fish FAQ and cheat sheet

• How do I set or clear an environment variable?

  set -x key value
  set -e key

• How do I run a command every login? What's fish's equivalent to .bashrc?

  Edit the file ~/.config/fish/config.fish, creating it if it does not exist. (Note the leading period.)

• How do I set my prompt?

  The prompt is the output of the function fish_prompt. Put it in ~/.config/fish/config.fish, or in ~/.config/fish/functions/fish_prompt.fish. For example:

    function fish_prompt
      set_color $fish_color_cwd
      echo -n (prompt_pwd)
      set_color normal
      echo -n ' > '
    end

• How do I run a command from history?

  Type some part of the command, and then hit the up or down arrow keys to navigate through history matches.

• How do I run a subcommand? The backtick doesn't work!

  fish uses parenthesis for subcommands. For example:

    for file in (ls)
      echo $file
    end

• How do I get the exit status of a command?

  The $status variable. For example:

    grep -q foo bar; echo $status

• How do I make fish my default shell?

  Edit /etc/shells as root, and add the line (if missing):

  /usr/local/bin/fish

  Then run:

  chsh -s /usr/local/bin/fish

• How do I customize my syntax highlighting colors?

  fish_config

• How do I update man page completions?

  fish_update_completions

• My question wasn't answered!

  We are very interested in any problems or surprises (good or bad) you encounter. Please post them to the fish mailing list or e-mail us directly.

  Contact information is available at the bottom of this page.