Opinionated prompt
Understand the fixed nobsprompt layout, when each segment appears, how failures render, and which shell behaviors are included.
Initialize the ready-made prompt in ~/.zshrc:
eval "$(nbsp init zsh)"The output is one line:
/U/i/D/p/nobsprompt [main +1 ~2 ?3 ^1] [node:22.14.0] [2.4s] [jobs:2] %Segments
The working directory is always visible. Parent segments are abbreviated to their first character while the final segment remains intact.
Other segments appear only when they carry useful information:
| Segment | When it appears |
|---|---|
| Git | Inside a repository with a readable branch or detached commit |
| Node | NVM_BIN contains an active version |
| Duration | The previous command lasted at least 2 seconds |
| Jobs | One or more background jobs exist |
| Failure | The previous command returned a nonzero status |
The Git markers are:
| Marker | Meaning |
|---|---|
+ |
Staged paths |
~ |
Modified paths |
? |
Untracked paths |
! |
Conflicted paths |
^ |
Commits ahead of upstream |
v |
Commits behind upstream |
* |
Stashes |
Exact failure status
Successful commands leave the prompt character clean. Failures preserve the
exact status and join it to Zsh’s native %# prompt character:
e1%
e127%Only the failure state is colored red. Path and Git text use the terminal’s default foreground rather than assuming a palette slot.
Fixed presentation
The built-in colors, symbols, segment visibility, two-second duration
threshold, layout, and %# prompt character are not configurable.
Shared shell behavior
The ready-made and detached modes use the same Zsh lifecycle for timing, jobs,
asynchronous Git refresh, redraw correction, and external editing with
Alt+E.