4.1. Quality-of-Life Features

4.1.1. The Fast Way

$ sudo apt install -y zsh git curl wget byobu vim\
&& sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Choose zsh as default by hitting enter.

$ mkdir -p "$HOME/.zsh" && \
git clone https://github.com/sindresorhus/pure.git "$HOME/.zsh/pure" && \
echo 'fpath+=$HOME/.zsh/pure \nautoload -U promptinit; promptinit \nprompt pure' | cat - ~/.zshrc > temp && mv temp ~/.zshrc && \
sed -i 's/ZSH_THEME="robbyrussell"/ZSH_THEME=""/' ~/.zshrc && \
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions && \
sed -i 's/plugins=(git)/plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions)/' ~/.zshrc && \
echo "zstyle ':prompt:pure:path' color 075\nzstyle ':prompt:pure:prompt:success' color 214\nzstyle ':prompt:pure:user' color 119\nzstyle ':prompt:pure:host' color 119\nZSH_AUTOSUGGEST_HIGHLIGHT_STYLE='fg=161'" >> ~/.zshrc && \
echo "zstyle ':prompt:pure:path' color 075\nzstyle ':prompt:pure:prompt:success' color 214\nzstyle ':prompt:pure:user' color 119\nzstyle ':prompt:pure:host' color 119\nZSH_AUTOSUGGEST_HIGHLIGHT_STYLE='fg=161'" >> ~/.zshrc && \
echo "export TERM=xterm-256color" >> ~/.zshrc && \
source ~/.zshrc && \
byobu-enable

4.1.2. The Good Way

zsh

We prefer using the Z shell (zsh). To install:

$ sudo apt install -y zsh git curl

Install oh-my-zsh:

$ sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Install the Pure prompt:

# clone repo
mkdir -p "$HOME/.zsh"
git clone https://github.com/sindresorhus/pure.git "$HOME/.zsh/pure"

# add path to ~/.zshrc, initialize prompt and choose pure (at the top of the file!)
echo 'fpath+=$HOME/.zsh/pure \nautoload -U promptinit; promptinit \nprompt pure' | cat - ~/.zshrc > temp && mv temp ~/.zshrc

# delete default theme entry
sed -i 's/ZSH_THEME="robbyrussell"/ZSH_THEME=""/' ~/.zshrc

Install zsh-autosuggestions:

# clone repo
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions

# add plugin to list of plugins
# assuming unchanged list containing only git, otherwise do this manually
sed -i 's/plugins=(git)/plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions)/' ~/.zshrc

Adjust colours of pure prompt and autosuggestions:

$ echo "zstyle ':prompt:pure:path' color 075\nzstyle ':prompt:pure:prompt:success' color 214\nzstyle ':prompt:pure:user' color 119\nzstyle ':prompt:pure:host' color 119\nZSH_AUTOSUGGEST_HIGHLIGHT_STYLE='fg=161'" >> ~/.zshrc

See the Pure Zstyle options and the Xterm265 colour chart for other settings and colours.

To avoid not seeing the nice colors we just selected:

$ echo "export TERM=xterm-256color" >> ~/.zshrc

To apply changes:

$ source ~/.zshrc

Byobu

To install Byobu, a terminal multiplexer:

$ sudo apt install byobu

Enable Byobu:

$ byobu-enable

Useful Shortcuts

Shortcut

Function

F2

Open new terminal window

F3

Move to previous window

F4

Move to next window

F6

Detach from this session

Ctrl + A and then Ctrl + D

Also Detach from this session.

The first time you use this, you will be asked whether you

want to use screen hotkeys or emacs hotkeys. Choose screen.

Alt + F12

Turn mouse support for scrolling on/off

Here’s a more elaborate cheat sheet.

VIM

To install vim:

$ sudo apt install vim