Powerlevel10k

Powerlevel10k is a theme for Zsh. It emphasizes speed, flexibility and out-of-the-box experience.

To see what Powerlevel10k is about, scroll through features.

Powerlevel9k users, go here.

Ready to give Powerlevel10k a try?

1. Install the recommended font. Optional but highly recommended.
2. Install Powerlevel10k for your plugin manager.
   • Manual 👈 choose this if confused or uncertain
   • Oh My Zsh
   • Prezto
   • Zim
   • Antigen
   • Zplug
   • Zgen
   • Antibody
   • Zplugin
3. Restart Zsh.
4. Type p10k configure if the configuration wizard doesn't start automatically.

Features

Configuration wizard

Type p10k configure to access the builtin configuration wizard right from your terminal.

All styles except Pure are functionally equivalent. They display the same information and differ only in presentation.

Configuration wizard creates ~/.p10k.zsh based on your preferences. Additional prompt customization can be done by editing this file. It has plenty of comments to help you navigate through configuration options.

Tip: Install the recommended font before running p10k configure to unlock all prompt styles.

FAQ:

• What is the best prompt style in the configuration wizard?
• What do different symbols in Git status mean?
• How do I change prompt colors?

Troubleshooting:

• Question mark in prompt.
• Icons, glyphs or powerline symbols don't render.
• Sub-pixel imperfections around powerline symbols.
• Directory is difficult to see in prompt when using Rainbow style.

Uncompromising performance

When you hit ENTER, the next prompt appears instantly. With Powerlevel10k there is no prompt lag. If you install Cygwin on Raspberry Pi, cd into a Linux Git repository and activate enough prompt segments to fill four prompt lines on both sides of the screen... wait, that's just crazy and no one ever does that. Probably impossible, too. The point is, Powerlevel10k prompt is always fast, no matter what you do!

Note how the effect of every command is instantly reflected by the very next prompt.

Command	Prompt Indicator	Meaning
timew start hack linux	🛡️ hack linux	time tracking enabled in timewarrior
touch x y	?2	2 untracked files in the Git repo
rm COPYING	!1	1 unstaged change in the Git repo
echo 2.7.3 >.python-version	🐍 2.7.3	the current python version in pyenv

Other Zsh themes capable of displaying the same information either produce prompt lag or print prompt that doesn't reflect the current state of the system and then refresh it later. With Powerlevel10k you get fast prompt and up-to-date information.

FAQ: Is it really fast?

Powerlevel9k compatibility

Powerlevel10k understands all Powerlevel9k configuration parameters.

Migration from Powerlevel9k to Powerlevel10k is a straightforward process. All your POWERLEVEL9K configuration parameters will still work. Prompt will look the same as before (almost) but it will be much faster (certainly).

FAQ:

• I'm using Powerlevel9k with Oh My Zsh. How do I migrate?
• Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?
• What is the relationship between Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k?

Pure compatibility

Powerlevel10k can produce the same prompt as Pure. Type p10k configure and select Pure style.

You can still use Powerlevel10k features such as transient prompt or instant prompt when sporting Pure style.

To customize prompt, edit ~/.p10k.zsh. Powerlevel10k doesn't recognize Pure configuration parameters, so you'll need to use POWERLEVEL9K_COMMAND_EXECUTION_TIME_THRESHOLD=3 instead of PURE_CMD_MAX_EXEC_TIME=3, etc. All relevant parameters are in ~/.p10k.zsh. This file has plenty of comments to help you navigate through it.

FAQ: What is the best prompt style in the configuration wizard?

Instant prompt

If your ~/.zshrc loads many plugins, or perhaps just a few slow ones (for example, pyenv or nvm), you may have noticed that it takes some time for Zsh to start.

Powerlevel10k can remove Zsh startup lag even if it's not caused by a theme.

This feature is called Instant Prompt. You need to explicitly enable it through p10k configure or manually. It does what it says on the tin -- prints prompt instantly upon Zsh startup allowing you to start typing while plugins are still loading.

Other themes increase Zsh startup lag -- some by a lot, others by a just a little. Powerlevel10k removes it outright.

FAQ: How do I enable instant prompt?

Show on command

The behavior of some commands depends on global environment. For example, kubectl run ... runs an image on the cluster defined by the current kubernetes context. If you frequently change context between "prod" and "testing", you might want to display the current context in Zsh prompt. If you do likewise for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud credentials, prompt will get pretty crowded.

