Command Shell
A shell is a program that translates text commands (like ls, vim, reboot etc) into instructions for your computer. The default shell on NixOS is bash, but it can be easily changed.
Note: Zsh is used here as an example. You can use other shells, eg
fish.Enable
Always enable the shell, otherwise it wont source the necessary files.
❄︎ /etc/nixos/configuration.nix
programs.zsh.enable = true;
Changing default shell
Shells can be changed system-wide and per-user. To change the shell system-wide, add the following line to your config:
❄︎ /etc/nixos/configuration.nix
users.defaultUserShell = pkgs.zsh;
then run nixos-rebuild switch and reboot your system.
To only change the default shell for one of the users, add
❄︎ /etc/nixos/configuration.nix
users.users.yourname.shell = pkgs.zsh;