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Z shell configuration

We use Z shell extensively, on many kinds of systems. We use Z shell configurations and conventions that can help us with compatibility, flexibility, and portability. This repo describes our configurations and conventions. This repo has our typical starter setup for Z shell aliases, functions, settings, etc. In practice this works well with other Z shell tools, such as oh-my-zsh.

zsh startup files

There are five startup files that zsh will read commands from in order:

zshenv
zprofile
zshrc
zlogin
zlogout

zsh startup files: when they load and what they do

zshenv

zshenv is sourced on all invocations of the shell, unless the -f option is set.

What goes in it:

  • Set up the command search path

  • Other important environment variables

  • Commands to set up aliases and functions that are needed for other scripts

What does NOT go in it:

  • Commands that produce output

  • Anything that assumes the shell is attached to a tty

zprofile

zprofile is sourced in login shells. It is meant as an alternative to zlogin for ksh fans; the two are not intended to be used together, although this could certainly be done if desired.

What goes in it:

  • Commands that should be executed only in login shells.

  • As a general rule, it should not change the shell environment at all.

  • As a general rule, set the terminal type then run a series of external commands e.g. fortune, msgs, etc.

What does NOT go in it:

  • Alias definitions

  • Function definitions

  • Options

  • Environment variable settings

zshrc

zshrc is sourced in interactive shells.

What goes in it:

  • Commands to set up aliases, functions, options, key bindings, for interactive use etc.

zlogin

zlogin is like zprofile, except sourced after zshrc.

zlogout

zlogout is sourced when login shells exit.

extras

Some zsh setups provide more files that are not read by zsh:

  • .zsh-update: contains a timestamp of the most recent update

  • .zshrc-e: an example file; the Z shell convention is example files end in -e.

zsh file locations

The default location for zsh system files:

/etc/zshenv
/etc/zprofile
/etc/zshrc
/etc/zlogin
/etc/zlogout

The default location for zsh user files:

$HOME/.zshenv
$HOME/.zprofile
$HOME/.zshrc
$HOME/.zlogin
$HOME/.zlogout

The custom location for zsh user files uses the environment variable ZDOTDIR:

${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zshenv
${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zprofile
${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zshrc
${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zlogin
${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zlogout

zsh directory locations

Our location for zsh system directories:

/etc/zshenv.d
/etc/zprofile.d
/etc/zshrc.d
/etc/zlogin.d
/etc/zlogout.d

Our default location for zsh user directories:

$HOME/.config/zshenv.d
$HOME/.config/zprofile.d
$HOME/.config/zshrc.d
$HOME/.config/zlogin.d
$HOME/.config/zlogout.d

Our custom location for zsh user directories uses the environment variable XDG_CONFIG_HOME:

${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/zshenv.d
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/zprofile.d
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/zshrc.d
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/zlogin.d
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/zlogout.d

Repo files

This repo contains our Z shell conventions for subdirectories and also our files that we like to use with multiple teams.

Notable subdirectories:

  • zshenv.d/functions is for functions.

  • zshenv.d/programs is for configuring environment programs via environment variables, such as $EDITOR, $PAGER, etc.

  • zshenv.d/settings is for Z shell settings, such as for completion, history, etc.

  • zshrc.d/aliases is for aliases, such as g for git, now for printing the current time, etc.

Conventions

Alias conventions:

  • For an alias that is a one-letter shortcut, we use a naming convention for the file: the letter, an equal sign, and the result. For example, the file g=git.zsh is the alias that sets g to run git.

  • For an alias that is intended to launch a program, we use a convention of trying probable locations for the tool. For example, for the alias firefox, we look in order in /opt (e.g. typical for our custom installs), then on the path, then in the typical macOS location.

Environment program conventions:

  • $EDITOR for editing text files, such as vi or emacs.

  • $PAGER for showing text files, such as more or less.

  • $FINDER for searching text files, such as grep or rg.

  • $CLIPPER for copying text to a clipboard, such as xclip or pbcopy.

  • $DATER for showing dates and times, such as date or gdate.

  • $JUMPER for moving among directories, such as jump or jumpdir.

Date/time format conventions:

  • We default to nanoseconds precision (not seconds precision), because we use subsecond precision on some of our systems.

  • We default to UTC timezone and the format "+00:00" (not "Z"), because this maximizes our compatibility with fintech systems and logs.

Install

Clone:

git clone https://github.com/sixarm/sixarm_zsh_config

Move the directories and files as you like, to wherever you want.

Install for one user using the way we prefer

For one user, we prefer to put files in a user's configuration directory:

config=${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}

Make directories:

mkdir -p $config/{zshenv.d,zprofile.d,zshrc.d,zlogin.d,zlogout.d}

Copy files:

cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zshenv.d/* $config/zshenv.d
cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zprofile.d/* $config/zprofile.d
cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zshrc.d/* $config/zshrc.d
cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zlogin.d/* $config/zlogin.d
cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zlogout.d/* $config/zlogout.d

Add this to the user file .zshenv:

config=${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}
for file in $config/zshenv.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Add this to the user file .zprofile:

config=${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}
for file in $config/zprofile.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Add this to the user file .zshrc:

config=${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}
for file in $config/zshrc.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Add this to the user file .zlogin:

config=${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}
for file in $config/zlogin.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Add this to the user file .zlogout:

config=${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}
for file in $config/zlogout.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Install for the system using the way we prefer

For the system, we prefer to put files in the system's /etc directory:

config=/etc

Make directories:

mkdir -p $config/{zshenv.d,zprofile.d,zshrc.d,zlogin.d,zlogout.d}

Copy files:

cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zshenv.d/* $config/zshenv.d
cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zprofile.d/* $config/zprofile.d
cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zshrc.d/* $config/zshrc.d
cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zlogin.d/* $config/zlogin.d
cp -R sixarm-zsh-config/zlogout.d/* $config/zlogout.d

Add this to the system file zshenv:

config=/etc
for file in $config/zshenv.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Add this to the system file /etc/zprofile:

config=/etc
for file in $config/zprofile.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Add this to the system file zshrc:

config=/etc
for file in $config/zshrc.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Add this to the system file zlogin:

config=/etc
for file in $config/zlogin.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Add this to the sytem file zlogout:

config=/etc
for file in $config/zlogout.d/**/*(.N)
do 
    [ -x "$file" ] &&  . "$file"
done

Contribute your files

If you have zsh files that you like and that are good for many people, then send them along. We welcome additions, and also welcome pull requests.