rootiest
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VISUAL was hardwired to $EDITOR (nvim), so 'edit --visual' would launch a terminal editor detached with no tty. Comment it out so --visual falls through to the GUI fallback chain, and let users set a real GUI editor via local.fish. Update the editor-variable docs to match.
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title, section, header, date, author
| title | section | header | date | author |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FISH-CONFIG | 7 | Fish Shell Configuration User Manual | June 2026 | Rootiest |
NAME
fish-config - personal fish shell configuration for Fish 4.x with modern CLI tool integration
SYNOPSIS
help config [SECTION]
Open this manual in the best available pager. Optionally jump to a section by keyword:
help config keybindings
help config pkg
help config abbreviations
help config logs
The help config syntax integrates with fish's built-in help command.
The underlying config-help function is also available directly.
DESCRIPTION
A production-grade Fish shell configuration targeting Fish 4.x. It provides:
- Drop-in replacements for common Unix tools (ls, cat, rm, du, ping, less)
- Deep Kitty and WezTerm terminal integration: tab/window/pane management from the command line
- Automatic session logging: terminal scrollback, tmux/zellij panes, and paru/yay output captured to ~/.terminal_history (on by default; see below)
- Automatic Python virtualenv activation on directory change
- Cross-platform package management via pkg and fish-deps
- AI session helpers for Claude Code and Antigravity
- Catppuccin Mocha color theme throughout
CAUTION - SESSION LOGGING IS ON BY DEFAULT
This configuration silently records terminal output to
~/.terminal_history: Kitty scrollback on window close, live tmux pane streams, zellij pane snapshots on exit, and full paru/yay output. These logs can contain command output, file contents, and secrets printed to the terminal. Nothing leaves your machine, but the files persist locally.
- Disable all logging with:
set -U __fish_config_op_logging off- Prefer a menu? Run the interactive picker:
config-toggle- See Section 7 (C5 - Logging and Capture) for the full breakdown.
The configuration is split across:
config.fish Main entry point; sets env vars and PATH
conf.d/
abbr.fish All abbreviations
autopair.fish Auto-pair brackets and quotes (bundled from jorgebucaran/autopair.fish)
cheat.fish cheat.sh tab completions
done.fish Desktop notifications for long commands
first_run.fish One-time init: Fisher bootstrap, theme, welcome
key_bindings.fish Custom key bindings and Vi mode
logging-events.fish C5 --on-variable event handlers; syncs logging state at startup
kitty-watcher-reminder.fish C5 per-session reminder to set up the Kitty watcher
paru-wrapper.fish Auto-generates ~/.local/bin/paru logging wrapper
puffer.fish !! / !$ / ./ expansion (bundled from nickeb96/puffer-fish)
tmux-logging.fish C5 starts tmux pipe-pane capture when fish runs inside tmux
zellij-logging.fish C5 fish_exit handler dumping zellij pane scrollback on exit
sponge_privacy.fish Sponge privacy patterns; filters credentials from history
starship.fish fish_prompt with OSC 133 shell-integration markers
tailscale.fish Tailscale CLI tab completions
theme.fish Catppuccin syntax highlight colors
tricks.fish PATH, bang-bang helpers, bat man pages, aliases
wakatime.fish WakaTime shell hook
yay-wrapper.fish Auto-generates ~/.local/bin/yay logging wrapper
zoxide.fish Zoxide z/zi integration; overrides cd
functions/ Custom functions, one per file, autoloaded
completions/ Tab completion scripts
integrations/
fzf.fish FZF Catppuccin theme and key binding config
scripts/
clean_progress_log.py Strips paru/yay typescript animations to clean static logs
agents-tools/ AGENTS.md version-bump script and git hooks (wired via core.hooksPath)
docs/ Offline documentation and compiled man page
fish-config.md Primary source manual (terminal-readable)
fish-config.1 Compiled man page (auto-generated by CI)
fish-config.index Section index for help config navigation
html/ Chunked HTML docs (auto-generated by CI)
wiki/ Markdown wiki (auto-generated by CI)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Configuration Variables
2. PATH Setup
3. Key Bindings
4. Abbreviations
4.1 Editors
4.2 Navigation and Listing
4.3 Git
4.4 Terminal Windows, Tabs, and Panes
4.5 Chezmoi
4.6 Docker
4.7 Systemctl
4.8 AI Assistants
4.9 History Expansion
4.10 Miscellaneous
4.11 Shell Aliases
5. Functions Reference
5.1 File and Directory
5.2 Navigation
5.3 Editors and Viewers
5.4 Git and Version Control
5.5 Package Management
5.6 Dependency Management
5.7 System and Monitoring
5.8 Terminal Management
5.9 Clipboard
5.10 Network
5.11 Pager and Logging
5.12 AI and Developer Tools
5.13 Media and Utilities
5.14 Miscellaneous
6. Dependency Catalog
7. Customization
8. Fisher Plugins
9. Installation
10. Personalization
11. Viewing This Manual
1. CONFIGURATION VARIABLES
These variables are exported from config.fish on every interactive session. Override them in ~/.config/.user-dots/fish/local.fish.
Environment Directories (XDG)
XDG_CONFIG_HOME ~/.config
XDG_CACHE_HOME ~/.cache
XDG_DATA_HOME ~/.local/share
XDG_STATE_HOME ~/.local/state
Tools that respect XDG are directed to these paths rather than polluting $HOME.
Tool Homes (XDG-compliant)
CARGO_HOME $XDG_DATA_HOME/cargo
RUSTUP_HOME $XDG_DATA_HOME/rustup
GOPATH $XDG_DATA_HOME/go
BUN_INSTALL $XDG_DATA_HOME/bun
NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX $XDG_DATA_HOME/npm-global
GNUPGHOME $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnupg
WAKATIME_HOME $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/wakatime
Editor and Pager
EDITOR nvim (falls back to vi if nvim is absent)
VISUAL unset by default; set a GUI editor via local.fish (the edit
function falls back to a GUI chain when VISUAL is empty)
SUDO_EDITOR same as EDITOR
PAGER ov (falls back to less)
Scrollback History
SCROLLBACK_HISTORY_DIR ~/.terminal_history
SCROLLBACK_HISTORY_MAX_FILES 100
Scrollback logs accumulate in SCROLLBACK_HISTORY_DIR as timestamped files.
When the count exceeds SCROLLBACK_HISTORY_MAX_FILES the oldest are pruned
automatically on exit. Use logs to browse them interactively.
Other
GPG_TTY $(tty) — ensures GPG passphrase prompts work
CLAUDE_CODE_NO_FLICKER 1 — suppress terminal flicker in Claude Code
CDPATH . ~/projects ~
Opinionated defaults (CDPATH, PAGER/MANPAGER, Vi mode, command shadows, terminal integrations) can be switched off per category with universal variables — see Section 7, "Opinionated Components (Minimal Mode)".
Pager Hierarchy
$PAGER is set to ov when available, falling back to less. The less wrapper function extends this into a full chain so anything that calls less directly also benefits:
$PAGER → ov → less → more → cat
When bat is installed, man pages are rendered with syntax highlighting:
MANROFFOPT -c
MANPAGER sh -c 'col -bx | bat -l man -p'
Integrations
Zoxide
cd, z, and cdi/zi are all mapped to zoxide-backed navigation. Tab completions for cd and z blend standard directory entries (CWD and CDPATH) with frecency results so both familiar and frequently-visited paths appear in one list.
DirEnv
Automatically loads .envrc files on directory change. Takes priority over the auto-venv logic — if a directory is managed by direnv, the auto-venv activation is skipped entirely.
Auto Python Venv
When entering a directory that contains a .venv/, the virtualenv is activated automatically and deactivated when you leave the project tree.
WakaTime
Every shell command is reported to WakaTime for time-tracking. Set FISH_WAKATIME_DISABLED=1 to disable without removing the plugin.
Tailscale
Full tab completion for the tailscale CLI is provided via conf.d/tailscale.fish.
