Shell Configuration Skill

Unified skill for Fish and Zsh shell configuration. Detect the target shell first, then load the appropriate reference.

Reference Loading Table

Shell	Signal	Load	Why
Fish	Any Fish context	fish-shell-config.md	Full Fish config patterns, syntax, file layout
Fish	Migrations from Bash	fish-bash-migration.md	Bash-to-Fish syntax translation
Fish	Variable scope, PATH, abbr, completions	fish-quick-reference.md	Variable scope guide, special variables, control flow
Fish	Error audit, broken config	fish-preferred-patterns.md	Failure modes with grep detection and error-fix mappings
Fish	Dev tool integration	fish-tool-integrations.md	Fish integration patterns for Go, Rust, Node, Python, Docker
Zsh	Any Zsh context	zsh-shell-config.md	Full Zsh config patterns, RC files, frameworks, hooks
Zsh	Migrations from Bash	zsh-bash-migration.md	Bash-to-Zsh syntax translation
Zsh	Variable scoping, expansion flags, special vars	zsh-quick-reference.md	Parameter expansion flags, special variables
Zsh	Error audit, slow startup, glob errors	zsh-preferred-patterns.md	Failure modes with grep detection and error-fix mappings
Zsh	Dev tool integration	zsh-tool-integrations.md	Zsh integration patterns for Go, Rust, Node, Python, Docker

Instructions

Step 1: Detect Shell Type

Before loading references or writing code, determine the target shell:

• Fish: $SHELL contains fish, target file has .fish extension, or target directory is ~/.config/fish/
• Zsh: $SHELL contains zsh, target file is .zshrc/.zshenv/.zprofile, or has .zsh extension

If neither Fish nor Zsh, this skill does not apply.

Step 2: Load Shell-Specific Reference

Load the appropriate reference file from the table above based on the detected shell and the task signal. Start with the full config reference (fish-shell-config.md or zsh-shell-config.md), then load additional references as needed.

Step 3: Follow Shell-Specific Patterns

Each reference contains complete instructions for that shell. Follow them exactly — Fish and Zsh have incompatible syntax in many areas (variable assignment, PATH handling, conditionals, completions).

Key differences:

Concept	Fish	Zsh
Variable assignment	set -gx VAR value	export VAR=value
PATH management	fish_add_path	typeset -U path; path=(...)
Completions	completions/ directory	compinit + fpath
Conditionals	test, not [[ ]]	[[ ]] preferred
Functions	function name ... end	function name { ... }
Interactive guard	status is-interactive	[[ -o interactive ]]