DOT_ZSH

A pluggable framework for the Z shell (zsh) that simplifies configuration management, supports shared bytecode, and allows user-level customization.

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Contents

1. Overview
2. Directory Structure
3. Supported Environments
4. Installation
5. Default Behavior
6. Customization
7. Versioning
8. Contribution
9. License
10. Authors

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1. Overview

DOT_ZSH is designed to:

• Utilize zcompile for precompiled bytecode to improve zsh startup performance.
• Allow shared system-wide bytecode while enabling individual users to add custom snippets.
• Provide a modular structure for easily adding plugins.

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2. Directory Structure

The main directory structure of DOT_ZSH is as follows:

.
├── dot_zsh/
│   ├── lib/
│   │   Contains core files for loading and basic settings.
│   ├── plugins/
│       Holds independent .zsh plugin files for modular functionality.
├── install_dotzsh.sh
│   Installer script to set up DOT_ZSH in the specified directory.
├── dot_zshrc
    A template for the `.zshrc` file to be placed in the user's home directory.

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3. Supported Environments

DOT_ZSH is confirmed to work on:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 or later
• CentOS 5 or later
• Scientific Linux 5 or later
• Debian GNU/Linux 5 or later
• Ubuntu 8.04 LTS or later
• Solaris 10 or later
• macOS 10.5 or later

Supported zsh versions:

• zsh 4.2 and later (including future releases)

It should also work on most GNU/Linux and UNIX-compatible environments.

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4. Installation

Run the install_dotzsh.sh script to install DOT_ZSH:

Default Installation:

~/dot_zsh/install_dotzsh.sh

This installs DOT_ZSH to /usr/local/etc/zsh. Root privileges (via sudo) are required.

Custom Installation:

~/dot_zsh/install_dotzsh.sh ~/.zsh nosudo

This installs DOT_ZSH to ~/.zsh, bypassing the need for sudo.

After installation, copy dot_zshrc to your home directory:

cp ~/dot_zsh/dot_zshrc ~/.zshrc

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5. Default Behavior

DOT_ZSH:

• Optionally launches GNU Screen at startup if the file $HOME/.run_screen_on_startup exists.
• Aliases are primarily set in plugins/alias.zsh.
• For environments requiring a proxy, configure plugins/proxy.zsh. Proxy settings are commented out by default.

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6. Customization

DOT_ZSH allows user-specific customization by overriding the default configuration.

User-Level Core Customization:

Create a .zsh/lib directory in your home directory to override core files:

~/.zsh/lib

For example, you can modify load.zsh, base.zsh, or screen.zsh.

User-Level Plugin Customization:

Create a .zsh/plugins directory in your home directory for user-specific plugins:

~/.zsh/plugins

Files in these user-level directories take precedence over the system-level files.

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7. Versioning

DOT_ZSH uses the <year>.<month> versioning format starting from version 11.12. Example: 24.12

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8. Contribution

Contributions are welcome! Here’s how you can help:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Add or improve a feature, or fix an issue.
3. Submit a pull request with clear documentation and changes.

Please ensure your code is well-structured and documented.

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9. License

This project is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3 (LGPLv3). You are free to use, modify, and distribute this project under the terms of the license.

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10. Authors

774

• Website
• GitHub