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What is Terminals Are Sexy?
Terminals Are Sexy is a curated directory of terminal-related frameworks, plugins and resources for people who spend their working day in a command line. Rather than a single tool you install, it is a catalogue: one page that groups shells, terminal emulators, package managers, text editors and assorted tools so you can find options without trawling scattered blog posts.
What it covers
The page is organised by category, with a table of contents linking to each section:
- Shells — base shells such as bash, zsh, fish, PowerShell and xonsh, followed by a large ZSH subsection of frameworks and plugin managers (oh-my-zsh, prezto, zim, zinit, zplug, antigen and others), prompts (pure, powerlevel9k, liquidprompt) and add-ons like zsh-autosuggestions.
- Terminal emulation applications — the programs you actually run the shell inside.
- Package managers — split into universal, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS and Windows groups.
- Text editors — editors usable from or alongside the terminal.
- Tools and plugins, communication, community and other "sexy lists" — smaller sections rounding out the collection.
Each entry is a name, a link and a one-line description, for example describing zinit as a flexible Zsh plugin manager with turbo mode, or pure as a pretty, minimal and fast ZSH prompt.
Who it suits
It is most useful to someone setting up or overhauling a terminal environment who wants a shortlist rather than a tutorial. If you have just switched to zsh and are deciding between oh-my-zsh and a lighter manager like zplug or zgen, the list puts the candidates side by side with brief characterisations. It is less suited to beginners wanting step-by-step configuration help, since the page curates links rather than teaching.
A practical next step
Start from the section matching your gap, not the whole page. If your prompt feels cluttered, read only the ZSH prompt entries and pick one to try for a week; if you are moving between operating systems, the split package-manager sections are the fastest route to a working setup. Treat the one-line descriptions as labels for further reading, and check each project's own documentation before committing, since maintenance activity and compatibility are not shown here. For broader terminal reading, GitHub hosts most of the linked projects, and the page itself points to companion "awesome" lists for adjacent topics.
Which Zsh framework or plugin manager should I choose for my setup?
Choose based on how much control you want over your shell and how much startup speed matters. The page lists several Zsh options—frameworks like oh-my-zsh, prezto, zim, and zeesh, plus plugin managers like zinit, zplug, antigen, antibody, zgen, pumice, and zpm—so the real decision is between a full framework and a lighter manager.
Framework vs. plugin manager
| Approach | Listed examples | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full framework | oh-my-zsh, prezto, zim, zeesh | Beginners who want themes, plugins, and sensible defaults out of the box | More bundled configuration; startup can feel heavier unless you trim it |
| Plugin manager | zinit, zplug, antigen, antibody, zgen, pumice, zpm | Users who want to pick each plugin and control load order | You assemble and maintain more of the setup yourself |
| Minimal prompt/config | pure, slimzsh, liquidprompt | People who mainly want a fast, clean prompt | Fewer extras; you add plugins individually |
How to decide
- New to Zsh: start with oh-my-zsh or prezto. They give you a working configuration quickly, and the community around them makes troubleshooting easier.
- Startup speed is your priority: look at zim, which the page describes as "blazing speed and modular extensions," or a lightweight manager like zgen or pumice.
- You want fine-grained control: zinit stands out on the page for "clean fpath, completion management, turbo mode, services," which suits users who care about lazy-loading plugins. zplug is described as "next-generation" and is modeled on vim-plug, so it feels familiar if you already manage Vim plugins that way.
- You want fish-like suggestions without switching shells: add zsh-autosuggestions regardless of which framework you pick.
- You want a polished prompt only: pure (minimal and fast) or liquidprompt (adaptive, works for Bash and Zsh) may be enough without a full framework.
A practical next step is to install one framework and one plugin manager in separate test setups and compare time zsh -i -c exit for each. That gives you a concrete startup number for your own machine rather than relying on general claims. For broader reading, GitHub hosts the repositories for most of these projects, and Oh My Zsh documents its own setup.
