Zsh (Z Shell)

Description #

Zsh is an extended Unix shell built on top of sh (the Bourne Shell) with powerful scripting features, improved usability, and extensive customization options. It is widely loved by developers for its smart autocompletion, shared history, plugin support, and seamless themes — especially when combined with tools like Oh My Zsh.

History #

Zsh was created by Paul Falstad in 1990 as a shell that combined features of bash, ksh, and tcsh. It aimed to be both interactive and programmable, making it ideal for day-to-day terminal work and automation. Over time, it became the default shell for macOS as of Catalina (2019).

Key milestones:

• Introduced in 1990 as a feature-rich alternative to Bash
• Gained popularity via Oh My Zsh plugin framework
• Became default shell on macOS Catalina (2019+)
• Known for speed, flexibility, and developer-centric design

Hello World Code #

echo "Hello, World!"

How to Run #

On any system with Zsh: #

1. Open terminal and run:

zsh

Then type:

echo "Hello, World!"

Make it a script: #

1. Save to a file: hello.zsh
2. Add execution permission:

chmod +x hello.zsh

3. Run it:

./hello.zsh

Key Concepts #

• echo — prints text to terminal
• Interactive and scripting capabilities
• Auto-suggestions and command history
• Globbing (advanced filename matching)
• Plugin and theme support via Oh My Zsh
• Shared history between sessions
• Enhanced cd, ls, and tab-completion features
• Supports conditional logic and loops
• Works with bash scripts with minor adjustments
• Highly customizable .zshrc config file

Try It Online #

🔗 Zsh Online via Jupyter Terminal (binder)
🔗 TIO.run – Bash/Zsh-compatible

Fun Facts #

• The “Z” in Zsh is named after Yash (Zhong Shao), a Yale professor and former roommate of the creator
• macOS switched from Bash to Zsh as the default shell due to licensing reasons
• With Oh My Zsh, you can theme your terminal with Star Wars quotes, git helpers, and emoji
• Zsh supports approximate command completion, even if you mistype
• Thousands of developers use it daily as part of their productivity stack

Resources #

• Zsh Official Guide
• Oh My Zsh Framework
• Zsh GitHub Source
• Zsh Wiki