Info

This guide will walk you through customising your Bash prompt, how to run fastfetch on start in your terminal, and a few useful terminal programs.

Caution

This tutorial assumes that you are using Bash as your shell, even though some part of the tutorial may apply to non-Bash shells.

For non-Bash users, we cannot guarantee success and will not take responsibility to damages to your system.

Master quick append (Bash)

Paste into ~/.bashrc. Each option is explained in the sections below.

~/.bashrc

#### autorun fastfetch ####
fastfetch

#### custom PS1 prompt ####
PS1='------------------\n\[$(tput setaf 26)\][\[$(tput setaf 32)\]\u \[$(tput setaf 38)\]@ \[$(tput setaf 44)\]\h\[$(tput setaf 26)\]] \[$(tput setaf 75)\]\w\[$(tput sgr0)\]\n > '

#### quick config edit ####
alias edit-bash='$EDITOR ~/.bashrc' # edit this file with your default editor

#### fzf-related aliases ####
alias show-commands='compgen -c | fzf' # show all commands
alias search-history='history | fzf' # search in bash command history

#### enabling zoxide ####
eval "$(zoxide init bash)"

#### yazi: cd-on-exit wrapper ####
function y() {
	local tmp="$(mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")" cwd
	command yazi "$@" --cwd-file="$tmp"
	IFS= read -r -d '' cwd < "$tmp"
	[ "$cwd" != "$PWD" ] && [ -d "$cwd" ] && builtin cd -- "$cwd"
	command rm -f -- "$tmp"
}

Master quick append (Fish)

Quick install:

Fedora

sudo dnf install fish

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install fish

Arch

pacman -S fish

Then set fish as your default shell (log out and back in for it to take effect):

chsh -s $(which fish)

Fish loads functions on demand from ~/.config/fish/functions/.

mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/functions

In ~/.config/fish/:

config.fish

if status is-interactive
    #### disable welcome greeting ####
    set -g fish_greeting

    #### autorun fastfetch ####
    fastfetch

    #### quick config edit ####
    alias edit-fish='$EDITOR ~/.config/fish/config.fish' # edit this file with your default editor

    #### fzf-related aliases ####
    alias show-commands='complete -C "" | fzf' # show all commands
    alias search-history='history | fzf' # search in fish command history

    #### enabling zoxide ####
    zoxide init fish | source
end

functions/fish_prompt.fish

#### custom prompt ####
function fish_prompt
    echo '------------------'
    echo (set_color 005fd7)'['(set_color 0087d7)$USER(set_color 00afd7)' @ '(set_color 00d7d7)(hostname)(set_color 005fd7)'] '(set_color 5fafff)(prompt_pwd -d 0)(set_color normal)
    echo -n ' > '
end

functions/y.fish

#### yazi: cd-on-exit wrapper ####
function y
	set tmp (mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")
	command yazi $argv --cwd-file="$tmp"
	if read -z cwd < "$tmp"; and [ -n "$cwd" ]; and [ "$cwd" != "$PWD" ]
		builtin cd -- "$cwd"
	end
	command rm -f -- "$tmp"
end

Back up current .bashrc

Make a copy of your current .bashrc file and place it somewhere safe.

cp ~/.bashrc ~/.bashrc.bak # Makes a copy of current .bashrc file named .bashrc.bak

Make sure that you have a .bashrc file in your /home/$USER/ at all times. If you followed the command above, you'd be fine.

You'll be editing the .bashrc file from your home directory in this guide, but if you ever want/need to revert back to the original file, simply replace the content in .bashrc from the backup you've made.

Here is an exemplar .bashrc file taken from my Fedora 42 Workstation (hopefully you don't have to use this):

.bashrc

# .bashrc

# Source global definitions
if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
    . /etc/bashrc
fi

# User specific environment
if ! [[ "$PATH" =~ "$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/bin:" ]]; then
    PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/bin:$PATH"
fi
export PATH

# Uncomment the following line if you don't like systemctl's auto-paging feature:
# export SYSTEMD_PAGER=

# User specific aliases and functions
if [ -d ~/.bashrc.d ]; then
    for rc in ~/.bashrc.d/*; do
        if [ -f "$rc" ]; then
            . "$rc"
        fi
    done
fi
unset rc

Aesthetic Changes

Quick append

Your .bashrc should look something like this if you decide to follow all instructions in the following section:

.bashrc

# ... omitted original .bashrc content above

fastfetch

PS1='------------------\n\[$(tput setaf 26)\][\[$(tput setaf 32)\]\u \[$(tput setaf 38)\]@ \[$(tput setaf 44)\]\h\[$(tput setaf 26)\]] \[$(tput setaf 75)\]\w\[$(tput sgr0)\]\n > '

Autorun fastfetch when you open the terminal

You can make your bash terminal autorun fastfetch to display system information every time it starts by appending the following at the bottom of your file.