Done Notifications
Desktop notifications fire when a command takes longer than 10 seconds and the terminal window is not focused. Configured via fish universal variables:
__done_min_cmd_duration 10000 ms
__done_notification_urgency_level low
Scrollback History
When running inside Kitty, closing a shell session via exit saves a timestamped scrollback snapshot to SCROLLBACK_HISTORY_DIR. Files are named:
scrollback_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.log
The paru and yay wrappers (auto-generated in ~/.local/bin/) run the command inside a PTY via script(1) so download progress bars are preserved on screen, then render the captured terminal animation down to a clean static log via scripts/clean_progress_log.py (a small terminal-screen emulator that replays cursor movements, collapses repainted progress frames to their final state, and preserves ANSI color). If python3 is unavailable the wrapper falls back to dropping only the script(1) header/footer. Output is saved to:
paru_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.log
yay_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.log
Before pruning, _scrollback_prune_junk silently removes empty files, files with only a single meaningful line (e.g. bare [exited] captures), and Kitty tab-rename prompt captures. Use exit --no-log (or exit -n) to skip capture.
2. PATH SETUP
Directories prepended to PATH in this order (first wins):
~/.local/bin Standard user-local executables
~/Applications User-installed standalone apps
~/scripts Personal shell scripts
~/bin Cargo binaries (appended — lowest priority)
$BUN_INSTALL/bin Bun runtime and global packages
$NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX/bin Global npm packages
~/.lmstudio/bin LM Studio CLI
~/.resend/bin Resend CLI
~/.fzf/bin fzf binary (git-installed)
Cargo binaries are intentionally appended (lowest priority) to avoid shadowing system-installed Rust tools.
3. KEY BINDINGS
The shell uses Vi key bindings (fish_vi_key_bindings). All custom bindings are active in Insert, Normal, and Visual modes unless noted.
Binding Action
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Ctrl+G Insert the head of the previous command's last path
argument. Equivalent to !$:h in Bash.
Example: previous = "cd /usr/local/bin"
Ctrl+G inserts "/usr/local"
Ctrl+F Interactive history substitution. Type old/new then
press Ctrl+F to apply s/old/new/ to the previous
command. Equivalent to !!:s/old/new/ in Bash.
Example: previous = "echo this is a test"
type "this is/that was", press Ctrl+F
result = "echo that was a test"
Ctrl+Alt+U Strip the first token of the current command line,
leaving arguments in place with the cursor at the
start. Useful for quickly retyping the command.
Example: "mkdir new_folder" -> " new_folder"
Ctrl+Alt+= Evaluate the current command line buffer with
Qalculate! (qalc) and print the result inline.
Requires qalc to be installed.
Example: type "150 * 1.08", press Ctrl+Alt+=
prints 162
Ctrl+Enter Smart execute: runs commands instantly without
pressing Enter a second time for certain fast-path
commands (speedtest-fast, etc.).
@@ FZF inline picker. Type @@ anywhere on the command
line to open an fzf picker and insert a selection
at the cursor position.
FZF Bindings (bundled from PatrickF1/fzf.fish)
Ctrl+R Search command history
Ctrl+Alt+F Search git-tracked files
Ctrl+Alt+L Search git log
Ctrl+Alt+S Search git status
Ctrl+V Search shell variables
Ctrl+Alt+P Search running processes
4. ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations expand when you press Space or Enter. They are terminal-aware: some expand differently in Kitty vs WezTerm vs other terminals.
4.1 Editors
n / nv / neovim nvim
e edit
se sudoedit
k kate
editt Open new tab with nvim (terminal-aware)
cdnv cd ~/.config/nvim
cdnvn cd ~/.config/nvim; nvim
4.2 Navigation and Listing
l ls
lS lss (sort by size)
lsR lsr (sort by time, oldest first)
lX lx (sort by extension)
lT lt (tree, depth 2)
lsT lstree (full recursive tree)
lzd ld (lazydocker)
cdi zi (interactive zoxide picker)
4.3 Git
g git
lg lazygit
gitig / git-ignore gi (generate .gitignore)
4.4 Terminal Windows, Tabs, and Panes
These abbreviations control the terminal emulator. Each has a Kitty variant and a WezTerm variant; the correct one is inserted based on $TERM or $TERM_PROGRAM.
:w New OS window
:wv Split pane horizontally (new pane below)
:wh Split pane vertically (new pane to the right)
:wo Detach current window to its own OS window
:wot Move current pane to a new tab
:t New tab
:tl Set tab title
:tw Set window title
:twk Rename workspace (WezTerm only)
:tp Focus previous tab
:tn Focus next tab
:q Close current pane/window
:Q Close current tab
:sw spwin (spawn new OS window)
Quick-navigate shortcuts open windows/tabs/panes with preset working dirs:
:tgk New tab at ~/.config/kitty
:tgn New tab at ~/.config/nvim
:tgf New tab at ~/.config/fish
:tgh New tab at ~
:tgcz New tab at chezmoi source dir
:tgcm New tab at chezmoi source dir
:tgp New tab at ~/projects
:tgr New tab at / (root)
Prefixes :wg* and :wvg* / :whg* open OS windows or splits to the same set of dirs, respectively.
Prefixes :cd* open tabs with a quick cd shortcut:
:cdn cd ~/.config/nvim
:cdf cd ~/.config/fish
:cdh cd ~
:cdcz cd to chezmoi source
:cdp cd ~/projects
Appending n to any :cd* abbreviation also runs nvim after changing dir.
4.5 Chezmoi
cm / cme / cmi / cmap / cmad / cmrm / cmcd /
cz / cze / czi / czap / czad / czrm / czcd
cm / cz chezmoi
cmcd / czcd chezmoi cd
cme / cze chezmoi edit
cmad / czad chezmoi add
cmap / czap chezmoi apply
cmrm / cmf / czrm / czf chezmoi forget
cmi / czi chezmoi init
4.6 Docker
dcl docker context use default
dcls docker context ls
lzd ld (lazydocker)
4.7 Systemctl
sc systemctl
ssc sudo systemctl
scu systemctl --user
st systemctl status
scs sudo systemctl start
scr sudo systemctl restart
ssct sudo systemctl start
sscs sudo systemctl stop
sscr sudo systemctl restart
4.8 AI Assistants
ag agy
ag. agy .
v antigravity-ide
s wezterm ssh (WezTerm only)
4.9 History Expansion
These are implemented as keybinding helpers, but can also be typed:
!^ Expand to first argument of previous command
!* Expand to all arguments of previous command
typo_sub Interactive typo substitution (Ctrl+F)
bang_string !string expansion
bang_search !?string search
bang_minus_n !-n (nth-previous command)
4.10 Miscellaneous
/exit exit
:q Close pane (alias for terminal close)
:Q Close tab
sudu sudo -s
kt kitty (Kitty only)
c cat
speedtest-fast fast-cli
bl bd list
bs bd sync
bC bd create --title
bsh bd show
lb lazybeads
4.11 Shell Aliases
These aliases are defined in conf.d/tricks.fish via alias (which creates Fish functions). They are active in all interactive sessions.
Navigation
.. cd ..
... cd ../..
.... cd ../../..
..... cd ../../../..
...... cd ../../../../..
Color Overrides
Force color output for common tools:
grep grep --color=auto
fgrep fgrep --color=auto
egrep egrep --color=auto
dir dir --color=auto
vdir vdir --color=auto
Safety Wrappers
Add -i (interactive confirmation) to destructive commands:
cp cp -i
mv mv -i
Archives and Networking
tarnow tar -acf Create compressed archive (auto-detects format)
untar tar -zxvf Extract a gzip-compressed archive
wget wget -c Resume interrupted downloads by default
tb nc termbin.com 9999 Pipe content to termbin.com for quick sharing
System Logs
jctl journalctl -p 3 -xb Show priority-3 (error) journal entries
from the current boot
5. FUNCTIONS REFERENCE
5.1 File and Directory
cat
Synopsis: cat [args...]
Wraps bat for files with syntax highlighting and line numbers.
Passes directories to ls. Falls back to /usr/bin/cat.
cat README.md
cat ~/projects/myapp
copy
Synopsis: copy <source> <dest>
Wraps cp, stripping trailing slashes from source directories to
prevent unintended nesting inside the destination.
copy ./mydir/ ~/backup # copies mydir INTO backup, not backup/mydir/
du
Synopsis: du [--disk|--dir|--dua] [args...]
