Tarcísio Giroldo

Posted on Jun 18

🚀 A hands-on guide to setting up zsh, oh my zsh, asdf, and spaceship prompt with zinit for your development environment

#terminal #zsh #tutorial #beginners

Introduction 🌟

Elevate your development environment with this guide on installing and configuring Zsh, Oh My Zsh, asdf, and the Spaceship Prompt theme. We will also leverage Zinit for additional plugin management. Let’s get started!

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🛠️ Step 1: Installing Zsh

Zsh is a robust shell that provides a powerful command-line experience. Here’s how to install it:

🐧 For Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install zsh
chsh -s $(which zsh)

🍎 For macOS:

Zsh is pre-installed. To set it as your default shell:

chsh -s /bin/zsh

🪟 For Windows:

Use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) or Git Bash. For WSL:

Install a WSL distribution (e.g., Ubuntu) from the Microsoft Store.
Install Zsh as you would on Ubuntu.

Verify the installation:

zsh --version

⚙️ Step 2: Setting Up Oh My Zsh

Oh My Zsh simplifies Zsh configuration with themes and plugins.

Install Oh My Zsh:

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

This script will set up Oh My Zsh and switch your default shell to Zsh.

Configure Oh My Zsh:

Open your .zshrc file:
```
nano ~/.zshrc
```
Enable plugins:
```
plugins=(git asdf)
```
Reload your configuration:
```
source ~/.zshrc
```

🔄 Step 3: Installing and Configuring Zinit

Zinit is a plugin manager for Zsh, offering flexible and fast plugin management.

Install Zinit:

Add Zinit installer chunk to your .zshrc:

cat << 'EOF' >> ~/.zshrc

### Added by Zinit's installer
if [[ ! -f $HOME/.local/share/zinit/zinit.git/zinit.zsh ]]; then
    print -P "%F{33} %F{220}Installing %F{33}ZDHARMA-CONTINUUM%F{220} Initiative Plugin Manager (%F{33}zdharma-continuum/zinit%F{220})…%f"
    command mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/share/zinit" && command chmod g-rwX "$HOME/.local/share/zinit"
    command git clone https://github.com/zdharma-continuum/zinit "$HOME/.local/share/zinit/zinit.git" && \
        print -P "%F{33} %F{34}Installation successful.%f%b" || \
        print -P "%F{160} The clone has failed.%f%b"
fi

source "$HOME/.local/share/zinit/zinit.git/zinit.zsh"
autoload -Uz _zinit
(( ${+_comps} )) && _comps[zinit]=_zinit

# Load a few important annexes, without Turbo
zinit light-mode for \
    zdharma-continuum/zinit-annex-as-monitor \
    zdharma-continuum/zinit-annex-bin-gem-node \
    zdharma-continuum/zinit-annex-patch-dl \
    zdharma-continuum/zinit-annex-rust

### End of Zinit's installer chunk

EOF

Source your .zshrc:
```
source ~/.zshrc
```

🔌 Step 4: Installing Additional Plugins with Zinit

Use Zinit to install additional plugins for a richer Zsh experience.

Install plugins using Zinit:

Open your .zshrc file and add the following Zinit plugin commands:
```
nano ~/.zshrc
```

Add these lines to install and load additional plugins:

zinit light zdharma-continuum/fast-syntax-highlighting
zinit light zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions
zinit light zsh-users/zsh-completions

Save and reload your .zshrc:
```
source ~/.zshrc
```

📦 Step 5: Installing and Configuring asdf

asdf is a versatile version manager for multiple languages.

Install asdf:

Clone the asdf repository:

git clone https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf.git ~/.asdf --branch v0.11.3

Add asdf to your .zshrc:

echo -e '\n. $HOME/.asdf/asdf.sh' >> ~/.zshrc
echo -e '\n. $HOME/.asdf/completions/asdf.bash' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Install asdf plugins:

Add the Node.js plugin:

asdf plugin-add nodejs https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-nodejs.git

Install a specific version:

asdf install nodejs 16.13.0
asdf global nodejs 16.13.0

Add the Python plugin:

asdf plugin-add python https://github.com/danhper/asdf-python.git

Install a specific version:

asdf install python 3.9.7
asdf global python 3.9.7

Managing project-specific versions:

Create a .tool-versions file in your project directory:

nodejs 14.17.6
python 3.8.10

Run asdf install in the project directory to use these versions locally.

🚀 Step 6: Configuring the Spaceship Prompt Theme

The Spaceship Prompt theme offers a sleek and informative prompt for Zsh.

Install Spaceship Prompt:

Clone the Spaceship repository:

git clone https://github.com/spaceship-prompt/spaceship-prompt.git "$ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/spaceship-prompt" --depth=1

Create a symlink:

ln -s "$ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/spaceship-prompt/spaceship.zsh-theme" "$ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/spaceship.zsh-theme"

Set the theme in your .zshrc:
```
ZSH_THEME="spaceship"
```

Configure Spaceship Prompt:

Create a configuration file .spaceshiprc.zsh:
```
nano ~/.spaceshiprc.zsh
```

Add the following configuration:

SPACESHIP_USER_SHOW=always
SPACESHIP_PROMPT_ADD_NEWLINE=false
SPACESHIP_CHAR_SYMBOL="λ"
SPACESHIP_CHAR_SUFFIX=" "
SPACESHIP_PROMPT_ORDER=(
  user          # Username section
  dir           # Current directory section
  host          # Hostname section
  git           # Git section (git_branch + git_status)
  package       # Package version
  node          # Node.js section
  bun           # Bun section
  elixir        # Elixir section
  erlang        # Erlang section
  rust          # Rust section
  docker        # Docker section
  docker_compose # Docker Compose section
  terraform     # Terraform section
  exec_time     # Execution time
  line_sep      # Line break
  jobs          # Background jobs indicator
  exit_code     # Exit code section
  char          # Prompt character
)

Source your configuration in .zshrc:

echo "source ~/.spaceshiprc.zsh" >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Enable Command History Sharing:

To share command history across sessions:

HISTFILE=

~/.zsh_history
HISTSIZE=10000
SAVEHIST=10000
setopt share_history

Enable Auto-Corrections:

Enable corrections for common typos:

setopt correct

🔠 Step 7: Adding a Nerd Font for the Spaceship Prompt

Nerd Fonts provide additional icons and glyphs that enhance the appearance of your terminal, especially with themes like Spaceship Prompt.

Install a Nerd Font (e.g., Hack or Roboto Mono):

Go to the Nerd Fonts GitHub repository and download your preferred font (e.g., Hack or Roboto Mono).
Follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

Configure Your Terminal Emulator:

Open your terminal emulator's preferences/settings.
Select the installed Nerd Font (e.g., Hack Nerd Font or Roboto Mono Nerd Font) as the font for your terminal.

Now, your Spaceship Prompt should display with the Nerd Font icon you selected.

🎉 Conclusion

You’ve now set up a robust and visually appealing development environment with Zsh, Oh My Zsh, asdf, and the Spaceship Prompt theme, using Zinit for additional plugins. This configuration will enhance your workflow and make managing multiple projects a breeze. Happy coding!

Further Reading 📚:

Photo by Lukas on Unsplash

This article was crafted and tailored with ChatGPT help. 🤖💡