I am a big fan of zsh, so much so that part of my setup script contains instructions to install it and set it as the default shell.
One of the biggest advantages of using zsh are the plugins and functions that you can use to amplify your terminal powers. I’ve been using oh-my-zsh to manage my zsh configuration, and recently I started using zplug to manage all of the plugins and customizations I use.
A next-generation plugin manager for zsh
zplug offers an intuitive and fast way to manage everything I rely on when using zsh. I’ve gone so far as to use it as the main form of loading plugins and other customizations for zsh. I’ll show you a brief overview of how I manage the plugins I use.
Installing
You can install zplug by running the following script.
curl -sL --proto-redir -all,https https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zplug/installer/master/installer.zsh | zsh
Configuring
Once installed I make sure to update my .zshrc with a zplug section that will load all of the necessary customizations I want.
Loading oh-my-zsh plugins
I still borrow from the vast array of plugins and functions the oh-my-zsh community has provided to the world.
# Load oh-my-zsh plugins
zplug "plugins/brew", from:oh-my-zsh
zplug "plugins/docker", from:oh-my-zsh
zplug "plugins/docker-compose", from:oh-my-zsh
zplug "plugins/git", from:oh-my-zsh
zplug "plugins/github", from:oh-my-zsh
zplug "plugins/osx", from:oh-my-zsh
Loading theme
I use the dracula theme, and loading it is a simple as:
# Load theme file
zplug "dracula/zsh", as:theme
Install Plugins
After adding the zplug section to my .zshrc I make sure to add the following to the end of that section, so that zplug makes certain to install all of the plugins I’ve specified.
# Install plugins if there are plugins that have not been installed
if ! zplug check --verbose; then
printf "Install? [y/N]: "
if read -q; then
echo; zplug install
fi
fi
Source plugins
Finally, you can add the following so the plugins can be sourced and added to the $PATH
# Then, source plugins and add commands to $PATH
zplug load