fish-shell/fish-shell ↗

About fish-shell/fish-shell

Fish is a command-line shell designed for macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like systems with an emphasis on usability and discoverability. It provides features like syntax highlighting, real-time autosuggest-as-you-type, and intelligent tab completion that work out of the box without requiring manual configuration. The shell functions similarly to bash and zsh but includes several quality-of-life improvements aimed at reducing friction for both interactive use and scripting.

The project is primarily written in Rust and compiled with CMake, representing a modern approach to shell development. It can be installed via package managers on most major Linux distributions and macOS, with prebuilt binaries available on Windows through WSL, Cygwin, or MSYS2. Building from source requires Rust 1.85 or later, CMake 3.15 or later, and a C compiler, with optional support for PCRE2, gettext, and Sphinx depending on desired features.

Fish targets users who want a more approachable shell experience without sacrificing power or functionality. The project is actively maintained with comprehensive documentation available both online and through the shell's built-in help system. It has a community that communicates through mailing lists, Matrix chat, and issue tracking, making it accessible to both casual users and contributors interested in shell development.