Smart disk-usage dispatcher:
--disk force duf (disk-level free/used overview)
--dir force dust (per-directory tree breakdown)
--dua force dua (fast space analyzer)
Without flags, routes to the most appropriate tool by context.
du ~/Downloads
du --disk
dusize
Synopsis: dusize [dir]
Human-readable disk usage for a directory via du -sh. Defaults to cwd.
dusize ~/Videos
lD
Synopsis: lD [args...]
Lists directories only in long format with icons. Uses eza, falls back
to lsd, then system ls.
lD ~/projects
ls
Synopsis: ls [args...]
Lists files in long format with icons and hyperlinks. Uses eza, falls
back to lsd, then system ls.
ls
ls -a ~/projects
lsr
Synopsis: lsr [args...]
Lists files sorted by modification time, oldest first. Uses eza.
lss
Synopsis: lss [args...]
Lists files sorted by size with gradient color scaling. Uses eza.
lstree
Synopsis: lstree [args...]
Full recursive tree view with icons. Uses eza.
lstree ~/projects/myapp
lt
Synopsis: lt [args...]
Tree view limited to depth 2 with icons. Uses eza.
lt ~/projects
ltr
Synopsis: ltr [args...]
Lists files sorted by modification time, oldest first, long format with
age-based gradient scaling. Uses eza.
lx
Synopsis: lx [args...]
Lists files sorted by extension, long format. Uses eza.
mkdir
Synopsis: mkdir [args...]
Interactive mkdir that prints a tree of created directories.
Falls back to mkdir -p silently.
mkdir ~/projects/myapp/src
mkcd
Synopsis: mkcd [-s] <dir>
Creates a directory (including parents) and cd into it. Prints a tree
of created dirs by default; -s/--silent suppresses output.
mkcd ~/projects/newapp/src
poke
Synopsis: poke <file> [file...]
Creates files via touch, automatically creating any missing parent
directories first.
poke ~/projects/new/src/main.fish
rm
Synopsis: rm [-e [opts] | -S | args...]
Safe rm wrapper routing to trash:
(no args) List current trash contents
-e/--empty Empty the trash (pass options to trash-empty)
-S/--secure Permanently delete via rm -rf + fstrim (irreversible)
-r/-R/--recursive Move to trash
<paths> Move to trash (safe delete)
Falls back to /usr/bin/rm when trash is unavailable.
rm file.txt # moves to trash
rm -e # empty trash
rm -S sensitive.pem # permanent delete
rg
Synopsis: rg [args...]
In Kitty, wraps ripgrep with --hyperlink-format=kitty so search
results are clickable file links in the terminal. Falls back to
system rg in any other terminal. All other arguments pass through
unchanged.
rg "fish_greeting" ~/.config/fish/
rg -l "TODO" ~/projects/myapp
scrub
Synopsis: scrub [-a] [-d] [-h]
Recursively removes OS metadata, editor artifacts, compiler output,
and dev caches using fd.
-a/--aggressive Also removes node_modules, logs, .cache, IDE dirs,
AI session artifacts
-d/--dry-run Print what would be removed without deleting
scrub
scrub -a
scrub -d
5.2 Navigation
cdi
Synopsis: cdi [query]
Interactive directory picker combining zoxide frecency with fzf.
Equivalent to zi.
cdi myproject
clone
Synopsis: clone [args...]
Clone a git repository into a new Kitty window. Kitty-only.
clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
clonet
Synopsis: clonet [args...]
Clone a git repository into a new Kitty tab. Kitty-only.
clonet https://github.com/user/repo.git
5.3 Editors and Viewers
edit
Synopsis: edit [-V|-t] [-e EDITOR] [-c] [-x TEXT] [-n] [-v|-s] [FILE...]
Opens files in a text editor, choosing a terminal or GUI editor and
resolving a rich chain of fallbacks. With no --visual/--terminal flag the
mode is auto-detected: interactive terminals use the terminal editor
($EDITOR), while detached invocations (e.g. desktop shortcuts) use the GUI
editor ($VISUAL). Clipboard contents and literal strings can be opened as
throwaway temp files. Editor output is suppressed unless --verbose.
GUI fallback chain: zed → antigravity-ide → code → kate → kwrite →
gnome-text-editor → gedit
Terminal fallback chain: nvim → vim → micro → nano → vi
Options:
-V, --visual Force the GUI editor ($VISUAL or fallbacks)
-t, --terminal Force the terminal editor ($EDITOR or fallbacks)
-e, --editor=X Use a specific editor binary X
-c, --clipboard Open the clipboard contents (as a temp file)
-x, --text=STR Open STR as the contents of a new temp file
-n, --new Force a new window/instance (best-effort)
-v, --verbose Print the launch command and editor output
-s, --silent Suppress all output, including the editor's
-h, --help Show this help message
edit ~/.config/fish/config.fish
edit --visual notes.txt
edit --terminal --new todo.md
edit --editor=code --clipboard
edit --text="hello world"
fc
Synopsis: fc [command_prefix]
Edit the last shell command (or one matching a prefix) in $EDITOR,
then execute the result. Bash-style fc behaviour.
fc
fc git
less
Synopsis: less [args...]
Pager wrapper with fallback chain: $PAGER -> ov -> less -> more -> cat.
less /var/log/syslog
rawfish
Synopsis: rawfish [args...]
Launches Fish with NO_TMUX=1, bypassing any tmux auto-attach logic.
Useful when you need a clean shell without session management.
view
Synopsis: view [args...]
Opens files in nvim read-only mode (-R). Falls back to less.
view /etc/fstab
5.4 Git and Version Control
branch
Synopsis: branch <branch_name>
Switches to a local branch, or creates it if it does not exist.
branch feature/new-ui
gi
Synopsis: gi [-h] [-b] [-p] [-s] [-l] [targets...]
Generates .gitignore content from the gitignore.io API with MD5-based
deduplication (patterns already present are not re-appended).
-b/--boilerplate Append generic boilerplate first
-p/--prompt Prompt interactively for targets
-s/--stdout Print to stdout instead of appending to .gitignore
-l/--list List all available targets
targets Comma-separated or space-separated target names
gi python,venv
gi -b -p
gi -s node > .gitignore
git-clean
Synopsis: git-clean [-f]
Fetches and prunes the remote, fast-forwards the current branch, then
deletes local branches whose remote tracking branch has been deleted.
Switches to main/master automatically if the current branch is orphaned.
-f/--force Force-delete unmerged branches too
git-clean
git-clean --force
gitup
Synopsis: gitup [args...]
Fetches updates from the remote and shows git status. Extra args are
forwarded to git fetch.
gitup
gitup --all
gitui
Synopsis: gitui [args...]
Launches gitui with the Catppuccin Frappe theme pre-applied.
hist
Synopsis: hist
Searches shell history with fzf, inserts the selection into the command
line, and copies it to the clipboard via wl-copy.
5.5 Package Management
pkg
Synopsis: pkg [-h] [-i|-u] <package> [package...]
Installs or removes packages using the detected system package manager.
Supports: paru, yay, pacman, apt, dnf, zypper, yum, brew, pkg.
(no flag) Auto mode: installs missing packages, removes installed ones
-i/--install Force install
-u/--uninstall Force uninstall
pkg firefox # auto: install if missing, remove if present
pkg -i ripgrep fd # force install
pkg -u cowsay # force uninstall
The package-installed check uses the correct query for each PM:
pacman/paru/yay pacman -Qi
apt dpkg -s
dnf/zypper/yum rpm -q
brew brew list
pkg pkg info
search
Synopsis: search [args...]
Interactive AUR package search and install via paru or yay.
Arch Linux only.
search neovim
upgrade
Synopsis: upgrade
Full system upgrade via paru -Syu --noconfirm or yay -Syu --noconfirm.
Arch Linux only.
cleanup
Synopsis: cleanup
Lists and removes orphan packages via pacman, logging their names to
~/.removed_orphans. Arch Linux only.
parur
Synopsis: parur
Opens an fzf picker of all installed packages (with pacman -Qi previews),
then removes the selected packages via paru or yay. Arch Linux only.
parur
5.6 Dependency Management
fish-deps
Synopsis: fish-deps [status|install|update|sync]
Unified command for managing all tools this configuration depends on.
status (default) Show installed/missing status grouped by tier
install Interactively install each missing dependency
update Update all installed dependencies
sync Install missing deps, then update all
Install method priority (highest to lowest):
1. git+cargo source build (fish shell itself)
2. cargo (Rust tools — gets latest crate version)
3. system PM (paru/apt/brew/etc.)
