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n1snt/Oh my ZSH with zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting zsh-fast-syntax-highlighting and zsh-autocomplete.md

Last active March 12, 2026 05:42
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Oh my ZSH with zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting zsh-fast-syntax-highlighting and zsh-autocomplete.md
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Oh my ZSH with zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting zsh-fast-syntax-highlighting and zsh-autocomplete.md

Note

I’ve written a newer optimized 2026 version of this guide with a faster setup using Zinit + Starship and improved plugin loading.

This version avoids slow shell startups and works better with modern Zsh setups.

Updated guide: https://gist.github.com/n1snt/2cccc8aa5f7b645a7628d3512c70deb6

Oh my zsh.

Oh My Zsh

Install ZSH.

sudo apt install zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting zsh

Install Oh my ZSH.

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Install plugins.

  • autosuggesions plugin

    git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions.git $ZSH_CUSTOM/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions

  • zsh-syntax-highlighting plugin

    git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.git $ZSH_CUSTOM/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

  • zsh-fast-syntax-highlighting plugin

    git clone https://github.com/zdharma-continuum/fast-syntax-highlighting.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/fast-syntax-highlighting

  • zsh-autocomplete plugin

    git clone --depth 1 -- https://github.com/marlonrichert/zsh-autocomplete.git $ZSH_CUSTOM/plugins/zsh-autocomplete

Enable plugins by adding them to .zshrc.

  • Open .zshrc

    nvim ~/.zshrc

  • Find the line which says plugins=(git).

  • Replace that line with plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting fast-syntax-highlighting zsh-autocomplete)

References

@scardracs
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scardracs commented Mar 1, 2026

I asked AI to write a script for me to do the tricks above. :) It works well in my environment.

#!/bin/bash

# install ZSH and related packages
echo "Installing ZSH and related packages..."
sudo apt install zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting zsh -y

# Install Oh My ZSH
echo "Installing Oh My ZSH..."
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)" "" --unattended

# Install plugins
echo "Installing ZSH plugins..."

# autosuggestions
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions

# syntax-highlighting
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

# fast-syntax-highlighting
git clone https://github.com/zdharma-continuum/fast-syntax-highlighting.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/fast-syntax-highlighting

# autocomplete
git clone --depth 1 -- https://github.com/marlonrichert/zsh-autocomplete.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autocomplete

# Change .zshrc file
echo "Configuring .zshrc..."
sed -i 's/plugins=(git)/plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting fast-syntax-highlighting zsh-autocomplete)/' ~/.zshrc

# switch to zsh as default shell
echo "Changing default shell to ZSH..."
chsh -s $(which zsh)

echo "Installation completed! Please restart your terminal or run 'source ~/.zshrc' to apply changes."

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