Powerlevel10k

Powerlevel10k is a theme for ZSH. It's fast, flexible and easy to install and configure.

Powerlevel10k can be used as a fast drop-in replacement for Powerlevel9k. When given the same configuration options it will generate the same prompt.

Table of Contents

1. Installation
   1. Manual
   2. Oh My Zsh
   3. Prezto
   4. Antigen
   5. Zplug
   6. Zgen
   7. Antibody
2. Configuration
   1. For new users
   2. For Powerlevel9k users
3. Fonts
   1. Recommended: Meslo Nerd Font patched for Powerlevel10k
4. Try it in Docker
5. Is it really fast?
6. License
7. FAQ
   1. Why my icons and/or powerline symbols look bad?
   2. Why is my cursor in the wrong place?
   3. Why is my right prompt wrapping around in a weird way?
   4. I cannot install the recommended font. Help!
   5. Why do I have a question mark symbol in my prompt? Is my font broken?
   6. Why does Powerlevel10k spawn extra processes?
   7. Are there configuration options that make Powerlevel10k slow?
   8. Is Powerlevel10k fast to load?
   9. Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?
   10. Is there an AUR package for Powerlevel10k?
   11. I cannot make Powerlevel10k work with my plugin manager. Help!
   12. What is the minimum supported ZSH version?

Installation

Manual

git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/powerlevel10k
echo 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme' >>! ~/.zshrc

This is the simplest kind of installation and it works even if you are using a plugin manager. Just make sure to disable your current theme in your plugin manager. See FAQ for help.

Oh My Zsh

git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git $ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/powerlevel10k

Set ZSH_THEME=powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k in your ~/.zshrc.

Prezto

Add zstyle :prezto:module:prompt theme powerlevel10k to your ~/.zpreztorc.

Antigen

Add antigen theme romkatv/powerlevel10k to your ~/.zshrc. Make sure you have antigen apply somewhere after it.

Zplug

Add zplug romkatv/powerlevel10k, use:powerlevel10k.zsh-theme to your ~/.zshrc.

Zgen

Add zgen load romkatv/powerlevel10k powerlevel10k to your ~/.zshrc.

Antibody

Add antibody bundle romkatv/powerlevel10k to your ~/.zshrc.

Configuration

For new users

On the first run Powerlevel10k configuration wizard will ask you a few questions and configure your prompt. If it doesn't trigger automatically, type p10k configure.

For Powerlevel9k users

If you've been using Powerlevel9k before, do not remove the configuration options. Powerlevel10k will pick them up and provide you with the same prompt UI you are used to. Powerlevel10k recognized all configuration options used by Powerlevel9k. See Powerlevel9k configuration guide.

To go beyond the functionality of Powerlevel9k, type p10k configure and explore the unique styles and features Powerlevel10k has to offer.

Fonts

Powerlevel10k doesn't require custom fonts but can take advantage of them if they are available. It works well with Nerd Fonts, Source Code Pro, Font Awesome, Powerline, and even the default system fonts. The full choice of style options is available only when using Nerd Fonts.

Recommended: Meslo Nerd Font patched for Powerlevel10k

Download these four ttf files:

• MesloLGS NF Regular.ttf
• MesloLGS NF Bold.ttf
• MesloLGS NF Italic.ttf
• MesloLGS NF Bold Italic.ttf

Double-click on each file and press "Install". This will make MesloLGS NF font available to all applications on your system. Configure your terminal to use this font:

• iTerm2: Open iTerm2 → Preferences → Profiles → Text and set Font to MesloLGS NF.
• Visual Studio Code: Open File → Preferences → Settings, enter terminal.integrated.fontFamily in the search box and set value to MesloLGS NF.
• Windows Command Prompt (the old thing): Click the icon in the top left corner, then Properties → Font and set Font to MesloLGS NF.
• Windows Terminal (the new thing): Open Settings (Ctrl+,), search for fontFace and set value to MesloLGS NF for every profile.
• Linux/GNOME (all terminals): Type this command:

sudo apt install libglib2.0-bin
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface monospace-font-name 'MesloLGS NF 11'

Run p10k configure to pick the best style for your new font.

Using a different terminal and know how to set font for it? Share your knowledge by sending a PR to expand the list!

Try it in Docker

Try Powerlevel10k in Docker. You can safely make any changes to the file system while trying out the theme. Once you exit zsh, the image is deleted.

docker run -e LANG=C.UTF-8 -e LC_ALL=C.UTF-8 -e TERM -it --rm ubuntu bash -uexc '
  cd && apt update && apt install -y zsh git
  git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git
  echo "source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme" >>~/.zshrc
  cd ~/powerlevel10k
  exec zsh'

Is it really fast?

Yes.

Benchmark results obtained with zsh-prompt-benchmark on Intel i9-7900X running Ubuntu 18.04 with the config from the demo.

Theme	Prompt Latency
powerlevel9k/master	1046 ms
powerlevel9k/next	1005 ms
powerlevel10k	8.7 ms

Powerlevel10k is over 100 times faster than Powerlevel9k in this benchmark.

In fairness, Powerlevel9k has acceptable latency when given a spartan configuration. If all you need is the current directory without truncation or shortening, Powerlevel9k can render it for you in 17 ms. Powerlevel10k can do the same 30 times faster but it won't matter in practice because 17 ms is fast enough (the threshold where latency becomes noticeable is around 50 ms). You have to be careful with Powerlevel9k configuration as it's all too easy to make prompt frustratingly slow. Powerlevel10k, on the other hand, doesn't require trading latency for utility -- it's virtually instant with any configuration. It stays way below the 50 ms mark, leaving most of the latency budget for other plugins you might install.