4. git clone (fzf)
5. curl installer (starship, fisher, uv)
When multiple methods are available you are prompted to choose.
Dependencies are grouped into three tiers:
Required fish, fzf, zoxide
Integrations wakatime, tailscale
Recommended cargo, starship, uv, direnv, paru, yay, eza, lsd, bat,
btop, dust, duf, prettyping, ov, ripgrep, lazygit,
lazydocker, trash, kitty, wezterm, python3
fish-deps
fish-deps install
fish-deps update
fish-deps sync
check_fish_deps
Synopsis: check_fish_deps
Backwards-compatibility alias for `fish-deps status`.
5.7 System and Monitoring
top
Synopsis: top [args...]
Launches btop as a modern resource monitor. Falls back to system top.
swapstat
Synopsis: swapstat
Displays a colorized memory report: kernel swappiness, zRAM compression
ratio, zRAM device details, and active swap priorities.
sbver
Synopsis: sbver [--brief]
Verifies Secure Boot signatures on all EFI binaries tracked by sbctl.
Color-codes results: green checkmark (verified), red X (unsigned).
Prints a pass/fail summary.
--brief Suppress per-file output, show only the summary
sbver
sbver --brief
ports
Synopsis: ports
Lists active TCP listeners with lsof, showing port/address without
hostname resolution.
screensleep
Synopsis: screensleep
Turns off the display via KDE PowerDevil's "Turn Off Screen" action,
invoked through busctl.
lock
Synopsis: lock
Locks the current desktop session using loginctl lock-session.
sudo-toggle
Synopsis: sudo-toggle
Toggles the sudo NOPASSWD rule on/off via /etc/sudoers.d/nofail-toggle.
Useful for automated tasks that would otherwise require password entry.
limine-edit
Synopsis: limine-edit
Opens /boot/limine.conf in sudoedit, then automatically re-enrolls the
config hash, runs CachyOS boot hooks, and re-signs Secure Boot files.
Combines the edit and sign steps into a single command.
5.8 Terminal Management
tab
Synopsis: tab [args...]
Opens a new tab in Kitty (kitty @ launch --type=tab), WezTerm
(wezterm cli spawn), or Konsole. Uses current working directory,
or $cdto if set.
tab
split
Synopsis: split [-h|-v] [command...]
Opens a new pane in Kitty or WezTerm, optionally running a command.
-h/--horizontal (default) Split below
-v/--vertical Split to the right
split
split -v nvim README.md
spwin
Synopsis: spwin [args...]
Spawns a new terminal OS window in Kitty (via spawn-window.sh or
kitty @ launch --type=os-window) or WezTerm (wezterm cli spawn --new-window).
detach
Synopsis: detach [-h] [--version] <command> [args...]
Runs a command fully detached via nohup with stdout/stderr discarded.
The command survives the current session.
detach rsync -a ./data remote:/backup/
bkg
Synopsis: bkg <command> [args...]
Launches a command in the background via nohup with output discarded.
Simpler than detach; no version flag.
bkg firefox
ssh
Synopsis: ssh [args...]
In Kitty, wraps ssh with kitten ssh for better terminal integration
(multiplexing, copy/paste support). Falls back to system ssh elsewhere.
ssh user@host
5.9 Clipboard
y
Synopsis: y [text...]
Copies text to the clipboard via wl-copy (Wayland) or xclip (X11).
Reads from stdin if no arguments given.
y "hello world"
ls | y
cat file.txt | y
p
Synopsis: p [args...]
Outputs clipboard contents to stdout.
p | grep foo
p > file.txt
paste
Alias for p. Identical behaviour.
5.10 Network
gip
Synopsis: gip
Fetches and prints both the public IPv4 and IPv6 address via
icanhazip.com.
gip4
Synopsis: gip4
Fetches and prints the public IPv4 address.
gip6
Synopsis: gip6
Fetches and prints the public IPv6 address. Returns 1 if IPv6 is
unavailable.
ping
Synopsis: ping [args...]
Wraps prettyping with --nolegend. Pass --legend to show the legend.
Falls back to system ping.
ping google.com
qr
Synopsis: qr [text...]
Generates a UTF-8 QR code from text or stdin. Uses qrencode locally;
falls back to the qrenco.de API.
qr "https://example.com"
echo "https://example.com" | qr
5.11 Pager and Logging
logs
Synopsis: logs [-c <category>]
Interactively browses terminal log files sorted newest-first using fzf.
-c/--category Filter to: scrollback, paru, or yay
Keybindings inside the fzf browser:
Enter Open in $PAGER
Ctrl+E Open in $EDITOR
Ctrl+D Delete (with confirmation)
? Toggle keybind help overlay
Paru and yay logs open in ov with syntax highlighting and sticky section
headers. Scrollback logs open in ov with per-command sticky prompt headers
based on OSC 133 markers.
logs
logs -c paru
logs -c scrollback
smart_exit
Synopsis: smart_exit [-n]
Closes the shell session. In Kitty, captures the terminal scrollback to
a timestamped log file in $SCROLLBACK_HISTORY_DIR before exiting.
Automatically prunes the oldest logs when the count exceeds
$SCROLLBACK_HISTORY_MAX_FILES.
-n/--no-log Exit without saving a scrollback log
The exit builtin is wired to smart_exit for interactive sessions.
Typing exit or Ctrl+D behaves identically to smart_exit.
smart_exit
smart_exit --no-log
5.12 AI and Developer Tools
agy
Synopsis: agy [args...]
Wrapper for the agy Antigravity AI CLI. Before launching, delegates to
agents-init --agents to ensure AGENTS/ is scaffolded and CLAUDE.md is
symlinked to AGENTS/AGENTS.md in the current project, then forwards all
arguments verbatim to the real agy binary. Command shadow (C1): when
__fish_config_op_aliases (or the master) is disabled, the call is
passed through to the real agy binary unchanged.
agy chat
agy resume
antigravity-ide
Synopsis: antigravity-ide [args...]
Runs the antigravity-ide editor with warnings filtered.
agents-init
Synopsis: agents-init [--agents | --plugins]
Scaffold an AGENTS/ sub-repository for tracking agent specs, plans, specs,
and dev logs. Creates AGENTS/ as a standalone git repo, moves any existing
AGENTS.md into it, and replaces it with a relative symlink (plus
CLAUDE.md -> AGENTS/AGENTS.md so Claude Code picks up the shared agent
instructions). Consolidates plans/ and specs/ directly under AGENTS/
(merging any legacy docs/plans, docs/superpowers/plans, or old
AGENTS/plugins/ locations into the canonical AGENTS/<tgt>), creates
AGENTS/devlogs/, and wires docs/superpowers/{plans,specs} symlinks back to
them. Adds managed paths to .gitignore and auto-commits every change inside
the AGENTS/ sub-repo; pulls first when the sub-repo has an upstream.
Fully idempotent: a second run produces no output and no new commits.
Flags: --agents re-runs only the AGENTS.md / symlink step; --plugins
re-runs only the plans/specs/devlogs wiring step. Called automatically by
the claude and agy wrappers on every invocation.
Structure versioning: each AGENTS/ repo carries a self-contained version
bumper. AGENTS/.version holds MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH (seeded 1.0.0). Committed
git hooks under AGENTS/.agents-tools/ (wired via core.hooksPath) bump it on
every commit: MINOR (resetting PATCH) when the tracked directory set
changes, PATCH otherwise; MAJOR is manual-only. A prepare-commit-msg hook
appends "(vX.Y.Z)" to the commit subject. Downstream tooling can read
AGENTS/.version - a changed MINOR field signals a structure change. Because
core.hooksPath is a single setting, the local override would otherwise
shadow your global hooks; after bumping the version, each shim chains
(execs) to the global/system core.hooksPath hook of the same name so global
pre-commit / prepare-commit-msg hooks (e.g. ggshield, Git LFS) still run.
The script and hooks are shipped from scripts/agents-tools/ and refreshed
when their version marker is stale.
agents-init
agents-init --agents
agents-init --plugins
claude
Synopsis: claude [args...]
