12 KiB
Powerlevel10k
Powerlevel10k is a theme for ZSH. It's fast, flexible and easy to install and configure.
Powerlevel10k can be used as a fast drop-in replacement for Powerlevel9k. When given the same configuration options it will generate the same prompt.
Table of Contents
- Installation
- Configuration
- Fonts
- Try it in Docker
- Is it really faster?
- License
- FAQ
- Why does Powerlevel10k spawn extra processes?
- Are there configuration options that make Powerlevel10k slow?
- Is Powerlevel10k fast to load?
- Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?
- Is there an AUR package for Powerlevel10k?
- I cannot make Powerlevel10k work with my plugin manager. Help!
- What is the minimum supported ZSH version?
Installation
Manual
git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/powerlevel10k
echo 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme' >>! ~/.zshrc
This is the simplest kind of installation and it works even if you are using a plugin manager. Just make sure to disable your current theme in your plugin manager. See FAQ for help.
Oh My Zsh
git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git $ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/powerlevel10k
Set ZSH_THEME=powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k
in your ~/.zshrc
.
Prezto
Add zstyle :prezto:module:prompt theme powerlevel10k
to your ~/.zpreztorc
.
Antigen
Add antigen theme romkatv/powerlevel10k
to your ~/.zshrc
. Make sure you have antigen apply
somewhere after it.
Zplug
Add zplug romkatv/powerlevel10k, use:powerlevel10k.zsh-theme
to your ~/.zshrc
.
Zgen
Add zgen load romkatv/powerlevel10k powerlevel10k
to your ~/.zshrc
.
Antibody
Add antibody bundle romkatv/powerlevel10k
to your ~/.zshrc
.
Configuration
For new users
On the first run Powerlevel10k configuration wizard will ask you a few questions and configure
your prompt. If it doesn't trigger automatically, type p9k_configure
.
For existing users
If you've been using Powerlevel9k before, do not remove the configuration options. Powerlevel10k will pick them up and provide you with the same prompt UI you are used to. Powerlevel10k recognized all configuration options used by Powerlevel9k. See Powerlevel9k configuration guide.
To go beyond the functionality of Powerlevel9k, type p9k_configure
and explore unique styles and
features Powerlevel10k has to offer.
Fonts
Powerlevel10k doesn't require custom fonts but can take advantage of them if they are available. It works well with Nerd Fonts, Source Code Pro, Font Awesome, Powerline, and even the default system fonts. The full choice of style options is available only when using Nerd Fonts.
Overwhelmed? Try the beautiful and powerful Meslo from Nerd Fonts. Download these
four ttf files,
double-click on each and press "Install". This will make MesloLGS NF
font available to all
applications on your system. Configure your terminal to use this font:
- iTerm2: Open iTerm2 → Preferences → Profiles → Text → Change Font and set Family to
MesloLGS NF
. - Visual Studio Code: Open File → Preferences → Settings, enter
terminal.integrated.fontFamily
in the search box and set value toMesloLGS NF
. - Windows Command Prompt: Use this script.
- Linux/GNOME (all terminals): Type this command:
sudo apt install libglib2.0-bin
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface monospace-font-name 'MesloLGS NF 11'
Run p9k_configure
to pick the best style for your new font.
Using a different terminal and know how to set font for it? Share your knowledge by sending a PR to expand the list!
Try it in Docker
Try Powerlevel10k in Docker. You can safely make any changes to the file system while trying out the theme. Once you exit zsh, the image is deleted.
docker run -e LANG=C.UTF-8 -e LC_ALL=C.UTF-8 -e TERM -it --rm ubuntu bash -uexc '
cd && apt update && apt install -y zsh git
git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git
echo "source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme" >>~/.zshrc
cd ~/powerlevel10k
exec zsh'
Is it really fast?
Yes.
Benchmark results obtained with zsh-prompt-benchmark on Intel i9-7900X running Ubuntu 18.04 with the config from the demo.
Theme | Prompt Latency |
---|---|
powerlevel9k/master | 1046 ms |
powerlevel9k/next | 1005 ms |
powerlevel10k | 8.7 ms |
Powerlevel10k is over 100 times faster than Powerlevel9k in this benchmark.
In fairness, Powerlevel9k has acceptable latency when given a spartan configuration. If all you need is the current directory without truncation or shortening, Powerlevel9k can render it for you in 17 ms. Powerlevel10k can do the same 30 times faster but it won't matter in practice because 17 ms is fast enough (the threshold where latency becomes noticeable is around 50 ms). You have to be careful with Powerlevel9k configuration as it's all too easy to make prompt frustratingly slow. Powerlevel10k, on the other hand, doesn't require trading latency for utility -- it's virtually instant with any configuration. It stays way below the 50 ms mark, leaving most of the latency budget for other plugins you might install.