License

Powerlevel10k is released under the MIT license. Contributions are covered by the same license.

FAQ

Why my icons and/or powerline symbols look bad?

It's likely your font's fault. Install the recommended font and run p10k configure.

Why is my cursor in the wrong place?

It's likely your font's fault. Install the recommended font and run p10k configure.

If this doesn't help, type unset ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT. If it fixes the issue, make the change permanent:

echo 'unset ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT' >>! ~/.zshrc

Why is my right prompt wrapping around in a weird way?

It's likely your font's fault. Install the recommended font and run p10k configure.

If this doesn't help, type unset ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT. If it fixes the issue, make the change permanent:

echo 'unset ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT' >>! ~/.zshrc

I cannot install the recommended font. Help!

Once you download the recommended font, you can install it just like any other font. Google "how to install fonts on your-OS".

Why do I have a question mark symbol in my prompt? Is my font broken?

If it looks like a regular ?, that's normal. It means you have untracked files in the current Git repository. Type git status to see these files. You can change this symbol or disable the display of untracked files altogether. Search for untracked files in ~/.p10k.zsh.

You can also get a weird-looking question mark in your prompt if your terminal's font is missing some glyphs. To fix this problem, install the recommended font and run p10k configure.

Why does Powerlevel10k spawn extra processes?

Powerlevel10k uses gitstatus as the backend behind vcs prompt; gitstatus spawns gitstatusd and zsh. See gitstatus for details. Powerlevel10k may also spawn zsh to trigger async prompt refresh. To avoid security hazard, these background processes aren't shared by different interactive shells.

Are there configuration options that make Powerlevel10k slow?

No, Powerlevel10k is always fast, with any configuration you throw at it. If you have noticeable prompt latency when using Powerlevel10k, please open an issue.

Is Powerlevel10k fast to load?

The short answer is no. The amount of time it takes for Powerlevel10k to render the first prompt is in the same ballpark as for Powerlevel9k.

Time to first prompt can be measured with the following benchmark:

time (repeat 100 zsh -dfis <<< 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme')

On the same machine as in the prompt benchmark this results in 147 ms per invocation when executed in a small git repository (I used the powerlevel10k repo itself). For comparison, the same benchmark gives 170 ms for powerlevel9k/master and 505 ms for powerlevel9k/next.

If your workflow requires that you open a terminal tab, type a command or two and close the tab, Powerlevel10k isn't the best choice. Powerlevel10k is optimized for long-lived ZSH sessions.

Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?

This is the goal. You should be able to switch from Powerlevel9k to Powerlevel10k with no visible changes except for performance. There are, however, several differences.

• By default only git vcs backend is enabled in Powerlevel10k. If you need svn and hg, you'll need to add them to POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_BACKENDS.
• Powerlevel10k strives to be bug-compatible with Powerlevel9k but not when it comes to egregious bugs. If you accidentally rely on these bugs, your prompt will differ between Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k. Some examples:
  • Powerlevel9k doesn't respect ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT. As a result, right prompt in Powerlevel10k can have an extra space at the end compared to Powerlevel9k. Set ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT=0 if you don't want that space.
  • Powerlevel9k ignores some options that are set after the theme is sourced while Powerlevel10k respects all options. If you see different icons in Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k, you've probably defined POWERLEVEL9K_MODE before sourcing the theme. This parameter gets ignored by Powerlevel9k but honored by Powerlevel10k. If you want your prompt to look in Powerlevel10k the same as in Powerlevel9k, remove POWERLEVEL9K_MODE.
  • There are dozens more bugs in Powerlevel9k that don't exist in Powerlevel10k.

If you notice any other changes in prompt appearance when switching from Powerlevel9k to Powerlevel10k, please open an issue.

Is there an AUR package for Powerlevel10k?

Yes, zsh-theme-powerlevel10k-git. This package is owned by an unaffiliated volunteer.

I cannot make Powerlevel10k work with my plugin manager. Help!

If the installation instructions didn't work for you, try disabling your current theme (so that you end up with no theme) and then installing Powerlevel10k manually.

1. Disable the current theme in your framework / plugin manager.

• zplug: Open ~/.zshrc and remove the zplug command that refers to your current theme. For example, if you are currently using Powerlevel9k, look for zplug bhilburn/powerlevel9k, use:powerlevel9k.zsh-theme.
• prezto: Open ~/.zpreztorc and put zstyle :prezto:module:prompt theme off in it. Remove any other command that sets theme such as zstyle :prezto:module:prompt theme powerlevel9k.
• oh-my-zsh: Open ~/.zshrc and remove the line that sets ZSH_THEME, such as ZSH_THEME=powerlevel9k/powerlevel9k.
• antigen: Open ~/.zshrc and remove the line that sets antigen theme, such as antigen theme bhilburn/powerlevel9k powerlevel9k.

2. Install Powerlevel10k manually.

git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/powerlevel10k
echo 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme' >>! ~/.zshrc

This method of installation won't make anything slower or otherwise sub-par.

What is the minimum supported ZSH version?

ZSH 5.1 or newer should work.

However, there are too many version, OS, platform, terminal and option configurations to test. If Powerlevel10k doesn't work for you, please open an issue.