This time, type in /s and hit the tab key twice.Īs shown above, this action displays an overview of all directories that begin with /s. You can then use the tab key or arrow keys to move through each. But rest assured: Fish has a user-friendly feature available for these kinds of situations. Unfortunately, the odds that the name you’re searching for will show up in the suggestions are slim. The shell provides a suggestion without us even having to hit the tab key.īut what happens when another file/folder shares the same name up until a certain point? In this situation, the possibilities are sorted in alphabetical order and the entry that falls first in that order will be suggested first. In the grayed-out text, you can see that sr/ is suggested to complete the line. The above screenshot demonstrates how the shell behaves when you input the command cd /u. Once installed, I recommend taking its suggestion and completion functionality for a spin.įrom the home directory, try changing directories (cd) by typing /usr into the command line. $ sudo apt – add – repository ppa : fish – shell / release – 2įor instructions on how to install the shell on other OS’s (including Debian), visit Fish’s website here. Ubuntu users can install using the official Personal Package Archives (PPA). Installing with Linux is just a touch trickier - you’ll want to be sure to grab the official repository because using a distribution package manager to install it might saddle you with an older version instead. If you’re using Homebrew on a Mac, input the following command: 1 Installing this shell couldn’t be easier. It boasts powerful suggestion/auto-completion functionality, friendly syntax highlighting, and its GUI (browser)-based settings/help pages are usable straight out of the box, so to speak. So what sets Fish apart from its competition? For starters, it was developed more recently than its counterparts (with an initial release in 2005). Courtesy of Github, this user-friendly command line shell was developed with a special emphasis on user experience. Fish itself stands for Friendly Interactive SHell. What is Fish?Īs the “sh” at the end of its name implies, Fish is a shell.

There may be plenty of fish in the sea, but there aren’t any quite like this one. Then I discovered a shell called “Fish,” and my life has never been the same. I starting looking into Zsh but still wasn’t sold. But I reached a breaking point while navigating through directories using Mac’s stock Bash terminal.

When using a console, I tend to stick to the default settings. Like many developers, I use a combination of Windows and Mac systems between my home and office.

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