Zsh setup with Oh My Zsh

June 11, 20263 min read

zsh
terminal

My terminal setup from scratch on a fresh macOS machine. It takes about 15 minutes and makes the shell a pleasure to use.

The stack

Zsh: default shell on macOS since Catalina
Oh My Zsh: plugin framework (manages plugins, themes, updates)
Powerlevel10k: fast, configurable prompt theme with instant prompt
Modern CLI replacements: bat, lsd, ripgrep, delta, zoxide, fzf

Step 1: Oh My Zsh

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

This creates ~/.zshrc with sensible defaults. Everything below goes into that file.

Step 2: Powerlevel10k

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git \
  ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k

Set the theme in ~/.zshrc:

ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k"

On next shell start, P10k runs its configuration wizard. Pick what you like. You can re-run it anytime with p10k configure.

The instant prompt is what makes the shell feel fast. It renders the prompt immediately while the rest of .zshrc is still loading:

# This goes at the very top of .zshrc
if [[ -r "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh" ]]; then
  source "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh"
fi

Step 3: Plugins

Install the external plugins first (not bundled with Oh My Zsh):

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions \
  ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting \
  ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-completions \
  ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-completions

Then add everything to ~/.zshrc:

plugins=(
    # External (installed above)
    zsh-autosuggestions          # Fish-like suggestions from history
    zsh-syntax-highlighting      # Colors valid/invalid commands as you type
    zsh-completions              # Additional completion definitions
    zsh-interactive-cd           # Tab completion for cd with fzf

    # Bundled with Oh My Zsh
    aliases                      # `als` to search aliases
    aws                          # AWS CLI completions
    brew                         # Homebrew completions
    docker                       # Docker completions
    fzf                          # Fuzzy finder integration
    git                          # Git aliases (gst, gco, gp, etc.)
    helm                         # Helm completions
    kubectl                      # kubectl completions + aliases
    kubectx                      # kubectx/kubens completions
    macos                        # macOS utilities (ofd, pfd, etc.)
    pip                          # pip completions
    python                       # Python aliases
    urltools                     # urlencode/urldecode
    web-search                   # `google "search term"` from terminal
)

Pick what’s relevant to your stack, and skip plugins for tools you don’t use. Each plugin adds to startup time.

Step 4: Modern CLI replacements

brew install bat lsd ripgrep git-delta zoxide fzf

Add aliases to ~/.zshrc:

alias cat=bat       # Syntax-highlighted file viewer
alias ls=lsd        # Colorful ls with icons and tree view
alias grep=rg       # Faster grep with sane defaults

Initialize zoxide (at the end of .zshrc):

eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"

Now z replaces cd. It learns your most-used directories and fuzzy-matches:

z work        # jumps to ~/workspace (or wherever you go most)
z dot         # jumps to ~/dotfiles

Step 5: Quality of life

A few settings I find essential:

ENABLE_CORRECTION="true"           # Suggest corrections for typos
COMPLETION_WAITING_DOTS="true"     # Show dots while waiting for completion

bindkey -e                         # Emacs key bindings
bindkey '\e\e[C' forward-word      # Option+Right to jump words
bindkey '\e\e[D' backward-word     # Option+Left to jump words

The result

A shell that:

Opens in ~140ms (see Shell startup: from 5s to 140ms for how)
Suggests commands as you type (from history)
Colors valid/invalid commands in real-time
Shows a rich prompt with git status, Python venv, and cloud context
Fuzzy-finds files, directories, and history with fzf
Remembers where you go and jumps there with z

The full config is in zsh/.zshrc.

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