Enter Show On Command. This feature makes prompt segments appear only when they are relevant to the command you are currently typing.

Configs created by p10k configure enable show on command for several prompt segments by default. Here's the relevant parameter for kubernetes context:

# Show prompt segment "kubecontext" only when the command you are typing
# invokes kubectl, helm, kubens, kubectx or oc.
typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_KUBECONTEXT_SHOW_ON_COMMAND='kubectl|helm|kubens|kubectx|oc'

To customize when different prompt segments are shown, open ~/.p10k.zsh, search for SHOW_ON_COMMAND and either remove these parameters to display affected segments unconditionally, or change their values.

Transient prompt

When Transient Prompt is enabled through p10k configure, Powerlevel10k will trim down every prompt when accepting a command line.

Transient prompt makes it much easier to copy-paste series of commands from the terminal scrollback.

Tip: If you enable transient prompt, take advantage of two-line prompt. You'll get the benefit of extra space for typing commands without the usual drawback of reduced scrollback density. Sparse prompt (with an empty line before prompt) also works great in combination with transient prompt.

Current directory that just works

The current working directory is perhaps the most important prompt segment. Powerlevel10k goes to great length to highlight its important parts and to truncate it with the least loss of information when horizontal space gets scarce.

When the full directory doesn't fit, the leftmost segment gets truncated to its shortest unique prefix. In the screencast, ~/work becomes ~/wo. It couldn't be truncated to ~/w because it would be ambiguous (there was ~/wireguard when the session was recorded). The next segment -- projects -- turns into p as there was nothing else that started with p in ~/work/.

Directory segments are shown in one of three colors:

• Truncated segments are bleak.
• Important segments are bright and never truncated. These include the first and the last segment, roots of Git repositories, etc.
• Regular segments (not truncated but can be) use in-between color.

Tip: If you copy-paste a truncated directory and hit TAB, it'll complete to the original.

Troubleshooting: Directory is difficult to see in prompt when using Rainbow style.

Extremely customizable

Powerlevel10k can be configured to look like any other Zsh theme out there.

Pure and Powerlevel9k emulations are built-in. To emulate the appearance of other themes, you'll need to write a suitable configuration file. The best way to go about it is to run p10k configure, select the style that is the closest to your goal and then edit ~/.p10k.zsh.

The full range of Powerlevel10k appearance spans from spartan:

To ridiculous extravagant:

Batteries included

Powerlevel10k comes with dozens of built-in high quality segments. When you run p10k configure and choose any style except Pure, many of these segments get enabled by default while others be manually enabled by opening ~/.p10k.zsh and uncommenting them. You can enable as many segments as you like. It won't slow down your prompt or Zsh startup.

Segment	Meaning
os_icon	your OS logo (apple for macOS, swirl for debian, etc.)
dir	current working directory
vcs	Git repository status
prompt_char	multi-functional prompt symbol; changes depending on vi mode: ❯, ❮, Ⅴ, ▶ for insert, command, visual and replace mode respectively; turns red on error
context	user@hostname
status	exit code of the last command
command_execution_time	duration (wall time) of the last command
background_jobs	presence of background jobs
time	current time
direnv	direnv status
virtualenv	python environment from venv
anaconda	virtual environment from conda
pyenv	python environment from pyenv
goenv	go environment from goenv
nodenv	node.js environment from nodenv
nvm	node.js environment from nvm
nodeenv	node.js environment from nodeenv
rbenv	ruby environment from rbenv
rvm	ruby environment from rvm
fvm	flutter environment from fvm
luaenv	lua environment from luaenv
jenv	java environment from jenv
plenv	perl environment from plenv
node_version	node.js version
go_version	go version
rust_version	rustc version
dotnet_version	dotnet version
kubecontext	current kubernetes context
terraform	terraform workspace
aws	aws profile
aws_eb_env	aws elastic beanstalk environment
azure	azure account name
gcloud	google cloud cli account and project
google_app_cred	google application credentials
nordvpn	nordvpn connection status
ranger	ranger shell
nnn	nnn shell
vim_shell	vim shell (:sh)
midnight_commander	midnight commander shell
nix_shell	nix shell indicator
todo	todo items
timewarrior	timewarrior tracking status
vpn_ip	virtual private network indicator
load	CPU load
disk_usage	disk usage
ram	free RAM
swap	used swap
public_ip	public ip address
proxy	system-wide http/https/ftp proxy
battery	internal battery state and charge level (yep, batteries literally included)

Installation

Manual

git clone --depth=1 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 the current theme in your plugin manager. See troubleshooting for help.

