Changing Shell

When using a terminal session to perform command-line activities, a Unix shell is used to interpret commands. The default shell on Solus is Bash, however changing your shell may enable additional features and functionality.

Solus makes available other shells via our repository, with a full list available in /usr/share/defaults/etc/shells. Common shells, aside from Bash, are:

• Dash
• Fish
• Zsh

Installation

In order to use a shell different from Bash, you may need to install the respective package for the shell to be able to work. You will find thoses packages in the Software-Center within the System utilities category, or via the command-line with sudo eopkg install <Name of the Shell>.

Example:

sudo eopkg install fish

Switching

To switch to another shell, first install the appropriate package, followed by the command chsh (change shell) to change the shell for your user session, using the path provided in /usr/share/defaults/etc/shells. Lastly you need to log out and back in again for the change to take effect.

Example:

• For Zsh: chsh -s /bin/zsh

• For Fish: chsh -s /usr/bin/fish

Troubleshooting

If the default shell is not changed, you must add the shell to /etc/shells via the command sh with sudo.

Example:

• For Zsh: echo "/bin/zsh" | sudo tee -a /etc/shells

• For Fish: echo "/usr/bin/fish" | sudo tee -a /etc/shells