How do I pick a terminal emulator for my operating system?
Pick a terminal emulator that runs natively on your OS first, then narrow by the features you actually use daily: tabs/panes, GPU-accelerated rendering, font ligatures and theming, and how much configuration you want to write. Terminals Are Sexy is a curated index organized by shell, terminal emulation application, and package manager, so it works best as a shortlist to explore rather than a single recommendation.
A practical way to decide
- Confirm platform support. Use the site's "Terminal Emulation Applications" section and note which entries list macOS, Linux, Windows, or ChromeOS. Cross-platform matters if you switch machines.
- Match configuration appetite. If you want sensible defaults, favor an emulator you can launch and use immediately. If you enjoy tuning, prioritize one with a config file, plugin ecosystem, and community themes.
- Check the workload. Heavy multiplexing (many panes, long-running sessions) and large log output benefit from fast rendering and solid scrollback; occasional SSH use needs little beyond reliable copy/paste and key remapping.
- Verify your shell pairing. The site separates shells (zsh, fish, bash, PowerShell, xonsh) from emulators, so check that your chosen shell's prompt and plugin setup behaves well in the emulator you pick.
Quick comparison of trade-offs
| Priority | Lean toward | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Zero setup | Default OS terminal or a minimal emulator | Fewer customization options |
| Deep customization | Config-file-driven emulator with themes/plugins | Time spent maintaining config |
| Cross-OS consistency | An emulator listed for multiple platforms | May lag native platform features |
| Speed with heavy output | GPU-accelerated emulator | Can strain older hardware |
Example: A developer on macOS who uses zsh with a plugin manager might start from the site's zsh frameworks (for example oh-my-zsh or zinit) and then test two emulators side by side for a week, comparing startup time, font rendering, and pane workflow.
Next step: Open Terminals Are Sexy, shortlist two or three emulators matching your OS, and run the same shell and prompt setup in each before committing.
What package managers are recommended for each platform?
The page groups package managers by platform rather than recommending a single tool: it separates Universal, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS and Windows sections. That structure itself is the main guidance — pick the manager that matches your operating system first, then choose within that group based on whether you want a broad, cross-platform tool or a native one.
What the categories imply in practice
| Platform group | When it fits | Trade-off to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Universal | You work across several OSes and want one command vocabulary | Fewer platform-specific integrations than a native manager |
| macOS | You want the conventional Mac setup path | Tied to that ecosystem; not portable to Linux or Windows |
| Linux | You want the distro-native route | Choice depends on your distribution's own tooling |
| ChromeOS | You're using the Linux container on a Chromebook | More limited than a full Linux desktop |
| Windows | You want a Windows-native workflow | Separate tooling from the Unix-style managers |
A concrete reader scenario: a developer with a Mac laptop, a Linux server and a Windows work machine can start with the Universal list to keep install commands consistent, then add the macOS and Windows entries only for packages the universal tool doesn't cover well. Someone maintaining a single Linux box is usually better served by the Linux section alone, since distro-native managers handle system libraries and updates more predictably.
Next step
Open the page's Package Managers section and read the entries under the group matching your primary machine; treat the Universal list as a supplement rather than a replacement. If you also spend time configuring your shell, the same page's Shells and ZSH subsections cover plugin managers and frameworks that pair naturally with package-manager workflows. For broader CLI tooling beyond this list, GitHub hosts many of the linked projects' repositories and issue trackers, which is where compatibility details are usually confirmed.
How can I customize my shell prompt to be more informative?
Start with a prompt framework rather than hand-editing your prompt string. For zsh, the page lists several options that manage prompts and configuration for you: oh-my-zsh, prezto, zim, zinit, zplug, antigen and zgen, plus prompt themes such as powerlevel9k and pure. For bash and zsh together, liquidprompt is listed as an adaptive prompt. The practical path is: pick a plugin manager, add one prompt theme, then add small plugins for the information you actually want.
