Useful ZSH Plugins

Using the terminal today is almost essential, especially if you want to be fast and efficient when it comes to using your computer and executing commands. Wherever possible, I like to keep my tooling simple and effective so I can focus on the task at hand.

My current shell of choice is ZSH (specifically; oh-my-zsh), which is highly customizable and extensible. There are many plugins available that can enhance your ZSH experience and boost your productivity and here are some useful ZSH plugins that I find help maximize my terminal experience for not a lot of effort.

I am aware there are many other shells and plugins and would really like to try something like Fish, but I’m too busy with other priorities right now. With that out the way, here are some of my favorite ZSH plugins that I believe offer a lot of value for minimal amount of effort and configuration.

Git

Comes by default with oh-my-zsh, it’s a really great default! This plugin provides a set of aliases and functions for working with Git. It simplifies many common Git commands and makes it easier to work with Git repositories directly from the terminal. For example, instead of typing git status, you can simply type gst. Here are some other examples of the aliases provided by the Git plugin:

# Examples!
gst # git status
gaa # git add all
gc -m "foo!" # git commit with message

Like many tools I often find a good way to learn is to need it. What I mean by this is if you are aware of a tool, install it and try some of the “porcelain” commands like gst, ga, gc, etc. and then try to expand on the commands as and when you need them. Initially this will absolutely slow you down, but it’s a compound investment that means you’ll get that time back and learn more about the tool. Sure, it’s possibly a slower way to use it in order to learn it, but I find I get more out of it and learn better when I actually need something, rather than reading the docs and trying to remember and recall everything. I’ve wasted many hours in the past reading all the commands etc only to need to go look them up again once I’ve come to need it, so save that initial effort and use the high level stuff and look the others up as you need to.

You can also find a full list of aliases in the oh-my-zsh Git Cheat Sheet.

ZSH Autosuggestions

ZSH Autosuggestions does what it says on the tin. It suggests commands as you type based on your command history and completions. This can significantly speed up your workflow by reducing the amount of typing you need to do!

To complete, simply press the right arrow key to accept the suggestion, or continue typing to ignore it.

ZSH Syntax Highlighting

ZSH Syntax Highlighting provides syntax highlighting for your command line input, making it easier to spot errors and understand the structure of your commands. It highlights commands as you type, which can help you catch mistakes before you run them.

For example, if you type a valid command, it will be highlighted in green, while an invalid command will be highlighted in red. This visual feedback can help you avoid common mistakes and improve your command line experience.

Atuin

Atuin