Starship

What is Starship?

Starship is a minimal, blazing-fast, and infinitely customizable prompt for any shell. Written in Rust for speed and reliability, Starship transforms your terminal prompt into an intelligent display showing relevant information about your current context—Git status, programming language versions, cloud provider context, and more—without slowing down your workflow.

The prompt automatically detects your project context and displays only relevant information. Enter a Python project and see the Python version. Work with a Git repository and see branch status, ahead/behind commits, and file changes. Connect to cloud services and see AWS or Kubernetes context. This intelligent, context-aware approach keeps the prompt informative without cluttering it with irrelevant details.

Starship works across virtually every shell: Bash, Zsh, Fish, PowerShell, Ion, Tcsh, Elvish, Nu, Xonsh, and more. This cross-shell compatibility means you can maintain the same prompt configuration across different systems and shells. The configuration uses TOML for human-readable customization, and the active community has created presets, themes, and guides for every use case imaginable.

Key Features

• Blazing Fast: Written in Rust with performance as a core priority. Prompt renders in milliseconds, never slowing down your terminal workflow.
• Cross-Shell: Works with Bash, Zsh, Fish, PowerShell, and many more. One configuration works across all your shells.
• Highly Customizable: Configure every aspect through TOML configuration. Modify prompts, add modules, change colors, and adjust behavior.
• Intelligent Context: Automatically detects project context and shows relevant information. No manual configuration for each project type.
• Git Integration: Comprehensive Git status including branch, commits ahead/behind, staged/unstaged changes, and stash count.
• Language Detection: Shows versions for Node.js, Python, Rust, Go, Ruby, and dozens of other languages when in relevant directories.
• Cloud Context: Displays AWS profile, Kubernetes context, Google Cloud project, and other cloud provider information.
• Battery Status: Optional battery level indicator for laptops and portable devices.
• Time and Duration: Command execution time for long-running processes and optional timestamp display.
• Preset System: Pre-built configurations for common setups. Start with a preset and customize from there.

Recent Updates and Improvements

Starship maintains active development with frequent releases adding new modules, improving performance, and expanding shell support.

• New Language Modules: Continued addition of programming language and tool detection. Recent additions include Gleam, Mojo, and additional build tools.
• Performance Optimization: Reduced prompt latency through parallel module execution and smarter caching.
• Nushell Integration: Improved support for Nushell with native prompt features and better compatibility.
• Custom Modules: Enhanced custom module support for adding project-specific or organization-specific prompt elements.
• Preset Library: Growing collection of community presets for different aesthetics and use cases.
• Documentation: Expanded documentation with better examples, recipes, and troubleshooting guides.
• Icon Updates: Refined icons and symbols with better font compatibility and display consistency.
• Error Handling: Improved error messages and graceful degradation when configuration issues occur.

System Requirements

All Platforms

• Any supported shell (Bash, Zsh, Fish, PowerShell, etc.)
• Nerd Font recommended for icons (optional)
• Minimal disk space (~5 MB)
• Minimal RAM usage

Platform-Specific

• macOS: 10.15+ recommended
• Windows: Windows 10 1809+ or Windows 11
• Linux: Any modern distribution
• BSD: FreeBSD, OpenBSD supported

How to Install Starship

Quick Installation

# macOS and Linux
curl -sS https://starship.rs/install.sh | sh

# macOS via Homebrew
brew install starship

# Windows via Chocolatey
choco install starship

# Windows via Scoop
scoop install starship

# Arch Linux
pacman -S starship

# Cargo (Rust)
cargo install starship --locked

Shell Configuration

# Bash - Add to ~/.bashrc
eval "$(starship init bash)"

# Zsh - Add to ~/.zshrc
eval "$(starship init zsh)"

# Fish - Add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish
starship init fish | source

# PowerShell - Add to Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
Invoke-Expression (&starship init powershell)

# Nushell - Add to env.nu
mkdir ~/.cache/starship
starship init nu | save -f ~/.cache/starship/init.nu

Configuration

# Create configuration file
mkdir -p ~/.config && touch ~/.config/starship.toml

# Example configuration
[character]
success_symbol = "[?](bold green)"
error_symbol = "[?](bold red)"

[git_branch]
symbol = "? "

[git_status]
conflicted = "?? "
ahead = "?? ×${count}"
behind = "?? ×${count}"
diverged = "? ??×${ahead_count} ??×${behind_count}"
untracked = "?×${count}"
stashed = "? "
modified = "?×${count}"
staged = "?×${count}"

