ZEAL: smart & fast ZSH config

ZEAL Features

• Contextual auto-suggestion based on command history of CWD + global history (prio: 1. prefix, 2. substring)
  • smart rejection of commands using relative paths into global history
• Typo correction: when the typed command is unknown (shown red), suggests the nearest matching command from history (fuzzy char match, transposition-aware) — accept with ARROW RIGHT
• Custom CTRL + R: show command history of CWD + dual search (contextual + global history)
• Agnoster inspired theme (showing current git branch + status + commits)
  • runs git fetch (async) on first cd into a git repo (to show new commits from remote)
• Shortens long paths (to first char)
• Print execution timestamp + runtime in secs of last command

zeal-demo.mp4

Install ZEAL

Quick Install (macOS)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SeanPedersen/zeal/refs/heads/main/mac-install.sh | bash

Or clone and run locally:

git clone https://github.com/SeanPedersen/zeal.git
cd zeal
bash mac-install.sh

The installer will:

• Install zsh, git, and Nerd Font if missing (via Homebrew)
• Set zsh as your default shell
• Install zeal.zsh to ~/.zeal/
• Add source ~/.zeal/zeal.zsh to your .zshrc

Manual Install

• Install ZSH
  • Debian: sudo apt install zsh Arch: pacman -S zsh
  • MacOS: brew install zsh
  • Make default shell: chsh -s $(which zsh)
• Install Nerd Font (for powerline symbols)
  • MacOS: brew install --cask font-meslo-lg-nerd-font
  • Then set it as your terminal font
• Install ZEAL
  • Download zeal.zsh or clone this repo
  • Source it from .zshrc (recommended): source zeal.zsh
    • or replace .zshrc: cp zeal.zsh ~/.zshrc

Shortcuts

• TAB to autocomplete existing paths in CWD
• ARROW RIGHT to autocomplete with current grey auto-suggestion (based on CWD + shell history)

Structure

• Contextual (cwd + command) history is stored in ~/.zsh_history_contextual

References

• ZSH Theme Benchmark
• https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k