Personalize Zsh Shell

What do I put into my Zsh startup files?

Startup Files

/etc/zshenv     always run for every zsh.
~/.zshenv       usually run for every zsh, with some notes.

/etc/zprofile   run for login shells.
~/.zprofile     run for login shells.

/etc/zshrc      run for interactive shells.
~/.zshrc        run for interactive shells.

/etc/zlogin     run for login shells.
~/.zlogin       run for login shells.

Customize the Startup File `~/.zshrc`

Gather Information from Version Control Systems

Zsh doc can be found here, for displaying branch name in the shell prompt.

autoload -Uz vcs_info
precmd() { vcs_info }
zstyle ':vcs_info:git:\*' formats '%F{green}branch:%b%f '
setopt PROMPT_SUBST

About autoload autoloading functions.

The usual alias expansion during reading will be suppressed if the autoload builtin or its equivalent is given the option -U. This is recommended for the use of functions supplied with the zsh distribution. Note that for functions precompiled with the zcompile builtin command the flag -U must be provided when the .zwc file is created, as the corresponding information is compiled into the latter.

The flags -z and -k mark the function to be autoloaded using the zsh or ksh style, as if the option KSH_AUTOLOAD were unset or were set, respectively. The flags override the setting of the option at the time the function is loaded.

About precmd hook functions.

Executed before each prompt. Note that precommand functions are not re-executed simply because the command line is redrawn, as happens, for example, when a notification about an exiting job is displayed.

zstyle is a builtin command in the zsh/zutil module.

%F (%f) Start (stop) a different foreground color.

setopt sets the options for the shell.

To be able to use ’${vcs_info_msg_0_}’ directly in your prompt like this, you will need to have the PROMPT_SUBST option enabled.

The Shell Prompt

# prompt
export PS1='🦖 %n %B%U%~%u%b ${vcs_info_msg_0_}%# '

Check Zsh manual or user guide for prompt expansion.

%n Username
%B (%b) Start (stop) boldface mode
%U (%u) Start (stop) underline mode
%~ Current working directory, with $Home replaced by ~
%# Display '#' if shell is running with privileges, display '%' if not

Aliases

# aliases
alias ll='ls -alFG'
alias sd='say "process completed."' # (macOS)
alias history='history 1'

# git
alias gs='git status -u'
alias gc='git commit'
alias gb='git branch'
alias gl='git log --remotes --branches --tags --graph --oneline'

Note

It's always the best to refer to the official Zsh manual and user guide, always.

https://www.zsh.org/