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Zsh Plugins & Shell Extensions

Curated set of zsh plugins and CLI tools integrated into the Dendritic Nix configuration. All plugins are installed declaratively via Nix (home-manager modules or nixpkgs) — no external plugin managers required.

Config location: modules/shell.nix

Core Productivity & UX

zsh-autosuggestions (pre-existing)

Fish-like inline autosuggestions as you type, drawn from command history.

  • Suggestions appear in gray — press → or End to accept.
  • Package: programs.zsh.autosuggestion.enable

zsh-syntax-highlighting (pre-existing)

Real-time syntax highlighting in the terminal. Valid commands turn green, errors turn red.

  • Package: programs.zsh.syntaxHighlighting.enable

zsh-completions (pre-existing)

Additional completion definitions for common tools not covered by default zsh.

  • Package: pkgs.zsh-completions

zsh-history-substring-search

Search history by substring rather than prefix. Much more powerful than default up-arrow behavior.

  • Keybindings:
    • ↑ / ↓ — search history for commands containing the current input
    • Type git co, press ↑ → finds git commit, git checkout, etc.
  • Package: programs.zsh.historySubstringSearch.enable

zsh-you-should-use

Reminds you when an alias exists for a command you just typed manually.

$ git status
Found existing alias for "git status". You should use: "gst"
  • Trains muscle memory over time. Zero friction — just prints a reminder.
  • Package: pkgs.zsh-you-should-use (sourced via initContent)

sudo (ESC ESC)

Double-tap Escape to prepend sudo to the current or last command. Simple, indispensable.

  • Implementation: Custom zsh widget in initContent

colored-man-pages

Adds color to man pages using LESS_TERMCAP environment variables. Zero performance cost.

  • Implementation: Environment variables in initContent

extract

Smart archive extraction — extract foo.tar.gz handles .tar.gz, .zip, .7z, .rar, .bz2, .xz, and more.

extract archive.tar.xz    # Just works, no flags to remember
  • Implementation: Shell function in initContent

Fuzzy Finding & Navigation

fzf

General-purpose command-line fuzzy finder. Powers Ctrl+R history search, file search, and more.

  • Keybindings:
    • Ctrl+R — fuzzy search command history
    • Ctrl+T — fuzzy find files in current directory
    • Alt+C — fuzzy cd into subdirectories
  • Package: programs.fzf.enable with enableZshIntegration

fzf-tab

Replaces zsh's default tab-completion menu with fzf. Every <Tab> becomes a fuzzy search.

cd /etc/<Tab>        # Fuzzy-filter all dirs under /etc
git checkout <Tab>   # Fuzzy-filter branches
kill <Tab>           # Fuzzy-filter running processes
  • Package: pkgs.zsh-fzf-tab (sourced via initContent)

zoxide

Smarter cd that learns your most-used directories. Replaces cd with z.

z darwin       # Jumps to /etc/nix-darwin (if visited before)
z mod shell    # Jumps to /etc/nix-darwin/modules/shell.nix dir
zi             # Interactive fuzzy directory picker
  • Package: programs.zoxide.enable with enableZshIntegration

Git Enhancements

forgit

Interactive git wrapper powered by fzf. Makes git operations browsable and visual.

forgit::log     # or gl  — interactive git log with diff preview
forgit::diff    # or gd  — interactive diff viewer
forgit::add     # or ga  — interactive staging
forgit::stash   # interactive stash browser
  • Package: pkgs.zsh-forgit (sourced via initContent)

Vim Integration

zsh-vi-mode

Full vim-mode editing for the zsh command line. Consistent with Neovim muscle memory.

  • Modes: Normal, Insert, Visual, Replace — just like Vim.
  • Escape enters Normal mode, i/a return to Insert.
  • Visual block selection, text objects (ciw, da", etc.) all work.
  • Cursor shape changes to indicate mode (beam = insert, block = normal).
  • Package: pkgs.zsh-vi-mode (sourced via initContent)

Developer Experience (CLI Tools)

bat

cat replacement with syntax highlighting, line numbers, and git integration.

bat shell.nix            # Syntax-highlighted file viewing
bat --diff shell.nix     # Shows git diff inline
  • Aliased as cat → bat for seamless adoption.
  • Package: programs.bat.enable

Nix-Specific Integrations

direnv + nix-direnv

Automatically loads/unloads nix develop shell environments when you cd into a project with a flake.nix.

cd ~/myproject/    # devShell activates automatically
cd ~               # devShell deactivates
  • Uses cached evaluations via nix-direnv — fast re-entry on subsequent visits.
  • Requires a .envrc file in the project root containing use flake.
  • Package: programs.direnv.enable + programs.direnv.nix-direnv.enable

any-nix-shell

Keeps you in zsh when entering nix-shell or nix develop. Without this, Nix drops you into bash.

  • Package: pkgs.any-nix-shell (sourced via initContent)

comma (,)

Run any program from nixpkgs without installing it.

, cowsay "hello"     # Downloads, runs cowsay, doesn't persist
, httpie GET api.io  # One-off HTTP request
  • Powered by nix-index — needs an initial index build (runs automatically).
  • Package: pkgs.comma

nix-index + command-not-found

When you type a command that isn't installed, suggests which Nix package provides it.

$ rg
nix-index: rg is provided by nixpkgs#ripgrep
  • Package: programs.nix-index.enable with enableZshIntegration

nix-zsh-completions

Tab completions for all nix CLI subcommands (nix build, nix develop, nix flake show, etc.).

  • Package: pkgs.nix-zsh-completions

manix

Fast CLI documentation search for NixOS / home-manager options.

manix "programs.zsh"           # Search all option docs
manix "services.openssh"       # Find SSH service options
  • Package: pkgs.manix

Prompt

Starship (pre-existing)

Cross-shell prompt with git status, nix-shell indicator, language versions, and more. Already configured with performance optimizations.

  • Package: programs.starship.enable

File Management

Yazi (pre-existing)

Terminal file manager with image preview support. Invoked via y wrapper.

  • Package: programs.yazi.enable

System Monitoring

btop (pre-existing)

Resource monitor themed by Stylix.

  • Package: programs.btop.enable

htop (pre-existing)

Classic process viewer.

  • Package: programs.htop.enable