• Installation

  Fedora

  sudo dnf install fastfetch

  Debian/Ubuntu

  sudo apt install fastfetch

  Arch

  pacman -S fastfetch

• Set up fastfetch in shell

  You can append the following at the bottom of your .bashrc:

  .bashrc

  fastfetch

• Apply the Tuxie's Wiki config (optional)

  For a Tuxie's Wiki-branded fastfetch — the Tux mascot in monochrome with steel-blue accents — download this config.jsonc, extract it, and save it to ~/.config/fastfetch/config.jsonc. fastfetch picks it up automatically.

• Changing the look of the prompt (PS1)

  Now, in your .bashrc, you change the looks of your prompt looks through modifying the PS1 variable.

  You can append the following at the bottom of your .bashrc:

  .bashrc

  PS1='------------------\n\[$(tput setaf 26)\][\[$(tput setaf 32)\]\u \[$(tput setaf 38)\]@ \[$(tput setaf 44)\]\h\[$(tput setaf 26)\]] \[$(tput setaf 75)\]\w\[$(tput sgr0)\]\n > '

• More resources

  • PS1 customisation by Rahul from tecadmin.net

Terminal programs

Quick append

Your .bashrc should look something like this if you decide to follow all instructions in the following section:

.bashrc

# ... omitted original .bashrc content above

#### fzf-related aliases ####
alias show-commands='compgen -c | fzf' # show all commands
alias search-history='history | fzf' # search in bash command history

#### enabling zoxide ####
eval "$(zoxide init bash)"

#### yazi: cd-on-exit wrapper ####
function y() {
	local tmp="$(mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")" cwd
	command yazi "$@" --cwd-file="$tmp"
	IFS= read -r -d '' cwd < "$tmp"
	[ "$cwd" != "$PWD" ] && [ -d "$cwd" ] && builtin cd -- "$cwd"
	command rm -f -- "$tmp"
}

Using fzf (Fuzzy Find)

What is fzf?

fzf is a command-line fuzzy finder that helps you quickly search and navigate files, directories, command history, and more.

• Installation

  Fedora

  sudo dnf install fzf

  Debian/Ubuntu

  sudo apt install fzf

  Arch

  pacman -S fzf

• Add aliases

  Below are example aliases:

  .bashrc

  alias show-commands='compgen -c | fzf' # show all commands
  alias search-history='history | fzf' # search in bash command history

• More resources

  • Tutorial on how to use fzf by DevOps Toolbox
  • Use fzf with zoxide by Dreams of Autonomy
  • More info about fzf from the official fzf GitHub page.

Using zoxide

What is zoxide?

zoxide is a terminal program that is like cd on steroids. It provides cd's functionality with the addition of being able to jump to directories with short, fuzzy-matched commands.

• Installation

  Fedora

  sudo dnf install zoxide

  Debian/Ubuntu

  sudo apt install zoxide

  Arch

  pacman -S zoxide

• Set up zoxide in your Bash shell

  Append the following to your .bashrc:

  .bashrc

  eval "$(zoxide init bash)"

• More resources

  • Tutorial on how to use zoxide by Dreams of Autonomy (includes how to use it with fzf, too)
  • More info about zoxide from the official zoxide GitHub page

Using yazi

What is yazi?

yazi is a fast terminal file manager with image previews, fuzzy navigation, and plugin support.

• Installation

  Fedora

  sudo dnf copr enable lihaohong/yazi
  sudo dnf install yazi

  Debian/Ubuntu

  yazi is not in the stable apt repositories — install it via the Rust toolchain:

  cargo install --locked yazi-fm yazi-cli

  Arch

  pacman -S yazi

• Add the y shell wrapper

  The y function launches yazi and changes your shell to its last directory on exit. Append it to your .bashrc:

  .bashrc

  function y() {
  	local tmp="$(mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")" cwd
  	command yazi "$@" --cwd-file="$tmp"
  	IFS= read -r -d '' cwd < "$tmp"
  	[ "$cwd" != "$PWD" ] && [ -d "$cwd" ] && builtin cd -- "$cwd"
  	command rm -f -- "$tmp"
  }

  Reload with source ~/.bashrc, then run y instead of yazi.