Wrapper for the claude CLI. Before launching, delegates to agents-init
--agents to ensure AGENTS/ is scaffolded and CLAUDE.md is symlinked to
AGENTS/AGENTS.md in the current project, then forwards all arguments
verbatim to the real claude binary. Command shadow (C1): when
__fish_config_op_aliases (or the master) is disabled, the call is
passed through to the real claude binary unchanged.
claude
claude --resume
claude-docs
Synopsis: claude-docs
Invokes Claude Code to analyze recent repository changes and update
README.md, ensuring all documented features and examples are accurate.
claude-pr
Synopsis: claude-pr
Invokes Claude Code to run the full PR workflow: create branch,
conventional commit, verification, push, and open a PR with a manual
verification checklist.
superpowers
Synopsis: superpowers [on|off] [-g]
Enables or disables the Superpowers plugin for Antigravity and Claude
Code at workspace/project scope (default) or user scope (-g/--global).
superpowers on
superpowers off -g
5.13 Media and Utilities
dng2avif
Synopsis: dng2avif [-i <file>] [-o <file>] [-q <n>] [-s <n>] [input.dng]
Converts a DNG raw image to a 10-bit HDR AVIF using an ImageMagick,
ffmpeg, avifenc pipeline with metadata sync via exiftool.
-i/--input Input file (or positional arg)
-o/--output Output file (default: same name, .avif extension)
-q/--quality Quality 0-100 (default 92)
-s/--speed Encoding speed 0-10 (default 3)
dng2avif photo.dng
dng2avif -q 85 -s 5 -i shot.dng -o out.avif
steam-dl
Synopsis: steam-dl
Launches Steam under systemd-inhibit, preventing the system from going
idle or sleeping while a download is in progress.
spark
Synopsis: spark [--min=<n>] [--max=<n>] [numbers...]
Renders a Unicode sparkline bar chart for a sequence of numbers.
Reads from stdin if no numbers are given.
spark 1 1 2 5 14 42
echo "3 7 2 9 1" | spark
5.14 Miscellaneous
config-help
Synopsis: config-help [SECTION]
config-help [SECTION] --html
config-help [SECTION] --man
config-help -h | --help
Opens the offline fish shell configuration manual. Without flags, opens
the Markdown source in the best available pager (ov > bat > man > less >
cat). If SECTION is given, jumps to the first heading matching that
keyword (case-insensitive; checks fish-config.index aliases first).
Flags:
--html / -w Open docs/html/index.html in the default browser.
If SECTION is given, opens at the matching anchor.
Detects the browser via xdg-mime x-scheme-handler/https,
then known binaries, then xdg-open as last resort.
Respects $fish_help_browser and $BROWSER.
--man / -m Open docs/fish-config.1 via man -l directly.
If SECTION is given, jumps to the nearest match.
--help / -h Print usage and navigation key reference.
config-help keybindings
config-help pkg
config-help --html
config-help pkg --html
config-help --man
config-help pkg --man
Also available as: help config [SECTION] [FLAGS]
config-update
Synopsis: config-update [-h] [-n] [-f]
Pulls the latest fish configuration from the upstream repository
(https://git.rootiest.dev/rootiest/fish-config.git) into ~/.config/fish.
The remote URL is hard-coded, so this works on fresh clones with no git
remote configured. All git output is suppressed; colored messages report
fetch and merge status. After a successful pull, run `exec fish` to
reload.
Flags:
--dry-run / -n Fetch and show available commits without applying them.
--force / -f Stash local changes, pull, then restore the stash.
--help / -h Show usage.
config-update
config-update --dry-run
config-update --force
config-toggle
Synopsis: config-toggle [-h]
Opens an interactive TUI for toggling the six opinionated component
categories (C1–C6) and the master disable variable without having to
type or remember variable names. Two scope tabs allow independent
per-scope configuration:
Universal — persists across all sessions (set -U)
Session — current shell only (set -g)
Changes apply immediately on each value keypress. Always available
regardless of the __fish_config_opinionated master state.
The panel adapts to the terminal width automatically, selecting from
four layout tiers (with a 6-column buffer on each side before stepping
up to the next tier) and horizontally centering the box. The panel
redraws within ~0.3 s of a terminal resize with no keypress required.
COLUMNS >= 90 → 78-wide panel (most detail)
COLUMNS >= 86 → 74-wide panel
COLUMNS >= 82 → 70-wide panel
COLUMNS < 82 → 52-wide panel (default)
Navigation:
↑ ↓ / k j Move cursor
← → / h l Set value: OFF ← DEFAULT → ON (clamped)
Tab Switch scope (Universal ↔ Session)
q / Escape Exit
Left/Right (or vim-style h/l) move the highlighted value one step along
the OFF–DEFAULT–ON scale and stop at the ends. DEFAULT erases the
variable so the master switch / built-in default applies.
Flags:
--help / -h Show usage.
config-toggle
bash
Synopsis: bash [args...]
Switches to bash, with XDG config applied. On exit, $SHELL is reset
back to fish.
bd-pull
Synopsis: bd-pull <owner/repo>
Fetches unlinked Gitea issues and creates local Beads entries, updating
issue titles with the assigned Beads IDs.
Requires $GITEA_TOKEN and $GITEA_URL to be set.
bd-pull rootiest/fish-config
cheat
Synopsis: cheat <topic> [args...]
Displays a colorized cheatsheet using cheat -c, falls back to tldr,
then man.
cheat tar
cheat git
cffetch / ffetch
Synopsis: cffetch [args...] / ffetch [args...]
Clears the screen and displays system information via fastfetch with
the custom config at ~/.fastfetch.jsonc. Falls back to neofetch.
dockup
Synopsis: dockup [-h] [directory]
Pulls latest Docker images, restarts services in the given Docker
Compose project, and prunes dangling images.
dockup ~/myapp
joplin
Synopsis: joplin [args...]
Runs the Joplin CLI with Node.js deprecation warnings suppressed.
joplin ls
ld
Synopsis: ld
Launches lazydocker targeting the currently active Docker context,
detected via docker context inspect.
replay
Synopsis: replay <commands>
Runs Bash commands and replays any resulting changes to environment
variables, aliases, and the working directory back into the current
Fish session. Useful for sourcing Bash scripts.
replay "source ~/.bashrc"
replay "export FOO=bar"
kitty-logging
Synopsis: kitty-logging [install|uninstall|status|dismiss] [-h]
Manages the Kitty scrollback watcher that powers C5 logging. Ships a
canonical, version-marked watcher and installs it into the Kitty config
directory, wiring it into kitty.conf through a sentinel-marked managed
block. Commenting out any conflicting watcher line avoids double-capture.
Commands:
install Copy/refresh the watcher and add the managed block
uninstall Remove the managed block and the watcher file
status Show wiring, installed watcher version, and C5 state
dismiss Stop the per-session setup reminder
Runtime capture stays governed by the C5 .logging_disabled sentinel, so
disabling __fish_config_op_logging makes the watcher inert without
uninstalling. Install affects new Kitty windows only.
Example:
kitty-logging install
kitty-logging status
tmux-clean
Synopsis: tmux-clean
Kills all detached (unattached) tmux sessions, leaving attached ones
running.
wake-lock
Synopsis: wake-lock <command> [args...]
Runs a command under systemd-inhibit, preventing the system from going
idle or sleeping until the command completes.
wake-lock rsync -avz src/ dest/
6. DEPENDENCY CATALOG
fish-deps manages these tools. Run fish-deps to check status, or
fish-deps install to install missing ones.
Required
fish Fish shell >= 4.0
fzf Fuzzy finder
zoxide Smart cd with frecency
Integrations
wakatime Developer time tracking
tailscale Mesh VPN client
Recommended
cargo Rust toolchain (via rustup); used by fish-deps to install
Rust-based tools and to build fish from source. All paths
are gated on type -q cargo and degrade gracefully.
starship Cross-shell prompt; loaded via type -q starship guard.