Oh My Zsh

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git $ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/powerlevel10k

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

Prezto

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

Zim

Add zmodule romkatv/powerlevel10k to ~/.zimrc and run zimfw install.

Antigen

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

Zplug

Add zplug romkatv/powerlevel10k, as:theme, depth:1 to ~/.zshrc.

Zgen

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

Antibody

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

Zplugin

Add zplugin ice depth=1; zplugin light romkatv/powerlevel10k to ~/.zshrc.

The use of depth=1 ice is optional. Other types of ice are neither recommended nor officially supported by Powerlevel10k.

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. Configuration wizard creates ~/.p10k.zsh based on your preferences. Additional prompt customization can be done by editing this file. It has plenty of comments to help you navigate through configuration options.

FAQ:

• What is the best prompt style in the configuration wizard?
• What do different symbols in Git status mean?
• How do I change the format of Git status?
• How do I add username and/or hostname to prompt?
• How do I change prompt colors?
• Why some prompt segments appear and disappear as I'm typing?

Troubleshooting:

• Question mark in prompt.
• Icons, glyphs or powerline symbols don't render.
• Sub-pixel imperfections around powerline symbols.
• Directory is difficult to see in prompt when using Rainbow style.

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. See Powerlevel9k compatibility.

FAQ:

• I'm using Powerlevel9k with Oh My Zsh. How do I migrate?
• What is the relationship between Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k?
• Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?

Troubleshooting: Extra or missing spaces in prompt compared to Powerlevel9k

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 font: Meslo Nerd Font patched for Powerlevel10k. 👇

Meslo Nerd Font patched for Powerlevel10k

Gorgeous monospace font designed by Jim Lyles for Apple, customized by André Berg, patched by Ryan L McIntyre of Nerd Fonts, and hand-edited in FontForge by yours truly. Contains all glyphs and symbols that Powerlevel10k may need. Battle-tested in dozens of different terminals on all major operating systems.

Automatic font installation

If you are using iTerm2 or Termux, p10k configure can install the recommended font for you. Simply answer Yes when asked whether to install Meslo Nerd Font.

If you are using a different terminal, proceed with manual font installation. 👇

Manual font installation

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 click "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. Alternatively, type p10k configure and answer Yes when asked whether to install Meslo Nerd Font.
• Apple Terminal Open Terminal → Preferences → Profiles → Text, click Change under Font and select MesloLGS NF family.
• Hyper: Open Hyper → Edit → Preferences and change the value of fontFamily under module.exports.config to MesloLGS NF.
• Visual Studio Code: Open File → Preferences → Settings, enter terminal.integrated.fontFamily in the search box and set the value to MesloLGS NF.
• GNOME Terminal (the default Ubuntu terminal): Open Terminal → Preferences and click on the selected profile under Profiles. Check Custom font under Text Appearance and select MesloLGS NF Regular.
• Konsole: Open Settings → Edit Current Profile → Appearance, click Select Font and select MesloLGS NF Regular.
• Tilix: Open Tilix → Preferences and click on the selected profile under Profiles. Check Custom font under Text Appearance and select MesloLGS NF Regular.
• Windows Console Host (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.
• Termux: Type p10k configure and answer Yes when asked whether to install Meslo Nerd Font.

IMPORTANT: Run p10k configure after changing terminal font. The old ~/.p10k.zsh may work incorrectly with the new font.

Using a different terminal and know how to set the 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 TERM -e COLORTERM -it --rm debian:buster bash -uec '
  apt update
  apt install -y git zsh nano vim
  git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/powerlevel10k
  echo "source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme" >>~/.zshrc
  cd ~/powerlevel10k
  exec zsh'

Tip: Install the recommended font before running the Docker command to get access to all prompt styles.

Tip: Run p10k configure while in Docker to try a different prompt style.

License

Powerlevel10k is released under the MIT license.

FAQ

Which aspects of shell and terminal does Powerlevel10k affect?

Powerlevel10k defines prompt and nothing else. It sets prompt-related options, and parameters PS1 and RPS1.

Powerlevel10k does not affect:

• Terminal window title.
• Colors used by ls.
• Command line colors (syntax highlighting).
• Prompt parameters other than PS1 and RPS1.

I'm using Powerlevel9k with Oh My Zsh. How do I migrate?

