Linux Fish Guide - ryzendew/Linux-Tips-and-Tricks GitHub Wiki

Linux Fish Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to Fish shell on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including installation, configuration, and Fish-specific features.

Table of Contents

  1. Fish Installation
  2. Fish Configuration
  3. Fish Features
  4. Fish Functions
  5. Troubleshooting

Fish Installation

Install Fish

Arch/CachyOS:

# Install Fish
sudo pacman -S fish

# Install fish-friendly-command
sudo pacman -S fzf

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install fish

Fedora:

sudo dnf install fish

Set as Default

Change shell:

# Change to Fish
chsh -s /usr/bin/fish

# Or just launch
fish

Fish Configuration

Configuration File

Edit config:

# Create config
vim ~/.config/fish/config.fish

Basic Settings

Common settings:

# Set PATH
set -gx PATH $PATH ~/bin

# Aliases
alias ll 'ls -alF'
alias la 'ls -A'
alias l 'ls -CF'

# Prompt
function fish_prompt
    echo (pwd) '> '
end

Fish Features

Auto-completion

Fish provides:

  • Automatic: Built-in completion
  • Suggestions: Command suggestions
  • Syntax highlighting: Real-time highlighting

History

History features:

  • Search: Ctrl+R
  • Autocomplete: Tab
  • Shared history: Across sessions

Fish Functions

Create Functions

Define function:

# In config.fish
function greet
    echo "Hello, $argv[1]!"
end

Use Functions

Call function:

# Use function
greet "World"

Troubleshooting

Fish Not Working

Check installation:

# Check Fish
which fish
fish --version

# Install if missing
sudo pacman -S fish

Summary

This guide covered Fish installation, configuration, and features for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.