Setting Up Powerlevel10k with Oh My Zsh

10 December 2024
TL;DR

Oh My Zsh from the curl installer, Powerlevel10k cloned into custom/themes, then p10k configure. If icons come out wrong, brew install the Meslo Nerd Font.

Here’s how I quickly customized my terminal to make it colorful, useful, and fun with Oh My Zsh and Powerlevel10k.

Step 1: Install Oh My Zsh

Run this in your terminal to install Oh My Zsh:

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

What it does:

• Sets up Oh My Zsh for easy configuration.

• Updates your ~/.zshrc file (don’t worry, it backs up the old one).

Step 2: Install Powerlevel10k

Add the Powerlevel10k theme:

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k

Step 3: Set it as your theme:

  1. Open ~/.zshrc:
nano ~/.zshrc
  1. Find:
ZSH_THEME="robbyrussell"
  1. Replace with:
ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k"
  1. Reload your shell:
source ~/.zshrc

Step 4: Configure Powerlevel10k

Restart your terminal, and the setup wizard will launch. Customize your prompt:

• Choose colors, prompt style, and what to display (time, Git branch, etc.).

If it doesn’t start automatically:

p10k configure

Step 5: Add Plugins (Optional but Cool)

Add functionality like autosuggestions and syntax highlighting:

  1. Open ~/.zshrc:
nano ~/.zshrc
  1. Add these plugins:
plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting)
  1. Install:
brew install zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting

Reload:

source ~/.zshrc

Step 6:Fix Missing Icons (if needed)

If icons don’t show up properly during the Powerlevel10k setup wizard, follow these steps:

Install a Nerd Font with Homebrew:

brew install --cask font-meslo-lg-nerd-font

Restart the Powerlevel10k wizard:

p10k configure

Done!

Your terminal is now colorful, functional, and ready for action. Run this anytime to tweak your setup:

p10k configure

🎉 You’re all set!

The summary at the top was generated by AI.

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