1. Run this command:

# Add powerlevel10k to the list of Oh My Zsh themes.
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git $ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/powerlevel10k
# Replace ZSH_THEME="powerlevel9k/powerlevel9k" with ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k".
sed 's/powerlevel9k/powerlevel10k/g' -i ~/.zshrc
# Restart Zsh.
exec zsh

2. Optional but highly recommended:
   1. Install the recommended font.
   2. Type p10k configure and choose your favorite prompt style.

Related:

• Powerlevel9k compatibility.
• Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?
• Extra or missing spaces in prompt compared to Powerlevel9k.
• Configuration wizard.

Is it really fast?

Yes.

Benchmark results obtained with zsh-prompt-benchmark on an 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 well below the 50 ms mark, leaving most of the latency budget for other plugins you might install.

How do I enable instant prompt?

See instant prompt to learn about instant prompt. This section explains how you can enable it and lists caveats that you should be aware of.

Instant prompt can be enabled either through p10k configure or by manually adding the following code snippet at the top of ~/.zshrc:

# Enable Powerlevel10k instant prompt. Should stay close to the top of ~/.zshrc.
# Initialization code that may require console input (password prompts, [y/n]
# confirmations, etc.) must go above this block, everything else may go below.
if [[ -r "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh" ]]; then
  source "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh"
fi

It's important that you copy the lines verbatim. Don't replace source with something else, don't call zcompile, don't redirect output, etc.

When instant prompt is enabled, for the duration of Zsh initialization standard input is redirected to /dev/null and standard output with standard error are redirected to a temporary file. Once Zsh is fully initialized, standard file descriptors are restored and the content of the temporary file is printed out.

When using instant prompt, you should carefully check any output that appears on Zsh startup as it may indicate that initialization has been altered, or perhaps even broken, by instant prompt. Initialization code that may require console input, such as asking for a keyring password or for a [y/n] confirmation, must be moved above the instant prompt preamble in ~/.zshrc. Initialization code that merely prints to console but never reads from it will work correctly with instant prompt, although output that normally has colors may appear uncolored. You can either leave it be, suppress the output, or move it above the instant prompt preamble.

Here's an example of ~/.zshrc that breaks when instant prompt is enabled:

if [[ -r "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh" ]]; then
  source "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh"
fi

keychain id_rsa --agents ssh  # asks for password
chatty-script                 # spams to stdout even when everything is fine
# ...

Fixed version:

keychain id_rsa --agents ssh  # moved before instant prompt

# OK to perform console I/O before this point.
if [[ -r "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh" ]]; then
  source "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh"
fi
# From this point on, until zsh is fully initialized, console input won't work and
# console output may appear uncolored.

chatty-script >/dev/null      # spam output suppressed
# ...

If POWERLEVEL9K_INSTANT_PROMPT is unset or set to verbose, Powerlevel10k will print a warning when it detects console output during initialization to bring attention to potential issues. You can silence this warning (without suppressing console output) with POWERLEVEL9K_INSTANT_PROMPT=quiet. This is recommended if some initialization code in ~/.zshrc prints to console and it's infeasible to move it above the instant prompt preamble or to suppress its output. You can completely disable instant prompt with POWERLEVEL9K_INSTANT_PROMPT=off. Do this if instant prompt breaks Zsh initialization and you don't know how to fix it.

Note: Instant prompt requires Zsh >= 5.4. It's OK to enable it even when using an older version of Zsh but it won't do anything.

What do different symbols in Git status mean?

When using Lean, Classic or Rainbow style, Git status may look like this:

feature:master ⇣42⇡42 *42 merge ~42 +42 !42 ?42

Symbol	Meaning	Source
feature	current branch; replaced with #tag or @commit if not on a branch	git status
master	remote tracking branch; only shown if different from local branch	git rev-parse --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name @{u}
⇣42	this many commits behind the remote	git status
⇡42	this many commits ahead of the remote	git status
*42	this many stashes	git stash list
merge	repository state	git status
~42	this many merge conflicts	git status
+42	this many staged changes	git status
!42	this many unstaged changes	git status
?42	this many untracked files	git status

Related: How do I change the format of Git status?

How do I change the format of Git status?

To change the format of Git status, open ~/.p10k.zsh, search for my_git_formatter and edit its source code.

Related: What do different symbols in Git status mean?

How do I add username and/or hostname to prompt?

When using Lean, Classic or Rainbow style, prompt shows username@hostname when you are logged in as root or via SSH. There is little value in showing username or hostname when you are logged in to your local machine as a normal user. So the absence of username@hostname in your prompt is an indication that you are working locally and that you aren't root. You can change it, however.

