inshellisense README

The project's README from github.com/microsoft/inshellisense. As one markdown file: README.md.

inshellisense

inshellisense provides IDE style autocomplete for shells. It's a terminal native runtime for autocomplete which has support for 600+ command line tools. inshellisense supports Windows, Linux, & macOS.

demo of inshellisense working

generated by tui-test

Getting Started

Installation

npm (recommended)

npm install -g @microsoft/inshellisense
is init

homebrew (macOS/linux)

brew tap microsoft/inshellisense https://github.com/microsoft/inshellisense
brew install inshellisense
is init

Updating

npm install -g @microsoft/inshellisense # OR brew upgrade inshellisense
is reinit

Quickstart

After completing the installation, run is doctor to verify your installation was successful. You can run is to start the autocomplete session for your desired shell. Additionally, inshellisense is also aliased under inshellisense after installation.

Shell Plugin

If you'd like to automatically start inshellisense when you open your shell, run the respective command for your shell. After running the command, inshellisense will automatically open when you start any new shell session:

# bash
is init bash >> ~/.bashrc

# zsh
is init zsh >> ~/.zshrc

# fish
is init fish >> ~/.config/fish/config.fish

# pwsh
is init pwsh | Add-Content $profile

# powershell
is init powershell | Add-Content $profile

# xonsh
is init xonsh >> ~/.xonshrc

# nushell
is init nu | save $nu.env-path --append

[!NOTE]
When updating your shell configuration in the future, make sure the inshellisense plugin is the last command in the file. Including commands after it may break the configuration (ex. initializing your shell plugin manager after the inshellisense plugin)

Usage

Action Command Description
Start is Start inshellisense session on the current shell
Stop exit Stop inshellisense session on the current shell
Check If Inside Inshellisense Session is -c Check if shell inside inshellisense session

Keybindings

All other keys are passed through to the shell. The keybindings below are only captured when the inshellisense suggestions are visible, otherwise they are passed through to the shell as well. These can be customized in the config.

Action Keybinding
Accept Current Suggestion tab
View Next Suggestion ↓
View Previous Suggestion ↑
Dismiss Suggestions esc

Integrations

inshellisense supports the following shells:

Configuration

All configuration is done through a toml file. You can create this file at ~/.inshellisenserc or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/inshellisense/rc.toml. When XDG_CONFIG_HOME is unset, empty, or not an absolute path, the XDG configuration path defaults to ~/.config/inshellisense/rc.toml. The JSON schema for the configuration file can be found here.

On new Unix-like installations, generated resources are stored under $XDG_DATA_HOME/inshellisense. When XDG_DATA_HOME is unset, empty, or non-absolute, it defaults to ~/.local/share as defined by the XDG specification. Existing installations continue using ~/.inshellisense when that directory is present so current shell plugins keep working; Windows also keeps using that location. Running is reinit migrates legacy resources to the XDG data directory.

Keybindings

You can customize the keybindings for inshellisense by adding a bindings section to your config file. The following is the default configuration for the keybindings:

[bindings.acceptSuggestion]
key = "tab"
# shift and control are optional and default to false
shift = false
control = false

[bindings.nextSuggestion]
key = "down"

[bindings.previousSuggestion]
key = "up"

[bindings.dismissSuggestions]
key = "escape"

Key names are matched against the Node.js keypress events.

Alias Expansion

Inshellisense supports expanding aliases for bash/zsh shells. You can enable alias expansion in your config file:

useAliases = true

NerdFonts

If you are using a NerdFont patched font, you can enable the NerdFonts support in your config file:

useNerdFont = true

Max Suggestions

You can change the maximum number of suggestions displayed in the autocomplete list at one time in your config file:

maxSuggestions = 10

Active Suggestion Background Color

You can customize the active suggestion's background with a #RRGGBB hex color.

activeSuggestionBackgroundColor = "#2E7D32"

Box Border Style

You can use square (the default) or rounded corners for suggestion and description boxes.

boxBorderStyle = "rounded"

Unsupported Specs

Specs for the az, gcloud, & aws CLIs are not supported in inshellisense due to their large size.

Contributing

This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.opensource.microsoft.com.

When you submit a pull request, a CLA bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., status check, comment). Simply follow the instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repos using our CLA.

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact [email protected] with any additional questions or comments.

Trademarks

This project may contain trademarks or logos for projects, products, or services. Authorized use of Microsoft trademarks or logos is subject to and must follow Microsoft's Trademark & Brand Guidelines. Use of Microsoft trademarks or logos in modified versions of this project must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Any use of third-party trademarks or logos are subject to those third-party's policies.

inshellisense (microsoft/inshellisense)

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10.7K ·GitHub
Inshellisense
What is this?inshellisense brings IDE-style autocomplete to the terminal: as you type, a suggestion box appears with completions for 600+ command line tools.
Does it replace my shell, or run on top of it?It runs on top of your existing shell: the 'is' command starts an inshellisense session that overlays suggestions, and your shell config file gets an inshellisense plugin line added.
How do I start and stop a session?Run 'is' in your terminal to start a session on the current shell; type 'exit' to stop it, and 'is -c' tells you whether you're already inside one.
Do I need Node.js installed to run it?Yes — it's a Node.js application published via npm, and the package requires Node 18 through 22 (engines: >=18.0 <23.0.0).
Are there command line tools it can't autocomplete?Specs for the az, gcloud, and aws CLIs are left out because their spec files are too large, and cmd support is still experimental.
Which shells and operating systems does it support?Shells: bash, zsh, fish, pwsh, Windows PowerShell, cmd (experimental), xonsh, and nushell. It runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Does it work with my shell aliases?Yes, for bash and zsh: alias expansion is supported, and you enable it in the config file.
Do I need a special font for it?No, but if you use a NerdFont-patched font, you can enable NerdFonts support in the config file for richer icons.
Can editing my shell config break it?Yes — keep the inshellisense plugin as the last command in your shell config file; commands after it, like initializing a shell plugin manager, may break the configuration.
What are similar projects?zoxide, oh-my-posh, asdf, terminalizer, cheat, autocomplete, starship, awesome-shell
Which topics is it in?nushell, fish, autocomplete, zsh, powershell, bash, shell, customization, command-line, command-line-tool, npm, terminal
Creator
microsoft
Size
5.4 MB
Stars
10.7K
Updated
CommitOct 03Release0.0.4Sep 11
Age
3y
Commits · 90 Days