[nodejs]
format = "via [? $version](bold green) "

[python]
format = "via [? $version]($style) "

[directory]
truncation_length = 3
truncate_to_repo = true

[aws]
format = "on [$symbol($profile )(\\($region\\) )]($style)"
symbol = "?? "

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Exceptional Speed: Rust implementation ensures prompt renders instantly. Never wait for your prompt to appear.
• Universal Compatibility: Works with virtually every shell. One configuration across all environments.
• Smart Defaults: Works great out of the box with sensible defaults. Customize only what you want to change.
• Context Awareness: Automatically shows relevant information based on current directory and project type.
• Active Community: Large, helpful community with presets, guides, and quick support for questions.
• Comprehensive Documentation: Excellent documentation with examples for every module and configuration option.
• Light Resource Usage: Minimal memory and CPU usage. Won’t slow down even resource-constrained systems.

Cons

• Requires Nerd Font: Full icon support requires installing a Nerd Font. Default font may show missing glyphs.
• Learning Configuration: TOML configuration requires learning module names and options for deep customization.
• External Binary: Separate binary rather than shell-native. Adds dependency to your setup.
• Module Overhead: Enabling many modules can slightly increase prompt latency, though still fast.
• Initial Setup: Requires shell configuration changes. Migration from existing prompt setups needs effort.

Starship vs Alternatives

Who Should Use Starship?

Starship is ideal for:

• Multi-Shell Users: Developers who work across different shells and want consistent prompt behavior.
• Performance Enthusiasts: Users who notice slow prompts and want instant terminal responsiveness.
• Polyglot Developers: Programmers working with multiple languages who benefit from automatic version detection.
• Cloud Workers: DevOps and cloud engineers who need context about AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, and other services.
• Customization Lovers: Users who want fine-grained control over every aspect of their prompt.
• Cross-Platform Developers: Those who work on macOS, Linux, and Windows and want the same prompt everywhere.

Starship may not be ideal for:

• Zsh Plugin Users: Those deeply invested in Oh My Zsh ecosystem may prefer staying there.
• Minimalists: Users wanting the absolute simplest prompt may find even Starship’s defaults too much.
• No-Dependency Preference: Those avoiding external binaries may prefer shell-native solutions.
• Stock Terminal Users: Users not using enhanced fonts may see missing icons without additional setup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I see boxes or question marks instead of icons?

Starship uses special characters from Nerd Fonts for icons. Install a Nerd Font (like FiraCode Nerd Font or JetBrains Mono Nerd Font) and configure your terminal to use it. Alternatively, configure Starship to use text-only alternatives by modifying symbol settings in your configuration.

Is Starship really faster than other prompts?

Yes, Starship is consistently one of the fastest prompts available. The Rust implementation, parallel module execution, and smart caching ensure prompt renders in single-digit milliseconds for most configurations. Benchmarks consistently show Starship outperforming shell-script-based alternatives.

Can I migrate from Oh My Zsh themes?

While direct migration isn’t possible, Starship can replace OMZ prompt themes while you continue using OMZ plugins. Configure Starship as your prompt while keeping OMZ for other functionality. Community presets exist that replicate popular OMZ themes like Agnoster or Powerlevel9k aesthetics.

How do I add custom information to my prompt?

Starship supports custom modules that can display output from any command. Define a custom module in your configuration with the command to run and format for display. This enables project-specific information, environment indicators, or any other custom prompt content.

Does Starship slow down when showing Git status?

Starship uses libgit2 for Git operations, which is significantly faster than running git commands. For most repositories, Git status adds negligible latency. Very large repositories might see slight delays, but Starship offers configuration options to limit Git scanning or disable features for performance.

Final Verdict

Starship has earned its position as the leading cross-shell prompt through relentless focus on speed, compatibility, and intelligent defaults. The Rust foundation delivers on performance promises—prompts render instantly regardless of how much information they display. The cross-shell compatibility means learning Starship once pays dividends across every terminal environment you use.

The intelligent context detection showcases thoughtful design. Rather than requiring explicit configuration for every project type, Starship discovers context automatically and displays relevant information. This “just works” quality extends to the entire experience—installation is straightforward, defaults are sensible, and customization is optional rather than required.

While shell-specific solutions like Powerlevel10k offer deep integration for Zsh users, Starship’s universality and performance make it the logical choice for developers who value consistency across environments. The active community, comprehensive documentation, and continuous improvement ensure Starship remains the prompt to beat. For anyone serious about their terminal experience, Starship deserves consideration as the foundation of your command-line workflow.