License
Powerlevel10k is released under the MIT license. Contributions are covered by the same license.
FAQ
Why does Powerlevel10k spawn extra processes?
Powerlevel10k uses gitstatus as the backend behind vcs
prompt; gitstatus spawns gitstatusd
and zsh
. See
gitstatus for details. Powerlevel10k may also spawn zsh
to trigger async prompt refresh. To avoid security hazard, these background processes aren't shared
by different interactive shells.
Are there configuration options that make Powerlevel10k slow?
No, Powerlevel10k is always fast, with any configuration you throw at it. If you have noticeable prompt latency when using Powerlevel10k, please open an issue.
Is Powerlevel10k fast to load?
The short answer is no. The amount of time it takes for Powerlevel10k to render the first prompt is in the same ballpark as for Powerlevel9k.
Time to first prompt can be measured with the following benchmark:
time (repeat 100 zsh -dfis <<< 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme')
On the same machine as in the prompt benchmark this results in 147 ms per
invocation when executed in a small git repository (I used the powerlevel10k
repo itself). For
comparison, the same benchmark gives 170 ms for powerlevel9k/master and 505 ms for
powerlevel9k/next.
If your workflow requires that you open a terminal tab, type a command or two and close the tab, Powerlevel10k isn't the best choice. Powerlevel10k is optimized for long-lived ZSH sessions.
Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?
This is the goal. You should be able to switch from Powerlevel9k to Powerlevel10k with no visible changes except for performance. There are, however, several differences.
- By default only
git
vcs backend is enabled in Powerlevel10k. If you needsvn
andhg
, you'll need to add them toPOWERLEVEL9K_VCS_BACKENDS
. - Powerlevel10k strives to be bug-compatible with Powerlevel9k but not when it comes to egregious
bugs. If you accidentally rely on these bugs, your prompt will differ between Powerlevel9k and
Powerlevel10k. Some examples:
- Powerlevel9k doesn't respect
ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT
. As a result, right prompt in Powerlevel10k can have an extra space at the end compared to Powerlevel9k. SetZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT=0
if you don't want that space. - Powerlevel9k ignores some options that are set after the theme is sourced while Powerlevel10k
respects all options. If you see different icons in Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k, you've
probably defined
POWERLEVEL9K_MODE
before sourcing the theme. This parameter gets ignored by Powerlevel9k but honored by Powerlevel10k. If you want your prompt to look in Powerlevel10k the same as in Powerlevel9k, removePOWERLEVEL9K_MODE
. - There are dozens more bugs in Powerlevel9k that don't exist in Powerlevel10k.
- Powerlevel9k doesn't respect
If you notice any other changes in prompt appearance when switching from Powerlevel9k to Powerlevel10k, please open an issue.
Is there an AUR package for Powerlevel10k?
Yes, zsh-theme-powerlevel10k-git. This package is owned by an unaffiliated volunteer.
I cannot make Powerlevel10k work with my plugin manager. Help!
If the installation instructions didn't work for you, try disabling your current theme (so that you end up with no theme) and then installing Powerlevel10k manually.
- Disable the current theme in your framework / plugin manager.
- zplug: Open
~/.zshrc
and remove thezplug
command that refers to your current theme. For example, if you are currently using Powerlevel9k, look forzplug bhilburn/powerlevel9k, use:powerlevel9k.zsh-theme
. - prezto: Open
~/.zpreztorc
and putzstyle :prezto:module:prompt theme off
in it. Remove any other command that setstheme
such aszstyle :prezto:module:prompt theme powerlevel9k
. - oh-my-zsh: Open
~/.zshrc
and remove the line that setsZSH_THEME
, such asZSH_THEME=powerlevel9k/powerlevel9k
. - antigen: Open
~/.zshrc
and remove the line that setsantigen theme
, such asantigen theme bhilburn/powerlevel9k powerlevel9k
.
- Install Powerlevel10k manually.
git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/powerlevel10k
echo 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme' >>! ~/.zshrc
This method of installation won't make anything slower or otherwise sub-par.
What is the minimum supported ZSH version?
ZSH 5.1 or newer should work.
However, there are too many version, OS, platform, terminal and option configurations to test. If Powerlevel10k doesn't work for you, please open an issue.