Open ~/.p10k.zsh. Close to the top you can see the most important parameters that define which segments are shown in your prompt. All generally useful prompt segments are listed in there. Some of them are enabled, others are commented out. One of them is of interest to you.

typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_RIGHT_PROMPT_ELEMENTS=(
  ...
  context  # user@hostname
  ...
)

Search for context to find the section in the config that lists parameters specific to this prompt segment. You should see the following lines:

# Don't show context unless running with privileges or in SSH.
# Tip: Remove the next line to always show context.
typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_CONTEXT_{DEFAULT,SUDO}_{CONTENT,VISUAL_IDENTIFIER}_EXPANSION=

If you follow the tip and remove (or comment out) the last line, you'll always see username@hostname in prompt. You can change the format to just username, or change the color, by adjusting the values of parameters nearby. There are plenty of comments to help you navigate.

You can also move context to a different position in POWERLEVEL9K_RIGHT_PROMPT_ELEMENTS or even to POWERLEVEL9K_LEFT_PROMPT_ELEMENTS.

Why some prompt segments appear and disappear as I'm typing?

Prompt segments can be configured to be shown only when the current command you are typing invokes a relevant tool.

# Show prompt segment "kubecontext" only when the command you are typing
# invokes kubectl, helm, kubens, kubectx or oc.
typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_KUBECONTEXT_SHOW_ON_COMMAND='kubectl|helm|kubens|kubectx|oc'

Configs created by p10k configure may contain parameters of this kind. To customize when different prompt segments are shown, open ~/.p10k.zsh, search for SHOW_ON_COMMAND and either remove these parameters or change their values.

How do I change prompt colors?

You can either change the color palette used by your terminal or set colors through Powerlevel10k configuration parameters.

Change the color palette used by your terminal

How exactly you change the terminal color palette (a.k.a. color scheme, or theme) depends on the kind of terminal you are using. Look around in terminal's settings/preferences or consult documentation.

When you change the terminal color palette, it usually affects only the first 16 colors, numbered from 0 to 15. In order to see any effect on Powerlevel10k prompt, you need to use prompt style that utilizes these low-numbered colors. Type p10k configure and select Rainbow, Lean → 8 colors or Pure → Original. Other styles use higher-numbered colors, so they look the same in any terminal color palette.

Set colors through Powerlevel10k configuration parameters

Open ~/.p10k.zsh, search for "color", "foreground" and "background" and change values of appropriate parameters. For example, here's how you can set the foreground of time prompt segment to bright red:

typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_TIME_FOREGROUND=160

Colors are specified using numbers from 0 to 255. Colors from 0 to 15 look differently in different terminals. Many terminals also support customization of these colors through color palettes (a.k.a. color schemes, or themes). Colors from 16 to 255 always look the same.

Type source ~/.p10k.zsh to apply your changes to the current Zsh session.

To see how different colors look in your terminal, run the following command:

for i in {0..255}; do print -Pn "%K{$i} %k%F{$i}${(l:3::0:)i}%f " ${${(M)$((i%8)):#7}:+$'\n'}; done

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 perform computation without blocking prompt. To avoid security hazard, these background processes aren't shared by different interactive shells. They terminate automatically when the parent zsh process terminates or runs exec(3).

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?

Yes, provided that you are using Zsh >= 5.4.

Loading time, or time to first prompt, can be measured with the following benchmark:

time (repeat 1000 zsh -dfis <<< 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme')

Note: This measures time to first complete prompt. Powerlevel10k can also display a limited prompt before the full-featured prompt is ready.

Running this command with ~/powerlevel10k as the current directory on the same machine as in the prompt benchmark takes 29 seconds (29 ms per invocation). This is about 6 times faster than powerlevel9k/master and 17 times faster than powerlevel9k/next.

What is the relationship between Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k?

Powerlevel10k was forked from Powerlevel9k in March 2019 after a week-long discussion in powerlevel9k#1170. Powerlevel9k was already a mature project with large user base and release cycle measured in months. Powerlevel10k was spun off to iterate on performance improvements and new features at much higher pace.

Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k are independent projects. When using one, you shouldn't install the other. Issues should be filed against the project that you actually use. There are no individuals that have commit rights in both repositories. All bug fixes and new features committed to Powerlevel9k repository get ported to Powerlevel10k.

