9 Essential Shell Tools Every Developer Should Use

After spending several days setting up a new laptop, I compiled a list of daily‑used shell tools to avoid forgetting useful utilities and to help other developers improve their workflow.

1. Oh My Zsh

Oh My Zsh extends the default Zsh shell on macOS with a rich set of plugins, themes, and configuration options, making the command line more powerful and customizable.

Official site: https://ohmyz.sh/

2. Powerlevel10k Theme

Powerlevel10k provides a fast, visually appealing prompt that can display information such as the current Python virtual environment or cloud account, reducing latency between commands and the prompt.

Official site: https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k

3. bgnotify

bgnotify sends a desktop notification when a command finishes executing in the terminal, eliminating the need to constantly switch windows to check long‑running tasks such as Rust compilation.

Official site: https://github.com/t413/zsh-background-notify

4. direnv

direnv automatically loads environment variables defined in a .envrc file when you enter a project directory, and can also read variables directly from a .env file, simplifying per‑project configuration.

Official site: https://direnv.net/

5. fzf

fzf is a command‑line fuzzy finder useful for reverse searching command history and filtering results with an expressive syntax.

Official site: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf

6. pyenv

pyenv lets you install and switch between multiple Python versions without affecting the system Python, and can bind a specific version to a directory, with an extension for managing virtual environments.

Official site: https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv

7. Lazygit

Lazygit provides a compact terminal UI for Git, displaying essential information on a single screen and offering shortcuts for common commands, making version control faster and less cluttered.

Official site: https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit

8. z (z Script)

z is a simple script that tracks directory usage statistics and lets you jump to frequently visited directories with a short command, e.g., "z myapp" to go directly to ~/work/company/myapp.

Official site: https://github.com/rupa/z

9. wuzz

wuzz is a lightweight tool for exploring HTTP requests; although it receives few updates, it reliably performs the core functions needed for quick API testing.

Official site: https://github.com/asciimoo/wuzz

These nine shell utilities together form a practical toolkit for improving development efficiency on a fresh machine.