---
title: bash and zsh
description: Secondary shells that share fish's aliases, starship prompt, atuin history, and cd-style helper functions.
---

bash and zsh are set up so a shell other than fish feels the same: the same aliases, the same starship prompt, atuin history, and ports of the fish helpers that have to change the shell's own directory. zsh also gets ports of the fish key bindings.

| Source (repo) | Target |
| --- | --- |
| `dot_bashrc` | `~/.bashrc` |
| `dot_zshrc` | `~/.zshrc` |
| `dot_config/zsh/keybinds.zsh` | `~/.config/zsh/keybinds.zsh` |
| `dot_config/shell/aliases.sh.tmpl` | `~/.config/shell/aliases.sh` (template) |
| `dot_config/bash/functions/*.bash` | `~/.config/bash/functions/` |
| `dot_config/zsh/functions/*.zsh` | `~/.config/zsh/functions/` |

`aliases.sh.tmpl` is the only template. It renders the alias list from `.chezmoidata/aliases.yaml` ([chezmoi data](/chezmoi/data)). The other files apply as-is on every role.

## Installation

bash is part of the base system. zsh itself is not listed in `.chezmoidata/packages.yaml`, but `zsh-syntax-highlighting`, `starship`, `atuin`, `eza`, and `zoxide` are, for both pacman and Homebrew. `suvadu` (the `suv` history tool) is declared under `packages.shared.cargo`, but none of the apply scripts install cargo packages, so install it manually if you want it.

## ~/.bashrc

Interactive shells only (`[[ $- != *i* ]] && return`). In order:

1. **PATH.** Prepends `~/.local/bin` if missing, sources `~/.cargo/env` if present, and appends `~/.maestro/bin` if it exists.
2. **Go.** `GOPATH=~/.local/share/go`, `GOBIN=$GOPATH/bin`, and `GOBIN` prepended to `PATH`. mise provides `GOROOT`.
3. **Android SDK.** `ANDROID_HOME` and `ANDROID_SDK_ROOT` set to `~/.local/share/android`. `platform-tools`, `cmdline-tools/latest/bin`, and `emulator` are appended if they exist.
4. **Aliases.** Sources `~/.config/shell/aliases.sh`.
5. **Functions.** Sources every `~/.config/bash/functions/*.bash`.
6. **Flyline.** If `~/.local/lib/libflyline.so` exists, loads it with `enable -f … flyline` for richer line editing.
7. Sources `~/.config/envman/load.sh` if it is non-empty.
8. **Prompt.** `eval "$(starship init bash)"` if starship is installed.
9. **atuin.** Sources `~/.atuin/bin/env`, then `eval "$(atuin init bash)"`.

bash has no custom key bindings. atuin's init binds <kbd>ctrl-r</kbd> and <kbd>up</kbd>.

## ~/.zshrc

1. **History.** `HISTFILE=~/.zsh_history`, `HISTSIZE=10000`, `SAVEHIST=10000`, `setopt SHARE_HISTORY HIST_IGNORE_DUPS`.
2. **Completion.** `autoload -Uz compinit && compinit`.
3. The same PATH, Go, and Android blocks as `.bashrc`.
4. Sources `~/.config/shell/aliases.sh`.
5. Sources every `~/.config/zsh/functions/*.zsh`.
6. Sources `~/.config/zsh/keybinds.zsh`.
7. `eval "$(suv init zsh)"` if suvadu is installed.
8. Sources `~/.config/envman/load.sh` if it is non-empty.
9. `eval "$(starship init zsh)"` if starship is installed.
10. **Syntax highlighting.** Sources the first `zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh` found in `/usr/share/zsh/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting/`, `/opt/homebrew/share/zsh-syntax-highlighting/`, or `/usr/local/share/zsh-syntax-highlighting/`. The comment says this must stay last, because it wraps every zle widget defined before it.
11. **atuin.** Sources `~/.atuin/bin/env` and runs `eval "$(atuin init zsh)"`. These lines come after the syntax-highlighting block, so despite the comment, syntax highlighting is not actually last.

## zsh key bindings

`keybinds.zsh` ports `fish_user_key_bindings.fish` to zle. Unlike fish, zsh uses the **emacs** keymap: `bindkey -e` pins it so that `$EDITOR=nvim` does not switch zsh into vi mode. `unsetopt flow_control` frees <kbd>ctrl-q</kbd> and <kbd>ctrl-s</kbd> from the terminal.

