I'm excited to announce the first public release of NovaShell, a modern, lightweight, cross-platform command-line shell written entirely in Zig.
NovaShell is designed for everyday interactive use, with a focus on speed, simplicity, and a polished user experience.
Highlights
- Interactive REPL
- Cross-platform support (Windows, Linux, and macOS)
- Persistent command history
- Tab completion for commands and paths
- Configurable themes
- Alias support
- Environment variable expansion
- Built-in commands (
cd,pwd,help,clear,version,about) - "Did you mean...?" command suggestions
- Friendly, colored terminal output
Downloads
Prebuilt binaries are available for:
- Windows (x86_64)
- Linux (x86_64)
- Linux (AArch64)
- macOS (Intel)
- macOS (Apple Silicon)
SHA-256 checksums are included with the release for verification.
Current Limitations
NovaShell is currently focused on providing a fast, interactive shell experience. The following features are not yet implemented:
- Pipes and redirection (
|,>,<) - In-line cursor movement
- Shell scripting
These are planned improvements for future releases.
Feedback
Bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests are welcome. If you encounter an issue or have an idea for improving NovaShell, please open an issue on GitHub.
Thanks for trying NovaShell!