · 2026-02-19T21:53:40+0000

balanga said:
I don't use bash

Oh my mistake. I apologize. ...Then if you do manually setup your .zshrc file and run across a "bash function" on the internet "to do X" (in lieu of a huge plugin system like OhMyZsh) then please do NOT copy it into .zshrc instead of a .bashrc (just do EXACTLY as the article/tutorial suggests).

JohnK · 2026-02-19T21:55:31+0000

mer said:
I think what JohnK meant/implied is "syntax in a .zshrc is similar to .bashrc syntax". VARIABLE = value ; export $VARIABLE instead of csh/tcsh "setenv VARIABLE value".

Others may not care enough to ask but your OP states "... I'm thinking about adoptin zsh as my shell..." which leads me to ask:
What are you using now?
What benefits to you expect from using zsh over what you are currently using?

It's perfectly fine to say "I just want to use it because it's new and shiny" but to me, like a new programming language, I need to have at least one or two defined benefits from switching.

bingo! mer got it in one.

mer · 2026-02-19T21:59:36+0000

JohnK said:
bingo! mer got it in one.

And I am a commited tcsh user for my interactive shells. stock sh for scripting except where some bashisms make it cleaner at the expense of portability.

JohnK · 2026-02-19T22:04:59+0000

I switched to zsh (on my mac) when bashbug (whenever that was) came to light. On my servers (freebsd) I use tcsh too (and of course sh for scripts).

I've been sort of itching to get back into OpenBSD and I believe it's shell is ksh now.

Eric A. Borisch · 2026-02-19T22:06:00+0000

Depending on what you’re looking for, and if you are already learning something new, you might consider shells/fish.