• More resources

  • See our Yazi guide for keys, optional dependencies, and image-preview setup
  • yazi documentation

Contributors

aier9500Lunear01

Changelog

7/27/26, 4:42 PM

View All Changelog

• 67132-Fish prompt: show full path, no dir abbreviationon 7/27/26
• 5b849-Guide style fixes: distro tab order, code-tabs spacingon 7/27/26
• c72d1-Rename guide shell-agnostic: Terminal Customisation; stub redirect at old permalinkon 7/27/26
• ec185-Terminal guide: Fish quick append, drop eza, single demo imageon 7/27/26
• 23d7d-re-theme fastfetch config with Tux logo and blue accents, fix layouton 7/17/26
• eb0c5-docs(guides): serve downloads same-origin as zips, not GitHub linkson 7/13/26
• 19622-batch grammar fix (en_gb)on 7/12/26
• 53daa-Consistency, simplification, and cleanup checkson 6/23/26
• 87203-Updated configs from canonical setup aierNix.on 6/19/26
• 5a130-Added yazi to terminal-customisation-bashon 6/11/26
• bdc42-Full Repository Security Review and Fixeson 6/4/26
• 1ae6c-Fix incorrect info and stylingon 5/29/26
• 9e015-Fixed PS1 colors under bash guideon 5/26/26
• 00c9a-#39 Reformat project so each markdown file has their own asset subfolder in the public asset folder.on 4/30/26
• 41235-GB Englishon 4/30/26
• 7c162-Consistent grammar.on 4/12/26
• 2348f-Grammatical adjustmentson 4/12/26
• f5812-Replaced **bold with highlightson 2/4/26
• 35118-Grammar and Spell Checks for the entire Webon 12/11/25
• 54c8f-Restructuring for better asset management.on 12/10/25
• 9c34e-Adjust difficulty.on 12/10/25
• 5810a-Cleaner way of displaying contributors in articles.on 12/9/25
• 26c5a-Restructuring tags.on 11/10/25
• 18d2a-Consistent heading stylingon 7/16/25
• 6f292-Enhance markdown formatting for consistency across documentationon 7/12/25
• b8933-Using fewer tags for better tag sorting.on 7/5/25
• 9537b-Update terminal customization and guides to include devicons for Linux distributionson 6/25/25
• e2f6b-Refactor guide authorship sections: update titles from "Maintainer" to "Author(s)" and "Contributors" to "Co-author(s)" across multiple guideson 6/13/25
• 0e8c8-Update section titles for clarity in terminal customization guideon 6/12/25
• e746c-Reorder Debian/Ubuntu to be after Fedora and Archon 6/12/25
• daeb8-Enhance documentation by adding missing line breaks, updating demo wrappers to include images, and refining contribution guidelines for clarity and consistency.on 6/12/25
• c31f9-Refactor terminal customization guide for improved clarity; update Bash example formatting and enhance details for Timeshift setup in Fedora guide.on 6/12/25
• 686d1-Enhance formatting and clarity in Firefox user.js and Terminal customization guideson 6/11/25
• 357ef-Consistency fixon 6/10/25
• 0e14f-Added contributors to blogson 6/10/25
• d8be1-Making page more legible.on 6/9/25
• 7d0cb-Adding collapseson 6/8/25
• 6cd30-Terminal Customization Guide legibility improvementon 6/8/25
• 62c4b-Automating steps.on 6/8/25
• 731c5-Microtweakson 6/7/25
• 0ed49-Mass renamingon 6/7/25
• 99d1e-Fixed typoon 6/7/25
• 41f78-deleting legacy metadataon 5/31/25
• 25920-Restructuringon 5/30/25
• 64610-Notes and sidebar work nowon 5/30/25
• d95ee-Notes & sidebard don't work for some reason...on 5/30/25
• a154c-testing sidebar generationon 5/30/25
• ddcec-Batch metadata editingon 5/29/25
• 63f60-Draft ongoingon 5/29/25
• fb788-under-construction addedon 5/29/25
• ac353-v1on 5/28/25
• 85907-Better lookson 5/28/25
• 718fb-Aesthetic changeson 5/28/25