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My terminal setup that makes colleagues stop and ask "what is that?"

by Ali Hassan·May 21, 2026

Sharing my config because I've been asked enough times that this is faster.

Terminal emulator: Ghostty (fast, GPU-accelerated, has a proper config file)

Shell: Fish, auto-suggestions, syntax highlighting, and abbreviations out of the box without plugins

Prompt: Starship, shows git branch, language version, exit codes. Configured with a minimal theme

Core tools:
- `eza` instead of `ls` (icons, better formatting, git awareness)
- `bat` instead of `cat` (syntax highlighting, line numbers)
- `fd` instead of `find` (faster, saner syntax)
- `ripgrep` instead of `grep` (much faster, respects .gitignore)
- `zoxide` instead of `cd` (remembers your frequent directories)
- `fzf` for fuzzy finding everything

The key insight: Each of these tools does one job better than the Unix default. The combination feels like a different environment.

#terminal#developer#config#fish#tools
289 upvotes6 comments

Comments (6)

Amer Farhan12

Trauma-informed management is not just sensitivity training. It's understanding that some employee behaviours have root causes that pre-date the job.

Joanna Sim19

I disclosed my ADHD to my manager and we redesigned how I receive and process work. Accommodations don't have to be complicated, clarity and fewer context switches made the biggest difference.

Syahrizan Kamal16

Managers who are psychologically safe reduce employee mental health issues more than any wellbeing programme. The relationship is the intervention.