Without it the Catppuccin nim-style fallback prompt activates.
uv Python package and project manager (Astral); used by the
fish-from-source build path in fish-deps. All consumers
degrade gracefully without it.
direnv Per-directory environment loading; integration is fully
guarded with type -q direnv. Without it the direnv hook
is simply not loaded and auto-venv activates normally.
paru AUR helper (Arch only; preferred); guarded throughout —
non-Arch systems silently skip AUR-specific paths.
yay AUR helper (Arch only; fallback to paru); same guards apply.
eza Modern ls replacement
lsd ls replacement (fallback to eza)
bat Syntax-highlighted cat
btop Modern resource monitor
dust Disk usage tree (Rust)
duf Disk usage/free overview
prettyping Colorized ping wrapper
ov Modern pager (replaces less)
ripgrep Fast line search
lazygit Terminal git UI
lazydocker Terminal docker UI
trash Safe delete (trash-cli)
kitty GPU-accelerated terminal (primary)
wezterm GPU-accelerated terminal (alternative)
python3 Standalone interpreter — used by the paru/yay log cleaner.
Note: uv does not provide python3 on PATH, and Arch's base
does not include it, so it is listed separately. All
consumers degrade gracefully without it.
Install Methods
The install priority for each tool:
cargo Rust tools (eza, lsd, bat, dust, ov, ripgrep, trashy, zoxide,
starship) — always gets the latest crate version
system PM paru / apt / brew / dnf / etc. — for tools without a crate
git clone fzf — installed from GitHub to ~/.fzf/
curl starship installer, fisher bootstrap, uv installer
7. CUSTOMIZATION
Machine-local Configuration
Place machine-specific settings that should not be committed to git in:
~/.config/.user-dots/fish/local.fish
Typical uses: additional PATH entries, local aliases, hostname-specific env vars, work-specific tool configs.
Secrets and API Keys
~/.config/.user-dots/fish/secrets.fish
Store API tokens, GPG keys, private credentials here. This file is never committed.
Both files are sourced at the end of config.fish on every interactive session, so they can override anything set earlier.
Overriding Configuration Variables
Any variable set in local.fish after the main config loads takes effect. Example: to increase the scrollback history limit:
# in local.fish
set -gx SCROLLBACK_HISTORY_MAX_FILES 200
Fish Universal Variables
Some settings (fzf colors, theme) are stored in fish_variables via
set -U. These are machine-local and git-ignored. Do not commit
fish_variables.
Opinionated Components (Minimal Mode)
Every opinionated piece of this config is active by default but can be switched off through six category opt-out variables, each evaluated via __fish_variable_check. Set a variable to any falsy value (0, false, no, off, n) to disable its category; erase it or set a truthy value (1, true, yes, on, y) to re-enable. Unset means enabled.
An explicit per-category truthy value takes precedence over the master switch: setting __fish_config_opinionated=0 disables all unset categories, but a category with an explicit truthy value remains enabled regardless.
Variable Disables
------------------------------ ------------------------------------
__fish_config_op_aliases Command shadows and flag injection:
ls->eza, cat->bat, cd->zoxide,
rm->trash, less->ov, top->btop,
ping->prettyping, ssh->kitten,
du->duf/dust, mkdir/bash wrappers,
history timestamps, grep/cp/mv/wget
flag injection, help intercept, claude
AGENTS.md auto-link
__fish_config_op_autoexec Startup side-effects: Fisher
bootstrap, theme apply, paru/yay
wrapper generation, auto venv
activation, WakaTime hook
__fish_config_op_overrides Key and env overrides: Vi mode,
exit->smart_exit, PAGER/MANPAGER,
CDPATH, bang-bang system, autopair,
puffer, starship prompt, theme
colors, FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS, right
prompt
__fish_config_op_integrations Terminal/tool coupling: Kitty/
WezTerm window abbreviations, done
notifications, spwin/tab/split,
hist, logs, upgrade, WakaTime
__fish_config_op_logging Logging & capture: scrollback
capture on exit, paru/yay AUR log
wrappers, Kitty watcher capture;
sentinel file coordinates
cross-process state
__fish_config_op_greeting Greeting & first-run UI: per-session
fish_greeting override (defines empty
function late in config.fish to
suppress distro greetings such as
CachyOS fastfetch); first-run welcome
banner in conf.d/first_run.fish
Examples:
# Disable command shadows only (rm becomes plain rm again):
set -U __fish_config_op_aliases off
# Full minimal mode — disable all six categories at once:
set -U __fish_config_opinionated 0
# Re-enable everything:
set -Ue __fish_config_opinionated
# Minimal mode but keep the greeting:
set -U __fish_config_opinionated 0
set -U __fish_config_op_greeting 1
# (erase both to go back to full-flavor defaults)
For an interactive alternative to setting these variables by hand, run config-toggle — a full-screen TUI that flips any category (including C5 logging) on or off, per session or universally. See its entry in Section 5.
Notes:
- Command shadows (rm, cat, ls, ...) react immediately; conf.d-level components (bindings, prompt, abbreviations, hooks) take effect in new shells.
- With aliases disabled, rm falls back to bare
command rm— files are deleted permanently, not trashed. - Disabled integration commands (spwin, tab, split, hist, logs, upgrade) print an error naming the variable that disabled them.
- On CachyOS, the distro fish config's own aliases, history override, and bang-bang bindings are stripped per category as well.
Component Reference
The following tables detail every component in each category. Use this reference to understand exactly which behaviors change when you toggle a category variable.
C1 — Command Shadows
Disabling __fish_config_op_aliases restores standard system behavior for all of these commands.
Command / Alias Active behavior Disabled fallback
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ls eza -l -a --icons --hyperlink system ls
cat bat syntax-highlighted; dirs → ls /usr/bin/cat
cd zoxide frecency-based navigation fish builtin cd
rm moves files to trash (recoverable) command rm (permanent)
less $PAGER → ov → less → more → cat system less
du duf (disk overview) or dust (dir tree) system du
top btop resource monitor system top
ping prettyping --nolegend animation system ping
ssh kitten ssh in Kitty terminal system ssh
rg rg --hyperlink-format=kitty system rg
mkdir verbose path-tree display on creation mkdir -p silently
bash XDG bashrc + $SHELL reset on exit system bash
history timestamps prepended to every entry fish builtin history
cp / mv forced -i confirmation prompt cp / mv unmodified
wget forced --continue (resume downloads) system wget
grep/fgrep/egrep forced --color=auto system grep variants
dir / vdir forced --color=auto system dir / vdir
help config intercepts "help config" → config-help fish builtin help
claude auto-links AGENTS.md as CLAUDE.md before launch command claude
edit multi-editor launcher (GUI/term + fallbacks) $EDITOR/nvim/nano/vi
When C1 is disabled, rm uses bare command rm with no wrapper — files
are permanently deleted, not trashed. There is no intermediate safety net.
C2 — Startup Side-Effects
These run automatically without any user action. Disabling __fish_config_op_autoexec prevents all of them.
Component Trigger What it does
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Fisher bootstrap First shell only Downloads and installs fisher
Fisher update After bootstrap Installs all fish_plugins entries
Catppuccin Mocha theme First shell only Applies theme via fish_config
paru wrapper Every startup Writes ~/.local/bin/paru wrapper
yay wrapper Every startup Writes ~/.local/bin/yay wrapper
Python venv activation On every cd Sources .venv/bin/activate.fish
WakaTime command hook On every command Reports to WakaTime API
When C2 is disabled: no Fisher install, no theme application, no paru/yay wrapper generation, no automatic venv activation, and no WakaTime reporting. The first-run completion marker (__fish_config_first_run_complete) is still set so the init does not re-run on subsequent shells.
Python venv activation fires on every directory change. If a directory uses direnv (.envrc present), direnv takes priority and auto-venv is skipped for that directory.
C3 — Key and Environment Overrides
These change fundamental shell behavior: how keys work, which pager opens, and what the prompt looks like. Disabling __fish_config_op_overrides removes all of them.
