Bash or Zsh?

Photo by George Girnas on Unsplash

How to find out which one your Mac is using.

Type the command into the terminal, and if it returns a number, it’s the shell you’re using.

echo $ZSH_VERSION

// using zsh

echo $BASH_VERSION

// using bash

What is a shell?

A user interface (interpreter between human and PC (kernel)) that stands between the OS and the application to convey user requests to the system.

A program that runs by entering commands, which are called variously **command prompt, terminal, terminal**.

There are several types of shells, including **sh, bash, csh, and zsh**.

Features of shells

There are two types of shells: login shells and non-login shells.

A login shell is a shell that is applied when you log in to a UNIX-like OS.

A non-login shell is a shell that is applied arbitrarily after logging in to a UNIX-like OS.

Difference between Bash and Zsh

These two incorporate the functions of other shells and have high performance.

Bash

The most commonly used shell, which is an extension to the oldest shell on UNIX, sh.

It does not need to be customized.

Zsh

A shell that is said to have taken the best parts of other shells (it has almost all the features of sh, bash, csh, and tcsh).

Customizable

Lightweight

What is a shell, bash or zsh, which one does my Mac use?