How to Install and Set Up the Fish Shell

Saad Jamil
2 min readAug 29, 2023

The Fish Shell, known for its user-friendly interface and smart features, offers an enhanced command-line experience. With features like syntax highlighting, fancy tab completions, and real-time auto suggestions, Fish Shell comes ready to use without requiring extensive configuration.

Whether you’re a Linux, or Mac user, this guide will walk you through the installation and setup process for Fish Shell on your preferred operating system.

Installing Fish Shell on Ubuntu

Fish Shell is a versatile option for Linux users, offering a seamless experience on distributions like Ubuntu. Follow these steps to get started:

Step 1: Add the Fish Shell Repository

$ sudo apt-add-repository ppa:fish-shell/release-3

Step 2: Update and Upgrade Repository Packages

$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

Step 3: Install Fish Shell

$ sudo apt-get install fish

Step 4: Set Fish Shell as the Default Shell

$ sudo chsh -s /usr/local/bin/fish

Setting Up Fish Shell on Mac

Mac users can also enjoy the benefits of Fish Shell by following these steps:

Step 1: Install Homebrew

Open the Terminal and execute the following command to install Homebrew, a popular package manager for macOS:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Step 2: Install Fish Shell via Homebrew

Using Homebrew, install Fish Shell:

$ brew install fish

Step 3: Add Fish Shell to the List of Valid Shells

Include Fish Shell in the list of valid shells by running the command:

$ echo "/usr/local/bin/fish" | sudo tee -a /etc/shells

Step 4: Set Fish Shell as the Default for Terminal

$ chsh -s /usr/local/bin/fish

Whether you’re using Ubuntu or macOS, setting up Fish Shell is a breeze. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, Fish Shell can enhance your command-line experience across different operating systems. Try it out and see how it streamlines your interactions with the terminal.

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