Override What it replaces or sets
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Vi mode fish_vi_key_bindings replaces default Emacs mode
exit → smart_exit exit wrapper that captures scrollback before closing
PAGER=ov ov used by git, man, and all $PAGER-aware tools
MANPAGER=bat pipeline man pages rendered with syntax highlighting
CDPATH=. ~/projects ~ bare dir names resolve against ~/projects and ~
Bang-bang system ! and $ keys expand history; !^, !*, !-N, !?str?,
^old^new abbreviations; six expand_bang_* helpers
Autopair ( [ { " ' auto-close to (), [], {}, "", ''
Puffer key intercepts . ! $ * keys intercepted for smart expansion
Starship prompt fish_prompt replaced by Starship + OSC 133 markers
Catppuccin colors 30+ fish_color_* variables set to Mocha palette
FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS FZF themed to Catppuccin Mocha colors
Right prompt fish_right_prompt: exit code (on failure) + dim timestamp; always rendered; Docker context added when starship+C3 active
The bang-bang system spans key_bindings.fish, abbr.fish, puffer.fish, and six expand_bang_*.fish functions. All are gated together — disabling C3 removes the entire bang-expansion system at once.
When C3 is disabled, exit falls back to builtin exit with no scrollback
capture, no Kitty IPC, and no file I/O on exit. The scrollback capture block
is independently controlled by C5 (see below).
C4 — Terminal and Tool Integration
These features couple the shell to specific external tools. Disabling __fish_config_op_integrations disables all of them.
Component Requires
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
~60 Kitty/WezTerm abbrs Active Kitty or WezTerm session
(:w, :wv, :wh, :t, etc.)
Done desktop notifications Graphical desktop with a notification daemon
spwin Kitty or WezTerm
tab Kitty, WezTerm, or Konsole
split Kitty or WezTerm
hist fzf + wl-copy (Wayland clipboard)
logs fzf + ov; reads from ~/.terminal_history/
upgrade paru or yay (Arch Linux only)
WakaTime hook wakatime CLI and a configured API key
Disabled integration commands (spwin, tab, split, hist, logs, upgrade) print a colored error to stderr naming the variable that disabled them rather than silently failing.
C5 — Logging and Capture
Five components capture shell output to disk. Disabling __fish_config_op_logging skips all capture and removes the logging wrappers.
Component What it captures
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Scrollback capture Terminal session output saved to:
~/.terminal_history/scrollback_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.log
tmux pane capture Continuous pane stream via pipe-pane, saved to:
~/.terminal_history/tmux_<session>-w<win>-p<pane>_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.log
zellij pane capture Pane scrollback snapshot on shell exit, saved to:
~/.terminal_history/zellij_<session>-p<pane>_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.log
paru wrapper All paru/AUR output captured to:
~/.terminal_history/paru_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.log
yay wrapper All yay/AUR output captured to:
~/.terminal_history/yay_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.log
Kitty watcher watcher.py captures scrollback when Kitty closes
The tmux capture starts automatically when fish launches inside any tmux pane ($TMUX is set). It uses tmux's native pipe-pane to stream all pane output directly to disk without an intermediate process. Each fish shell session gets its own log file; a new log is created on each shell start (including exec fish and new splits). Before each new log, the oldest tmux_*.log files are pruned (by modification time) to keep the total within SCROLLBACK_HISTORY_MAX_FILES, matching the paru/yay wrapper behaviour.
The zellij capture works differently: Zellij has no live output-streaming
facility like pipe-pane, so the log is taken as a one-shot snapshot when the
shell exits, via zellij action dump-screen --full --ansi (the --ansi flag
preserves color). The dump is captured on the fish process's stdout and
written to the log file by fish itself (not via --path, which would make the
zellij server write the file). A fish_exit handler (registered whenever
$ZELLIJ is set) writes the pane's full scrollback and then prunes old
zellij_*.log files the same way. Because the capture happens at exit, toggling
__fish_config_op_logging takes effect on the next exit with no restart or
sentinel coordination needed — the C5 guard is re-checked when the handler
fires.
LIMITATION — zellij capture only fires on a clean shell exit (typing exit,
Ctrl-D, or a logout), because that is when the fish_exit handler runs. It does
NOT capture when you close a pane or quit zellij through zellij itself:
- Closing a pane signals the shell and tears the pane down concurrently, so
even if the handler runs,
dump-screenmay find the pane buffer already gone. - Quitting zellij kills the zellij server, and
dump-screenneeds a live server to read from — there is nothing left to snapshot.
This is a structural difference from tmux, NOT a bug. tmux streams pane output
to disk continuously via pipe-pane, so whatever was printed is already saved
no matter how the pane dies. Zellij can only snapshot, and the only reliable
snapshot point from the shell is a clean exit. To guarantee a zellij pane is
logged, end the session with exit or Ctrl-D rather than zellij's close-pane
or quit actions.
The Kitty watcher is managed by the kitty-logging command: it installs a
version-marked watcher (fish-config-watcher.py) into the Kitty config directory
and wires it into kitty.conf via a managed block. Inside Kitty, a non-blocking
per-session reminder points first-time users at kitty-logging install until
they install or run kitty-logging dismiss. Install affects new Kitty windows
only; runtime disable is still handled by the .logging_disabled sentinel.
Logging coordination via sentinel file
C5 uses a sentinel file to synchronize state between the shell and out-of-process components (the Kitty watcher and all running shells):
~/.config/fish/.logging_disabled
Disabling __fish_config_op_logging:
- Creates the sentinel immediately in every open shell.
- Removes ~/.local/bin/paru and ~/.local/bin/yay logging wrappers; bare /usr/bin/paru and /usr/bin/yay are used instead.
- Kitty's watcher.py reads the sentinel on each save attempt and skips capture — no Kitty restart required.
- smart_exit stops saving scrollback logs.
- Stops tmux pipe-pane capture in every open fish shell inside tmux.
Re-enabling __fish_config_op_logging:
- Removes the sentinel in every open shell.
- Regenerates paru/yay logging wrappers in ~/.local/bin/.
- Kitty watcher resumes capture on the next session exit.
- Restarts tmux pipe-pane capture in every open fish shell inside tmux.
Changes propagate to all running shells through an event handler that fires whenever __fish_config_op_logging changes — no shell restart needed.
Note: C3 and C5 compose independently. C3 controls whether the smart_exit wrapper is active at all; C5 controls only the scrollback-capture block inside it. With C3 disabled, exit is plain builtin exit regardless of C5.
C6 — Greeting and First-Run UI
Component What it shows
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
First-run welcome banner One-time message on first interactive session
fish_greeting override Empty function defined late in config.fish to
suppress distro greetings (e.g. CachyOS sets
fish_greeting to fastfetch by default)
When C6 is disabled, no greeting is printed by this config. Any greeting set by the distro or other configs runs normally — this config simply does not override it.
Prompt and Theme
Starship
The primary prompt is Starship, initialized by conf.d/starship.fish. Configure it via ~/.config/starship.toml.
conf.d/starship.fish defines a fish_prompt wrapper that only activates when starship is in PATH. It emits OSC 133;A (prompt start) immediately before Starship renders and OSC 133;B (input start) immediately after, placing both markers on the prompt line itself. This allows ov to use them as sticky section headers when browsing scrollback logs. Without Starship, fish's built-in prompt handles these markers automatically.
Catppuccin Fallback Prompt
When Starship is absent or C3 overrides are disabled, a built-in nim-style two-line prompt activates from functions/fish_prompt.fish. No external dependencies — fish builtins only.
Layout:
┬─[user@host:~/path] (main)
╰─>$
Elements:
user Yellow (Catppuccin Yellow); red if root
@host Blue (local) or Teal (SSH)
~/path prompt_pwd abbreviation (Catppuccin Text)
(main) Current git branch in Catppuccin Pink; omitted outside repos
─[V:name] Active Python venv basename; omitted when none
─[N/I/R/V] Vi-mode indicator when vi bindings are active
┬─ / ╰─> Connector lines: Catppuccin Green on success, Red on failure
The right prompt (fish_right_prompt.fish) always renders, regardless of C3 state. On failure it shows a red ✘ and the exit code; on success it shows only the dim timestamp. When starship is installed and C3 is enabled, the active Docker context is also shown (if non-default):
✘ 1 myctx Fri Jun 12 00:51:21 2026 ← failed, starship+C3 active
✘ 1 Fri Jun 12 00:51:21 2026 ← failed, fallback prompt
Fri Jun 12 00:51:21 2026 ← success (no ✘)
FZF
FZF is themed to Catppuccin Mocha via FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS set in integrations/fzf.fish. The colors applied:
Background: #1E1E2E (base) #313244 (surface0)
Foreground: #CDD6F4 (text)
Highlights: #F38BA8 (red) #CBA6F7 (mauve) #B4BEFE (lavender)
To customize, override FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS in local.fish.
