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+++ title = "Changing Shell" +++
Changing Shell
When using a terminal session to do stuff from the command-line you're in fact using a Shell. It is an interpreter with an interface for users to interact with. It undertands what you write and processes the command and its related tasks.
A Unix shell is a command-line interpreter that provides an interface and functionalities for your terminal, one of the most fundamental tool in a Operative System. With a shell you are able to do a lot of tasks from the command-line :
- Listing files in a directory with the command
ls - Creating a directory with the command
mkdir - Moving a file with
mv - Launching a software from the command-line (
firefoxfor example) - And a lot more useful things that you can do with a graphical interface
The most known and used shell in Linux is bash as it comes installed and activated on most distribution out-of-the-box.
Other shells exist, such as :
- Dash
- Fish
- Zsh
A list of available shells on Solus is in /usr/share/defaults/etc/shells.
In order to use a shell different from Bash you will have to install the proper package for the shell to be able to work. You will find thoses packages in the Software-Center within the System utilities category.
You can also install those packages from the command-line with sudo eopkg install <Name of the Shell>:
Example:
sudo eopkg install fish
If you want to switch from bash to another shell in your terminal you have to use the command chsh to do that (alongside installing the proper package for your shell).
The command is used with sudo rights to change the shell for your user session.
Example:
sudo chsh -s /bin/zsh $(whoami)
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