Software Showcase: Fish Shell

If like me you spend a lot of time using a Linux terminal, give fish a try!

Fish is to sh/bash/zsh as Gemini is to the web of the 90s; it adds modern touches without getting in the way.

My favourite single feature is that it suggests from history as you type, not requiring a manual trigger like other shells. “Suggest as you type” is widely used in modern software because it’s unintrusive and helpful.

Another “as you type” is that it checks for existence of files and folders with each keypress then gives feedback via colored highlights. This way, you always know if you are referring to a valid path.

Of course there’s more, but just these two are perhaps enough to convince that it’s worth your time to try:

Finally, a command line shell for the 90s

One caveat: it’s not fully compatible for scripting with other shells. I don’t find this to be a problem; you can always drop into another shell for manual entry of commands and script files can use whatever shell they like via the shebang.

Links

Finally, a command line shell for the 90s

Playing with a new shell: fish

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