macOS Catalina Shell Change From bash to zsh
Apple is making a pretty big change in their newest version of macOS Catalina. Back in 2002 Apple launched Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar where they introduced the bash shell to their Operating System. “Bash” was originally built in 1989 and stands for Bourne Again Shell. This has been used a LOT in Linux distributions and macOS builds. Ever wonder why a large number of Mac and Linux commands are similar? They work cross platform because they’re using the same “shell”! Now let’s first talk about what exactly is a “shell” on the Mac? A shell is a command line interface to the operating system. For example, in the Terminal App the shell is a program that takes your commands inputted from the keyboard and hands them off to your Operating System to execute. This is *key* to automation!
Now the good thing here is bash and zsh (Zee-shell) are quite similar in how they work with actions that can be performed, automations to be run, etc. Zsh actually incorporates features of other Linux shells including bash which Apple previously used by default. From my experience with zsh the feature I’ve been enjoying most is a more intuitive way to “Tab Auto Complete”.
You’ll notice after your in place upgrade from macOS Mojave 10.14.x (or earlier) to macOS Catalina 10.15 on launch of the Terminal App that you are presented with this dialog output. Apple also gives you a kBase article hosted on their site describing the change. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208050
You can simply change the bash shell to zsh by running this command in your active Terminal window. chsh -s /bin/zsh
After you quit Terminal and relaunch you’ll notice the new zsh loaded and ready to go.
*All new users created moving forward in 10.15 Catalina will be already set up to use with zsh, so this command to switch this over is only for existing users who were upgraded from a previous Operating System*
Although this is an “under the hood” enhancement and change, I’m sure this will be a change Apple will embrace for years to come. I mean they haven’t changed this in 17 years, so let’s not count on them changing this default shell anytime soon. I predict more under the hood changes like this will be coming in no time at all, so let’s buckle up and embrace the future of macOS. = ) 🚀
Be well.
-Joe
