2 Introduction (zsh)

# 2 Introduction ¶

Zsh is a UNIX command interpreter (shell) usable as an interactive login shell and as a shell script command processor. Of the standard shells, zsh most closely resembles ksh but includes many enhancements. It does not provide compatibility with POSIX or other shells in its default operating mode: see the section Compatibility.

Zsh has command line editing, builtin spelling correction, programmable command completion, shell functions (with autoloading), a history mechanism, and a host of other features.

## 2.1 Author ¶

Zsh was originally written by Paul Falstad. Zsh is now maintained by the members of the zsh-workers mailing list `<zsh-workers@zsh.org>`. The development is currently coordinated by Peter Stephenson `<pws@zsh.org>`. The coordinator can be contacted at `<coordinator@zsh.org>`, but matters relating to the code should generally go to the mailing list.

## 2.2 Availability ¶

Zsh is available from the following HTTP and anonymous FTP site.

`ftp://ftp.zsh.org/pub/`
`https://www.zsh.org/pub/`

The up-to-date source code is available via Git from Sourceforge. See `https://sourceforge.net/projects/zsh/` for details. A summary of instructions for the archive can be found at `https://zsh.sourceforge.io/`.

## 2.3 Mailing Lists ¶

Zsh has several mailing lists:

`<zsh-announce@zsh.org>`

  Announcements about releases, major changes in the shell and the monthly posting of the Zsh FAQ. (moderated)

`<zsh-users@zsh.org>`

  User discussions.

`<zsh-workers@zsh.org>`

  Hacking, development, bug reports and patches.

`<zsh-security@zsh.org>`

  Private mailing list (the general public cannot subscribe to it) for discussing bug reports with security implications, i.e., potential vulnerabilities.

  If you find a security problem in zsh itself, please mail this address.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to the associated administrative address for the mailing list.

`<zsh-announce-subscribe@zsh.org>`
`<zsh-users-subscribe@zsh.org>`
`<zsh-workers-subscribe@zsh.org>`
`<zsh-announce-unsubscribe@zsh.org>`
`<zsh-users-unsubscribe@zsh.org>`
`<zsh-workers-unsubscribe@zsh.org>`

YOU ONLY NEED TO JOIN ONE OF THE MAILING LISTS AS THEY ARE NESTED. All submissions to zsh-announce are automatically forwarded to zsh-users. All submissions to zsh-users are automatically forwarded to zsh-workers.

If you have problems subscribing/unsubscribing to any of the mailing lists, send mail to `<listmaster@zsh.org>`.

The mailing lists are archived; the archives can be accessed via the administrative addresses listed above. There is also a hypertext archive available at `https://www.zsh.org/mla/`.

## 2.4 The Zsh FAQ ¶

Zsh has a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), maintained by Peter Stephenson `<pws@zsh.org>`. It is regularly posted to the newsgroup comp.unix.shell and the zsh-announce mailing list. The latest version can be found at any of the Zsh FTP sites, or at `https://www.zsh.org/FAQ/`. The contact address for FAQ-related matters is `<faqmaster@zsh.org>`.

## 2.5 The Zsh Web Page ¶

Zsh has a web page which is located at `https://www.zsh.org/`. The contact address for web-related matters is `<webmaster@zsh.org>`.

## 2.6 The Zsh Userguide ¶

A userguide is currently in preparation. It is intended to complement the manual, with explanations and hints on issues where the manual can be cabbalistic, hierographic, or downright mystifying (for example, the word ‘hierographic’ does not exist). It can be viewed in its current state at `https://zsh.sourceforge.io/Guide/`. At the time of writing, chapters dealing with startup files and their contents and the new completion system were essentially complete.

## 2.7 See Also ¶

sh(1), csh(1), tcsh(1), rc(1), bash(1), ksh(1)

IEEE Standard for information Technology - Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) - Part 2: Shell and Utilities, IEEE Inc, 1993, ISBN 1-55937-255-9.

This document was generated on May 31, 2026 using texi2any.

Zsh version 5.9.1, released on May 31, 2026.