A generic widget `_zle-run` is registered as `run-<cmd>` for `purple`, `clip-last`, `gho`, `pj`, `omp`, `yy`, and `lazygit`. It clears the pending display (`zle -I`), runs the command with the tty on stdin, then `zle reset-prompt`. Widgets run in the shell process, so directory changes made by `gho` and `yy` persist.

| Key | Action |
| --- | --- |
| <kbd>ctrl-e</kbd> | `yy` (yazi, cd to its exit dir) |
| <kbd>ctrl-f</kbd> | `yy` |
| <kbd>ctrl-b</kbd> | `purple` (an external command; this repo does not provide it) |
| <kbd>ctrl-y</kbd> | `clip-last` |
| <kbd>ctrl-o</kbd> | `gho` (repo or vault picker, cd) |
| <kbd>ctrl-p</kbd> | `pj` (task runner) |
| <kbd>ctrl-a</kbd> | `omp` |
| <kbd>ctrl-g</kbd> | `lazygit` |
| <kbd>ctrl-q</kbd> | `exit` |
| <kbd>ctrl-c</kbd> | At the prompt: kill the buffer, clear the screen and kitty scrollback (`ESC[2J ESC[3J`), reset the prompt |

<kbd>ctrl-c</kbd> is the tty interrupt character, so `bindkey '^C'` would never fire. The binding is a `TRAPINT` function instead. At the prompt it runs `zle .kill-buffer`, prints the clear sequence, and runs `zle .reset-prompt`. While a command is running, SIGINT keeps its normal behavior (returns `128+SIGINT`).

The fish-only binds <kbd>ctrl-w</kbd> (atuin AI), <kbd>down</kbd> (`pj`), and <kbd>?</kbd> have no zsh equivalent. <kbd>ctrl-h/j/k/l</kbd> belong to kitty ([kitty](/terminal/kitty)) and are not bound here.

## Shared aliases: aliases.sh

`~/.config/shell/aliases.sh` is rendered from `.chezmoidata/aliases.yaml`. Each YAML `section` becomes a comment, and each item becomes `alias <name>='<cmd>'`. The template then appends shell-specific extras that are not in the YAML:

```sh ~/.config/shell/aliases.sh
# Clipboard
if command -v wl-copy >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    alias cpy='wl-copy'
    alias pst='wl-paste'
elif command -v pbcopy >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    alias cpy='pbcopy'
    alias pst='pbpaste'
fi

q() {
    if [ -n "$YAZI_ID" ] && command -v ya >/dev/null 2>&1; then
        ya emit quit 2>/dev/null
    fi
    exit
}

alias celar='clear'
alias claer='clear'
if command -v eza >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    alias ls='eza --icons'
fi
```

- **Clipboard detection.** `cpy`/`pst` map to Wayland's `wl-copy`/`wl-paste` when available, else macOS `pbcopy`/`pbpaste`.
- **`q`.** Exits the shell. If the shell was spawned from yazi's own `q` binding (`$YAZI_ID` set), it runs `ya emit quit` first so the parent yazi closes too instead of bouncing back.
- **Typo guards and eza.** `celar`/`claer` → `clear`, and `ls` → `eza --icons` when eza is installed. The file is sourced only by interactive shells, so scripts keep the real `ls`.

The full alias table, including the differences from fish, is on the [Aliases](/shell/aliases) page.

## Per-shell functions

Each directory holds one function per file. bash and zsh source every file at startup; the bash and zsh versions have identical bodies.

| Function | Behavior |
| --- | --- |
| `c [dir]` | `clear` with no argument, `cd "$1"` with one |
| `cd [dir]` | No argument: `$HOME`. `-`: previous dir. Otherwise `builtin cd`, falling back to `zoxide query -- "$1"`. Records the result with `zoxide add "$PWD"` and preserves cd's exit status |
| `clip-last` | Re-runs the previous history entry (`fc -ln -1 -1`, skipping itself if the line editor already recorded `clip-last`), pipes the output to `wl-copy` or `pbcopy`, and sends a `notify-send -a shell` notification if available |
| `ghg <repo>` | `ghg-clone "$@"`, cd into the printed path, `clear && onefetch` |
| `ghn <name>` | `command ghn "$@"`, cd into the printed path |
| `gho` | `command gho`, cd into the printed path, `clear`, and `onefetch` if it is a git repo |
| `yy [args]` | `yazi --cwd-file=<tmp>`, then cd to the directory written there if it changed |

The `ghg` helper script is named `ghg-clone` because an unrelated cargo binary already uses the name `ghg`. The [Scripts](/shell/scripts#why-some-helpers-are-shell-functions) page explains why these helpers are shell functions and not scripts.