zsh and GNU stow #14

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______________________________________________________________________
---
date: 2025-06-04
title: zsh and GNU stow
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- linux
- development
______________________________________________________________________
---
In [my last post exploring `nvim`](https://blog.mcknight.tech/2025/05/21/nvim/), I mentioned some potential next projects on my agenda.
Well, I wasted no time continuing down the path of trying to perfect my shell experience. I very quickly updated my
@ -197,31 +197,37 @@ I settled on [Zinit](https://github.com/zdharma-continuum/zinit) as a lightweigh
apparently maintained option.
#### OMZ extract
This convenience command lets me extract files without having to remember the syntax for
extracting `.tar.xz`, `.zip`, `.tar.gz`, etc. A simple `extract <file>`
#### OMZ colored-man-pages
This adds some color to man pages which I think makes it a little easier to skim to find
CLI args and section headers. Its not the *best* IMO, but something is better than nothing
here when trying to skim through what can be pretty dense documentation.
#### OMZ encode64
It isn't every day that I need to get a b64-encoded representation of a string, but its
handy to be able to do so quickly and easily.
#### OMZ pip
I like having tab completion for pip. I haven't used it too much yet, but I already see
how this will save me from trying to `pip isntall` when I really mean `pip install`. I
do this more than I'd like to admit. Other than that, its nice to have reminders for the
less commonly used flags.
#### OMZ sudo
The Oh My Zsh sudo plugin adds a convenience keybind (`esc`+`esc`) to prepend `sudo` to
the current command or the previous command if the input is empty. I find this to be
convenient as it is fairly common to re-run the previous command with elevated privileges
or to prepend `sudo` if I forgot to start with that.
#### zsh-autosuggestions
This plugin works much like suggestions in an IDE, providing a suggested command completion
that can be filled in with a bound key (I am using `Shift`+`Tab`).
I find this mapping more convenient than the default `->`, since I can reach it without
@ -229,12 +235,15 @@ moving my fingers from the home row and it is easy to remember `tab` and `shift`
are both a kind of completion.
#### zsh-syntax-highlighting
This plugin highlights syntax as you type in a command. This clearly identifies unresolved
commands or files to help catch errors before trying to run an incomplete command. It also
helps to identify un-escaped characters in a quoted string.
### `.zshrc`
Now that I've explained it in parts, here's my `.zshrc` file in its entirety:
```
# Lines configured by zsh-newuser-install
HISTFILE=~/.histfile
@ -360,6 +369,7 @@ bindkey '^[[Z' autosuggest-accept
```
#### Some notes on `autossh`
I have only been using `autossh` for a couple hours at this point, based on internet recommendations
that it will do better at resuming with `tmux` (via `tmux-resurrect`). Based on initial testing, it
appears to be working but I don't yet know if it is markedly better than plain `ssh`.
@ -371,6 +381,7 @@ remotes that run a `tmux` session for remote connections and I wouldn't want to
configurations when multiple connections will be attaching the same `tmux` session.
### Conclusion
I don't think my shell configuration will ever be "done", but I've reached a point where I'm
satisfied for now. GNU `stow` has simplified my dotfile management and made it easier to
manage more configurations as I add tools to my repertoire. I now have `zsh` looking like
@ -388,4 +399,3 @@ I also still have some [IDE exploration to do](https://blog.mcknight.tech/2025/0
As I spend more time using `nvim`, I am starting to use it more for coding tasks and it may become my primary "IDE".
In any case, I am actively messing with my `nvim` configuration, so I probably have enough thoughts for another post
about that.