View source

{| style="background:navy; color:red"
|-
| '''Return to [[ZSH on OS X]].'''
|-
|}

__TOC__




=A Brief Guide to my ZSH on OSX Templates=


==Detailed Description==
<big><big><big>

 man [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/zsh-templates.html zsh-templates] 
 
</big></big></big>
 
to get the gory details.

This explains the whole file system and logic behind it.  There is also an incomplete list of the functions.  

You can also browse the [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/ html-formatted man pages] for the most up to date information on the individual functions.



==A Quick Overview==


{| style="text-align: left; width: 80%; background-color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="10"
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center" |
<font face="Chalkboard"><font ><big><big><big><b>WTF is this?</b></big></big></big></font>
<div style="text-align: left"><font face="Chalkboard"><font >[http://zsh.sourceforge.net/ zsh] is one of the unix shells that comes with OS X. I've written [http://sage.ucsc.edu/~wgscott/xtal/zsh.html a few comments] about why you might want to make zsh your default user shell. Briefly, it is most like ksh, the user-unfrienly but powerful shell prefered by serious shell programmers, except that it is in fact the most user-friendly and powerful interactive shell. In other words, it is simply better than everything else. zsh is to the other unix shells what OS X is to other operating systems. If you appreciate OS X, it is likely you will appreciate what zsh has to offer.<br /><br /> zsh works straight out of the box. If you want to be a zsh user, simply issue the command<br /><br /></font></font><div style="margin-left: 40px"><div style="margin-left: 40px">'''<font face="Courier New,Courier,monospace"><font > <font color="rgb(0, 0, 0)">chsh -s /bin/zsh</font></font></font>'''<br /></div></div><font face="Chalkboard"><font ><br /> and you are now a fully qualified zsh user with all rights and privileges. There is really nothing more to it than that.<br /><br /> However, you are denying yourself the full user experience if you don't customize your shell to enhance your working habits and productivity. To give you a starting point, you can install this package and it will automatically set up many features in such a way that it will facilitate customization. We have tried to pick default behaviors that almost anyone would find useful, but have also tried to build in as much flexibility as possible.<br /><br /> The best way to see what is available is to browse the [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/zsh-templates.html  on-line documentation] and [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/ man pages].<br /><br /></font></font><blockquote><font face="Chalkboard"><font >'''Highlights include:'''<br /><br /></font></font></blockquote><div style="margin-left: 40px">
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >An augmented [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/open.html open] command that opens applications, widgets, preference panes and more.</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >An enhanced completion system for the "open -a" command with launchd-based real-time cache updating.</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >An enhanced completion system for the "fink" command with launchd-based real-time cache updating.</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >A set of functions (eg [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/add_user.html add_user]) to create users, groups, etc.</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >A set of functions ([http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/cdf.html cdf], [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/fdc.html fdc], [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/posd.html posd], ...) to enhance [http://sage.ucsc.edu/~wgscott/xtal/terminal_finder_interactions.html  Terminal-Finder Interactions.]</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >A highly configurable [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/edit.html edit] fuction.</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >Functions for NFS ([http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/exportfs.html exportfs] and [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/nfs_niloader.html  nfs_niloader]).</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >A function to assist [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/customize_x11.html  customizing X11]</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >A terminal-GUI interaction function, [http://sage.ucsc.edu/~wgscott/mystuff/gdirs.html gdirs], to access a global directory stack for all shells, and a corresponding command-line option, [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/cd?.html cd?]</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >A terminal-GUI to aid the user in [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/switch_prompt.html  switching customized prompts].</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >A command-line function, [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/switch_users.html  switch_users], for fast user switching.</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >A command, [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/sss.html sss], to start the screen saver (and lock the screen if this has been set up).</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >Two GUI-assested setup scripts for customizing ssh completions, [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/user_setup.html  user_setup] and [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/host_setup.html  host_setup].</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >Many additional customization features.</font></font>
<br />
* <font face="Chalkboard"><font >A specialized set of functions useful for X-ray crystallographers (not activated by default).</font></font></div></div>
|}

These files were originally based upon [http://kerbaugh.uncfsu.edu/zsh.tar.gz those distributed by Gary Kerbaugh], but I have made many additions and deleted or commented out a few things as well. Overall, this is mostly a superset of Gary's files, along with contributions from several others. I've also tried to make these completely universal and easily configurable. zsh is about customizing the user environment, so these files should be regarded as a starting point for tailoring zsh to your own needs. I have tried to facilitate this by comments throughout the files and by providing the documentation below.

==File organization and hierarchy==



'''Complete file listing:'''
Click here to see
a [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh graphical view of the hierarchy] generated
by Apache in real-time (so it will always be up to
date).


By default, when zsh starts up, it reads the configuration files in
'''[http://code.google.com/p/zsh-templates-osx/source/browse/trunk/etc /etc]''' first, followed by those in
the user's home directory. You can make any of these files source
any other file on your computer, so we take advantage of that to
make things as modular and as configurable as possible. There are
two files to place in [http://code.google.com/p/zsh-templates-osx/source/browse/trunk/etc /etc]. These are
[http://code.google.com/p/zsh-templates-osx/source/browse/trunk/etc/zshenv /etc/zshenv],
and [http://code.google.com/p/zsh-templates-osx/source/browse/trunk/etc/zshrc  /etc/zshrc],
and they are read in that order. These in turn read files that are
to be placed in [http://code.google.com/p/zsh-templates-osx/source/browse/trunk/Library/init/zsh /Library/init/zsh], which is where Apple suggests
putting such things. 

The main difference between the two files in /etc is that /etc/zshenv gets
run any time you start up zsh, whereas /etc/zshrc gets run only
when you start up an interactive shell.  By starting zsh with the command

 /bin/zsh -f

You avoid reading /etc/zshrc and everything sourced from it.

Almost everything, therefore, apart from the system $PATH, really should
be sourced from /etc/zshrc, so we do that.

Here is a man page that I wrote to describe this package called
[http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html/zsh-templates.html zsh-templates]. 
The individual files are described in detail, and
the links lead to the actual files and their man pages (which I
have been updating and improving on a fairly frequent basis).

=Installing customization templates=
<br /><br />
{| style="background:navy; color:red"
|-
| Please go to my [[ZSH on OS X: Installing customization templates]] wiki page.
|-
|}
<br /><br />

=Exhaustive Description=

I'm coming to the realization that it would be useful to have a concise but comprehensive description of each file in the package and what its purpose is, and what the default settings all mean, and of course how best to change them.  This is going to be a monumental undertaking, but I have to start somewhere.  The individual functions are documented in the man pages and [http://sage.ucsc.edu/Library/init/zsh/man/html html-ized man pages].  But the need for one-stop shopping for all your zsh template needs is clear.  Thus I'll be constructing a new wiki section called

[[Explanations for each zsh template file]]




----


{| style="background:navy; color:red"
|-
| '''Return to [[ZSH on OS X]].'''
|-
|}