Over time, virtually all code in Powerlevel10k has been rewritten. There is currently no meaningful overlap between the implementations of Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k.

Powerlevel10k is committed to maintaining backward compatibility with all configs indefinitely. This commitment covers all configuration parameters recognized by Powerlevel9k (see Powerlevel9k compatibility) and additional parameters that only Powerlevel10k understands. Names of all parameters in Powerlevel10k start with POWERLEVEL9K_ for consistency.

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

Almost. There are a few differences.

• By default only git vcs backend is enabled in Powerlevel10k. If you need svn and hg, add them to POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_BACKENDS.
• Powerlevel10k doesn't support POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_SHOW_SUBMODULE_DIRTY=true.
• 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 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.
  • 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. More details in troubleshooting.
  • Powerlevel9k has inconsistent spacing around icons. This was fixed in Powerlevel10k. Set POWERLEVEL9K_LEGACY_ICON_SPACING=true to get the same spacing as in Powerlevel9k. More details in troubleshooting.
  • 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.

What is the best prompt style in the configuration wizard?

There are as many opinions on what constitutes the best prompt as there are people. It mostly comes down to personal preference. There are, however, a few hidden implications of different choices.

Pure style is an exact replication of Pure Zsh theme. It exists to ease the migration for users of this theme. Unless you are one of them, choose Lean style over Pure.

If you want to confine prompt colors to the selected terminal color palette (say, Solarized Dark), use Rainbow, Lean → 8 colors or Pure → Original. Other styles use fixed colors and thus look the same in any terminal color palette.

If you enable transient prompt, take advantage of two-line prompt. You'll get the benefit of extra space for typing commands without the usual drawback of reduced scrollback density. Having all commands start from the same offset is also nice.

Similarly, if you enable transient prompt, sparse prompt (with an empty line before prompt) is a great choice.

If you are using vi keymap, choose prompt with prompt_char in it (shown as green ❯ in the wizard). This symbol changes depending on vi mode: ❯, ❮, Ⅴ, ▶ for insert, command, visual and replace mode respectively. When a command fails, the symbol turns red. Lean style always has prompt_char in it. Rainbow and Classic styles have it only in the two-line configuration without left frame.

If you value horizontal space or prefer minimalist aesthetics, disable current time and use few icons. The extra icons enabled by the many icons option primarily serve decorative function. Informative icons, such as background job indicator, will be shown either way.

Note: You can run configuration wizard as many times as you like. Type p10k configure to try new prompt style.

Is there an AUR package for Powerlevel10k?

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

What is the minimum supported Zsh version?

Zsh 5.1 or newer should work. Fast startup requires Zsh >= 5.4.

How were these screenshots and animated gifs created?

All screenshots and animated gifs were recorded in GNOME Terminal with the recommended font and Tango Dark color palette with custom background color (#171A1B instead of #2E3436 -- twice as dark).

Syntax highlighting, where present, was provided by zsh-syntax-highlighting.

Troubleshooting

Question mark in prompt

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.

FAQ: What do different symbols in Git status mean?

You can also get a weird-looking question mark in your prompt if your terminal's font is missing some glyphs. See icons, glyphs or powerline symbols don't render.

Icons, glyphs or powerline symbols don't render

Restart your terminal, install the recommended font and run p10k configure.

Sub-pixel imperfections around powerline symbols

There are three imperfections on the screenshot. From left to right:

1. A thin blue line (a sub-pixel gap) between the content of a prompt segment and the following powerline connection.
2. Incorrect alignment of a powerline connection and the following prompt segment. The connection appears shifted to the right.
3. A thin red line below a powerline connection. The connection appears shifted up.

Zsh themes don't have down-to-pixel control over the terminal content. Everything you see on the screen is made of monospace characters. A white powerline prompt segment is made of text on white background followed by U+E0B0 (a right-pointing triangle).

If Powerlevel10k prompt has imperfections around powerline symbols, you'll see exactly the same imperfections with all powerline themes (Agnoster, Powerlevel9k, Powerline, etc.)

There are several things you can try to deal with these imperfections:

• Try the recommended font. If you are already using it, switching to another font may help but is unlikely.
• Change terminal font size one point up or down. For example, in iTerm2 powerline prompt looks perfect at font sizes 11 and 13 but breaks down at 12.
• Change font hinting and/or anti-aliasing mode in the terminal settings.
• Shift all text one pixel up/down/left/right if your terminal has an option to do so.
• Try a different terminal.