Catppuccin Mocha Syntax Highlighting
The Catppuccin Mocha theme ships with this config in themes/ and is applied
on first run via conf.d/first_run.fish. Colors are stored in fish_variables
(universal). To switch variants, install a different theme from themes/:
fish_config theme save "Catppuccin Latte"
8. FISHER PLUGINS
Fisher is bootstrapped automatically on the first interactive session via
conf.d/first_run.fish. This also applies the Catppuccin Mocha theme and
prints a one-time welcome message (gated by __fish_config_op_greeting; set
it to 0 to suppress). Subsequent sessions skip all first-run logic with zero
overhead.
To re-trigger first-run initialization (e.g., after a fresh install or for testing), run:
set -Ue __fish_config_first_run_complete
Then open a new shell.
Fisher-Managed Plugins
The following plugins are fully managed by Fisher. Their files are installed
into the repo directory by Fisher and are listed in .gitignore — do not
commit them. Fisher installs and updates them automatically.
jorgebucaran/fisher Plugin manager itself
meaningful-ooo/sponge Remove failed commands from history
Sponge History Filtering
Sponge removes failed commands from history and, via conf.d/sponge_privacy.fish, also filters privacy-sensitive commands through three layers:
Layer 1 — Static patterns (universal, persistent across sessions): Commands matching any of these structural signatures are never recorded:
--password / --token / --passphrase / --api-key flags with values
Inline env assignments: GITHUB_TOKEN=xxx, MY_API_KEY=abc
Fish set with sensitive names: set -gx GITHUB_TOKEN xxx
URLs with embedded credentials: https://user:pass@host
HTTP Authorization headers: curl -H "Authorization: ..."
Basic auth flags: curl -u user:pass
sshpass, docker login -p, openssl -passin/-passout
Layer 2 — Dynamic secret values (session globals, refreshed each login): On the first prompt, after secrets.fish has loaded, the literal values of all exported variables whose names suggest credentials (TOKEN, PASSWORD, SECRET, API_KEY, etc.) are collected, regex-escaped, and added as a session-scoped overlay. Because globals shadow universals in Fish, the combined list is what sponge sees. Rotating a token takes effect on the next login automatically.
Layer 3 — Per-command filter (sponge_filter_secrets): Catches credentials in variables exported after login, such as tokens sourced from a project .env file mid-session.
To add your own persistent patterns:
set -U -a sponge_regex_patterns 'your-regex-here'
Bundled Plugin Functionality
The remaining plugin functionality is bundled directly with this config rather than managed through Fisher. The bundled versions include customizations for Fish 4.x compatibility and improved behavior that differ from their upstream releases. Installing them through Fisher would overwrite these customizations.
Bundled components and their upstream origins:
catppuccin/fish → themes/ + conf.d/theme.fish
PatrickF1/fzf.fish → functions/_fzf_*.fish + conf.d/fzf.fish
franciscolourenco/done → conf.d/done.fish
jorgebucaran/autopair.fish → functions/_autopair_*.fish + conf.d/autopair.fish
nickeb96/puffer-fish → functions/_puffer_fish_*.fish + conf.d/puffer.fish
Do not run fisher install for these — it will overwrite the customized
versions. To update their behavior, edit the relevant bundled files directly.
fish_plugins Manifest
The fish_plugins file at the config root:
jorgebucaran/fisher Plugin manager itself
meaningful-ooo/sponge Remove failed commands from history
To update all Fisher-managed plugins, run fisher update or fish-deps update which calls it as its first step.
9. INSTALLATION
This configuration is managed as a git repository. To deploy on a new machine:
mv ~/.config/fish ~/.config/fish.bak # back up any existing config
git clone https://git.rootiest.dev/rootiest/fish-config.git ~/.config/fish
Then open a new Fish shell. Fisher installs automatically on first launch and the Catppuccin Mocha theme is applied. All other plugin functionality is bundled directly with this config and requires no additional installation.
Return Sentinel
config.fish ends with a return sentinel guard. Any lines appended after it by a tool's setup command (starship init fish | source, zoxide init fish | source, etc.) will have no effect. All integrations are managed via conf.d/ files.
If a new tool's shell integration appears to do nothing, check whether its setup command appended an init line below the sentinel and create a dedicated conf.d/.fish instead.
Updating
Pull the latest changes from the upstream repository without needing a configured git remote:
config-update Fetch and apply the latest commits from upstream
config-update --dry-run Preview available changes without applying them
config-update --force Stash local changes, pull, then restore the stash
The remote URL (https://git.rootiest.dev/rootiest/fish-config.git) is hard-coded, so this works on a fresh clone with no origin configured. All git output is suppressed. Run exec fish after a successful update to reload.
10. PERSONALIZATION
Sensitive credentials and machine-specific settings are kept out of version control in a private directory at ~/.config/.user-dots/fish/. Two files are sourced automatically by config.fish if they exist:
~/.config/.user-dots/fish/
├── secrets.fish API keys, tokens, passwords, personal identifiers
└── local.fish Machine-specific paths and environment variables
fish_variables (auto-managed by fish) is excluded from this repo via .gitignore. Do not commit it.
secrets.fish
Store anything you would not commit to a public repo: API keys, auth tokens, passwords, and personal identifiers.
set -gx MY_NAME "Your Name"
set -gx MY_EMAIL "you@example.com"
set -gx GPG_RECIPIENT "you@example.com"
set -gx GITHUB_TOKEN ghp_yourTokenHere
set -gx OPENAI_API_KEY sk-proj-yourKeyHere
set -gx GITEA_TOKEN yourGiteaTokenHere
set -gx GITEA_CHOSEN_LOGIN your.gitea.instance
set -gx KOPIA_PASSWORD yourKopiaPassword
local.fish
Store paths and variables specific to one machine — things that would be wrong on any other system.
# CDPATH — directories searched by cd
set -gx CDPATH . /home/youruser/projects /home/youruser
# Path to your shared .gitignore boilerplate
set -gx GITIGNORE_BOILERPLATE ~/.config/git/gitignore_boilerplate
# SSH shortcuts
abbr -a sshr 'ssh you@your-server.local'
abbr -a sshw 'ssh you@work-server.example.com'
# Docker context shortcuts
abbr -a dcr 'docker context use my-remote-server'
abbr -a dcw 'docker context use work-server'
Both files are sourced at the end of config.fish with an existence check so the public config works cleanly on any machine without the private repo.
11. VIEWING THIS MANUAL
With ov (recommended)
help config
ov renders the Markdown with syntax highlighting and section-based navigation.
Space next section
^ previous section
Alt+u toggle section list sidebar
/ search forward
n / N next / previous search match
g go to line number
j interactive jump target (line, %, or 'section')
q quit
With bat
bat --language=markdown --paging=always ~/.config/fish/docs/fish-config.md
As a man page
help config --man
help config pkg --man
Opens the compiled docs/fish-config.1 directly via man -l, bypassing the pager fallback chain. If a section keyword is given, the pager opens at the nearest matching heading. The symlink is created once on first run (like an install step) and MANPATH is set each session, enabling the standard invocation:
man fish-config
NOTE: fish-config (hyphen) is this config's man page. fish_config (underscore) is fish's built-in browser-based configuration tool — a completely separate command. Do not mix them up.
In the browser (HTML)
help config --html
help config pkg --html
Opens docs/html/index.html in the default web browser. If a section keyword is given, the browser opens directly at the matching anchor (resolved via docs/html/sitemap.json). Browser detection queries the system's x-scheme-handler/https MIME entry (via xdg-mime) to find the real browser binary, then falls back through known browser binaries (firefox, chromium, vivaldi, etc.), and finally xdg-open as a last resort. Set $fish_help_browser or $BROWSER to override.
As a wiki
The generated Markdown wiki lives in docs/wiki/. index.md provides the project overview and a full table of contents. Each section page has a navigation bar at the top linking to every other section.
The wiki is auto-generated from this file by the CI pipeline on every push to main that changes docs/fish-config.md.
Jumping to a section
help config keybindings
help config abbreviations
help config pkg
help config logs
help config fish-deps
The keyword is matched case-insensitively against section headings.