Terminal GuideTerminal Guide
zsh-syntax-highlighting icon

zsh-syntax-highlighting

Shell Enhancements•
macOSLinux
•Shell

Fish-like syntax highlighting for Zsh.

Official Website

Features

Command HighlightingPath HighlightingError Detection

Installation

Homebrew
brew install zsh-syntax-highlighting
Pacman (Arch)
pacman -S zsh-syntax-highlighting

Why use zsh-syntax-highlighting?

Catch errors immediately

Non-existent commands and syntax errors are shown in red. Catch mistakes before pressing Enter.

Visual feedback

Commands, options, and paths are color-coded, making the command line easier to read.

Typo prevention

Immediately detects spelling mistakes in command names. Prevents executing wrong commands.

Fish shell-like

Brings Fish shell's syntax highlighting to Zsh. Keep all of Zsh's flexibility.

Installation

You can install it using multiple methods. Choose based on your environment.

Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

Homebrew
# Install with Homebrew
brew install zsh-syntax-highlighting

# Add to ~/.zshrc (place at end of file)
source $(brew --prefix)/share/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh

As an Oh My Zsh plugin

Oh My Zsh
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.git   ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

# Add to plugins in ~/.zshrc
plugins=(
  git
  zsh-autosuggestions
  zsh-syntax-highlighting  # Recommended to place last
)

APT (Debian / Ubuntu)

APT
# Install the package
sudo apt install zsh-syntax-highlighting

# Add to ~/.zshrc
source /usr/share/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh

Manual installation

Manual installation
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.git   ~/.zsh/zsh-syntax-highlighting

# Add to ~/.zshrc (place at end of file)
source ~/.zsh/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh

Important: zsh-syntax-highlighting must be sourced at the end of ~/.zshrc. Place it after other plugins and custom settings.

Shell Configuration

Basically, just install and source it to get it working.

Basic configuration

~/.zshrc
# ~/.zshrc

# Other plugins and settings...

# Load zsh-syntax-highlighting last
source ~/.zsh/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh

Highlight examples

Colors change in real-time based on command input.

Valid commands (green)

❯ls -la ~/Documents
❯git status
❯docker ps -a

Existing commands are displayed in green

Invalid commands (red)

❯lss -la # Typo in ls
❯gti status # Typo in git
❯nonexistent-command

Non-existent commands are warned in red

Path highlighting

❯cat ~/.zshrc # Existing file (underlined)
❯cd ~/nonexistent # Non-existent path

Quotes and variables

❯echo "Hello, $USER"
❯echo 'Single quotes: $USER' # Variables not expanded in single quotes

Pipes and redirects

❯cat file.txt | grep "pattern"
❯echo "hello" > output.txt
❯cat < input.txt

Default color meanings

Valid command
Invalid command
Option/argument
Quote/path
Pipe/redirect
Variable

Customization

You can customize highlight colors and styles. Configure before sourcing.

Change highlight color

~/.zshrc
# ~/.zshrc (configure before sourcing)

# Valid command color
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[command]='fg=green,bold'

# Invalid command color
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[unknown-token]='fg=red,bold'

# Alias color
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[alias]='fg=cyan,bold'

# Built-in command color
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[builtin]='fg=yellow,bold'

# Function color
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[function]='fg=magenta,bold'

# Path color
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[path]='fg=yellow,underline'

# Single quotes
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[single-quoted-argument]='fg=green'

# Double quotes
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[double-quoted-argument]='fg=yellow'

# Finally source
source ~/.zsh/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh

Select highlighter

~/.zshrc
# ~/.zshrc

# Specify which highlighters to use
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_HIGHLIGHTERS=(
  main          # Commands, arguments, etc. (default)
  brackets      # Bracket matching
  pattern       # Pattern matching
  cursor        # Cursor position
  root          # Warning for root user
)

source ~/.zsh/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh

Bracket highlighting configuration

~/.zshrc
# ~/.zshrc

# Color configuration for brackets highlighter
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[bracket-level-1]='fg=blue,bold'
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[bracket-level-2]='fg=green,bold'
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[bracket-level-3]='fg=magenta,bold'
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[bracket-level-4]='fg=yellow,bold'

# When matching brackets are missing
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_STYLES[bracket-error]='fg=red,standout'

Pattern highlighting

~/.zshrc
# ~/.zshrc

# Highlight specific patterns
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_PATTERNS+=('rm -rf *' 'fg=white,bold,bg=red')
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_PATTERNS+=('sudo *' 'fg=yellow,bold')

# Enable pattern highlighter
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_HIGHLIGHTERS=(main brackets pattern)

Tips

Importance of load order

Always load zsh-syntax-highlighting at the end of ~/.zshrc. Loading it after other plugins ensures it recognizes all commands correctly.

~/.zshrc
# Example ~/.zshrc configuration

# 1. Environment variables
export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"

# 2. Oh My Zsh configuration
source $ZSH/oh-my-zsh.sh

# 3. Aliases
alias ll="ls -la"

# 4. Other plugins (zsh-autosuggestions, etc.)
source ~/.zsh/zsh-autosuggestions/zsh-autosuggestions.zsh

# 5. Finally zsh-syntax-highlighting
source ~/.zsh/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh

Use with zsh-autosuggestions

When using with zsh-autosuggestions, there's a recommended load order. Load zsh-autosuggestions first and zsh-syntax-highlighting last so that autocompletion suggestions are highlighted correctly.

~/.zshrc
plugins=(
  git
  zsh-autosuggestions      # First
  zsh-syntax-highlighting  # Last
)

Warn about dangerous commands

Use pattern highlighting to make dangerous commands stand out.

Warn about dangerous commands
# ~/.zshrc

# Warn about dangerous commands with red background
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_PATTERNS+=('rm -rf *' 'fg=white,bold,bg=red')
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_PATTERNS+=('rm -rf /' 'fg=white,bold,bg=red')
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_PATTERNS+=('> /dev/sda' 'fg=white,bold,bg=red')
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_PATTERNS+=('chmod 777 *' 'fg=black,bg=yellow')
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_PATTERNS+=('chmod -R 777 *' 'fg=black,bg=yellow')

Performance

Since zsh-syntax-highlighting calculates highlighting for each input, very long command lines may experience slight delays. This is not a problem in normal usage, but if concerned you can limit the maximum length withZSH_HIGHLIGHT_MAXLENGTH.

~/.zshrc
# Limit maximum characters to highlight (default: no limit)
ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_MAXLENGTH=512

Available style attributes

Attributes available for highlight styles.

fg=COLORbg=COLORboldunderlinestandoutnone

COLOR: black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white, or a number from 0-255

Written by Dai AokiPublished: 2026-01-20

Related Articles

zsh-autosuggestions - Fish-like Suggestions

Fish-like autosuggestions for Zsh

tools5 min read

Zsh - Z Shell

Modern shell with powerful customization and plugin ecosystem

shell15 min read

Fish - Friendly Interactive Shell

User-friendly shell with syntax highlighting and autosuggestions out of the box

shell12 min read

Explore More

Browse Shell Enhancements

See all tools in this category

All CLI Tools

Explore all tool categories