A more radical solution is to switch to prompt style without background. Type p10k configure and select Lean. This style has a modern lightweight look. As a bonus, it doesn't suffer from rendering imperfections that afflict powerline-style prompt.

zsh: character not in range

Type echo '\u276F'. If you get an error saying "zsh: character not in range", your locale doesn't support UTF-8. You need to fix it. If you are running Zsh over SSH, see this. If you are running Zsh locally, Google "set UTF-8 locale in your OS".

Cursor is in the wrong place

Type echo '\u276F'. If you get an error saying "zsh: character not in range", see the previous section.

If the echo command prints ❯ but the cursor is still in the wrong place, install the recommended font and run p10k configure.

If this doesn't help, add unset ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT at the bottom of ~/.zshrc.

Still having issues? Run the following command to diagnose the problem:

() {
  emulate -L zsh
  setopt err_return no_unset
  local text
  print -rl -- 'Select a part of your prompt from the terminal window and paste it below.' ''
  read -r '?Prompt: ' text
  local -i len=${(m)#text}
  local frame="+-${(pl.$len..-.):-}-+"
  print -lr -- $frame "| $text |" $frame
}

If the prompt line aligns with the frame

+------------------------------+
| romka@adam ✓ ~/powerlevel10k |
+------------------------------+

If the output of the command is aligned for every part of your prompt (left and right), this indicates a bug in the theme or your config. Use this command to diagnose it:

print -rl -- ${(eq+)PROMPT} ${(eq+)RPROMPT}

Look for %{...%} and backslash escapes in the output. If there are any, they are the likely culprits. Open an issue if you get stuck.

If the prompt line is longer than the frame

+-----------------------------+
| romka@adam ✓ ~/powerlevel10k |
+-----------------------------+

This is usually caused by a terminal bug or misconfiguration that makes it print ambiguous-width characters as double-width instead of single width. For example, this issue.

If the prompt line is shorter than the frame and is mangled

+------------------------------+
| romka@adam ✓~/powerlevel10k |
+------------------------------+

Note that this prompt is different from the original as it's missing a space after the check mark.

This can be caused by a low-level bug in macOS. See this issue.

If the prompt line is shorter than the frame and is not mangled

+--------------------------------+
| romka@adam ✓ ~/powerlevel10k |
+--------------------------------+

This can be caused by misconfigured locale. See this issue.

Prompt wrapping around in a weird way

See cursor is in the wrong place.

Right prompt is in the wrong place

See cursor is in the wrong place.

Configuration wizard run automatically every time Zsh is started

When Powerlevel10k starts, it automatically runs p10k configure if no POWERLEVEL9K_* parameters are defined. Based on your prompt style choices, the configuration wizard creates ~/.p10k.zsh with a bunch of POWERLEVEL9K_* parameters in it and adds a line to ~/.zshrc to source this file. The next time you start Zsh, the configuration wizard shouldn't run automatically. If it does, this means the evaluation of ~/.zshrc terminates prematurely before it reaches the line that sources ~/.p10k.zsh. This most often happens due to syntax errors in ~/.zshrc. These errors get hidden by the configuration wizard screen, so you don't notice them. Scroll up in the first configuration wizard screen to see these errors. Alternatively, run POWERLEVEL9K_DISABLE_CONFIGURATION_WIZARD=true zsh to start Zsh without automatically running the configuration wizard. Once you can see the errors, fix ~/.zshrc to get rid of them.

Cannot install the recommended font

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

Extra or missing spaces in prompt compared to Powerlevel9k

tl;dr: Add ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT=0 and POWERLEVEL9K_LEGACY_ICON_SPACING=true to ~/.zshrc to get the same prompt spacing as in Powerlevel9k.

When using Powerlevel10k with a Powerlevel9k config, you might get additional spaces in prompt here and there. These come in two flavors.

Extra space without background on the right side of right prompt

tl;dr: Add ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT=0 to ~/.zshrc to get rid of that space.

From Zsh documentation:

ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT <S>

If set, used to give the indentation between the right hand side of the right prompt in the line editor as given by RPS1 or RPROMPT and the right hand side of the screen. If not set, the value 1 is used.

Typically this will be used to set the value to 0 so that the prompt appears flush with the right hand side of the screen.

Powerlevel10k respects this parameter. If you set ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT=1 (or leave it unset, which is the same thing as setting it to 1), you'll get an empty space to the right of right prompt. If you set ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT=0, your prompt will go to the edge of the terminal. This is how it works in every theme except Powerlevel9k.