What to put in a prompt
A more informative prompt usually combines a few signals, each answering a different question:
- Where am I? Current directory, shortened to the last one or two levels, so long paths don't crowd the line.
- What state is this? Git branch and dirty/clean status, ideally only shown inside a repository.
- Can I run this? A clear marker for normal versus elevated (root) sessions, and a distinct marker for a failed exit code.
- How long did that take? Command duration, useful when builds or tests are slow.
- What environment is this? Language runtime version or active virtual environment, shown only when relevant.
Resist adding everything. Each segment costs horizontal space and visual scanning time; a prompt that wraps onto a second line on a normal terminal is usually overbuilt.
Matching the tool to your setup
| Situation | Reasonable starting point | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| New to prompt customization, zsh | oh-my-zsh with a built-in theme | Large and opinionated; startup can feel slow once many plugins accumulate |
| Want speed and modularity | zim or zinit | More configuration reading before you see results |
| Minimal, fast prompt only | pure | Few features beyond the essentials |
| Powerline-style visuals | powerlevel9k | Needs a patched font and careful width handling |
| Mixed bash and zsh users | liquidprompt | Less tightly integrated than a native framework |
The page also lists zsh-autosuggestions, which adds fish-like inline suggestions as you type. That is a typing aid rather than a prompt segment, but it pairs well with a compact prompt because you rely less on the prompt for recall.
A concrete first step
Install one plugin manager, enable a single theme, and add Git status. Live with it for a week, note which segments you ignore, then remove them. A useful reader scenario: a developer who works across several repositories and branches adds branch status and command duration, but drops the username segment because they always work in their own account. Browse the shells and text-editor sections of Terminals Are Sexy for the frameworks and plugins named above, then check each project's own documentation before installing, since configuration syntax differs between managers.
For a quick comparison of terminal emulators that affect how prompts render (font support, true color), see GitHub for the projects themselves.
What tools and plugins are available to improve my command-line workflow?
The site is a curated directory rather than a single tool, so its value is in pointing you toward the right layer of your setup: the shell itself, the framework or plugin manager that configures it, the emulator you run it in, and the prompt that surfaces information. Terminals Are Sexy groups entries under Shells, Terminal Emulation Applications, Package Managers, Text Editors, and Tools and Plugins.
Where each kind of tool fits
| Layer | What it changes | Examples listed on the site | Trade-off to weigh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base shell | The language and behavior you script in | bash, zsh, fish, PowerShell, xonsh, Ammonite-Shell | fish is friendly out of the box but not POSIX-compatible; bash/zsh keep portability |
| Shell framework | Bundles configuration, themes and defaults | oh-my-zsh, prezto, dotzsh, zim, zeesh | Frameworks are fast to start but can be heavy and opinionated |
| Plugin manager | Loads and updates individual plugins | zinit, zplug, antibody, antigen, zgen, pumice, zpm | Managers give control and speed but require you to assemble pieces yourself |
| Prompt | What your prompt shows (git status, paths, timing) | powerlevel9k, pure, liquidprompt | Rich prompts look great but cost startup time |
| Emulator | The window and rendering around the shell | listed under Terminal Emulation Applications | Matters for fonts, splits and performance, not shell features |
Concrete starting points
If you are new to customization, a framework such as oh-my-zsh or prezto gets you themes and common plugins with little effort. If you already know which plugins you want, a manager like zinit, zplug or antibody is the leaner path, and zsh-autosuggestions adds fish-style inline suggestions. For a minimal look, pure is described as a pretty, minimal and fast zsh prompt. If you script in Python, xonsh blends Python with bash-like syntax; if you work with structured data on Windows, PowerShell is the natural fit.
A useful next step: pick your shell first, then choose either a framework or a plugin manager—not both—and add a prompt last, since prompt choice is the easiest thing to change later.
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