Powerlevel9k issue: powerlevel9k#1292. It's been fixed in the development branch of Powerlevel9k but the fix hasn't yet made it to master.

Add ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT=0 to ~/.zshrc to get the same spacing on the right edge of prompt as in Powerlevel9k.

Note: Several versions of Zsh have bugs that get triggered when you set ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT=0. Powerlevel10k can work around these bugs when using powerline prompt style. If you notice visual artifacts in prompt, or wrong cursor position, try removing ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT from ~/.zshrc.

Extra or missing spaces around icons

tl;dr: Add POWERLEVEL9K_LEGACY_ICON_SPACING=true to ~/.zshrc to get the same spacing around icons as in Powerlevel9k.

Spacing around icons in Powerlevel9k is inconsistent.

This inconsistency is a constant source of annoyance, so it was fixed in Powerlevel10k. You can add POWERLEVEL9K_LEGACY_ICON_SPACING=true to ~/.zshrc to get the same spacing around icons as in Powerlevel9k.

Note: It's not a good idea to define POWERLEVEL9K_LEGACY_ICON_SPACING when using p10k configure.

Cannot make Powerlevel10k work with my plugin manager

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.

• oh-my-zsh: Open ~/.zshrc and remove the line that sets ZSH_THEME. It might look like this: ZSH_THEME="powerlevel9k/powerlevel9k".
• 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.
• antigen: Open ~/.zshrc and remove the line that sets antigen theme. It might look like this: antigen theme powerlevel9k/powerlevel9k.

2. Install Powerlevel10k manually.

git clone --depth=1 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.

Directory is difficult to see in prompt when using Rainbow style

In Classic style the current working directory is shown with bright white white text on blue background. The white is fixed and always looks the same but the appearance of "blue" is defined by your terminal color palette. If it's very light, it's difficult to see white text on it.

There are several ways to fix this.

• Type p10k configure and choose a more readable prompt style.
• Change terminal color palette. Try Tango Dark or Solarized Dark, or change just the "blue" color.
• Change directory background color. The parameter you are looking for is called POWERLEVEL9K_DIR_BACKGROUND. You can find it in in ~/.p10k.zsh. Uncomment it if it's commented out and try different values.

Table of contents

• Features
  • Configuration wizard
  • Uncompromising performance
  • Powerlevel9k compatibility
  • Pure compatibility
  • Instant prompt
  • Show on command
  • Transient prompt
  • Current directory that just works
  • Extremely customizable
  • Batteries included
• Installation
  • Manual
  • Oh My Zsh
  • Prezto
  • Zim
  • Antigen
  • Zplug
  • Zgen
  • Antibody
  • Zplugin
• Configuration
  • For new users
  • For Powerlevel9k users
• Fonts
  • Meslo Nerd Font patched for Powerlevel10k
    • Automatic font installation
    • Manual font installation
• Try it in Docker
• License
• FAQ
  • Which aspects of shell and terminal does Powerlevel10k affect?
  • I'm using Powerlevel9k with Oh My Zsh. How do I migrate?
  • Is it really fast?
  • How do I enable instant prompt?
  • What do different symbols in Git status mean?
  • How do I change the format of Git status?
  • How do I add username and/or hostname to prompt?
  • Why some prompt segments appear and disappear as I'm typing?
  • How do I change prompt colors?
  • Why does Powerlevel10k spawn extra processes?
  • Are there configuration options that make Powerlevel10k slow?
  • Is Powerlevel10k fast to load?
  • What is the relationship between Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k?
  • Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?
  • What is the best prompt style in the configuration wizard?
  • Is there an AUR package for Powerlevel10k?
  • What is the minimum supported Zsh version?
  • How were these screenshots and animated gifs created?
• Troubleshooting
  • Question mark in prompt
  • Icons, glyphs or powerline symbols don't render
  • Sub-pixel imperfections around powerline symbols
  • zsh: character not in range
  • Cursor is in the wrong place
  • Prompt wrapping around in a weird way
  • Right prompt is in the wrong place
  • Configuration wizard run automatically every time Zsh is started
  • Cannot install the recommended font
  • Extra or missing spaces in prompt compared to Powerlevel9k
    • Extra space without background on the right side of right prompt
    • Extra or missing spaces around icons
  • Cannot make Powerlevel10k work with my plugin manager
  • Directory is difficult to see in prompt when using Rainbow style