How to Install and Set Up Nushell – A Modern Rust‑Based Shell

Nushell is a modern, cross‑platform shell written in Rust that aims to provide a flexible, data‑aware command line experience, allowing you to combine traditional CLI tools with structured data and offering a polished user experience.

Create a modern, flexible cross‑platform shell.

Mix command‑line applications with understandable data structures.

Deliver a user‑experience comparable to modern CLI applications.

As of now, Nushell has earned 13.9K stars on GitHub.

Step 1: Install Development Tools

Ubuntu / Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install pkg-config libssl-dev -y
sudo apt install libxcb-composite0-dev libx11-dev -y

RHEL‑based systems:

sudo yum install libxcb openssl-devel libX11-devel -y

macOS (using Homebrew):

brew install openssl cmake

Step 2: Install Nushell on Linux

Download the latest binary archive:

cd /tmp
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/nushell/nushell/releases/latest \
  | grep browser_download_url | cut -d '"' -f4 \
  | grep '\linux.tar.gz' | wget -i -

Extract the archive: tar -xvf nu_*_linux.tar.gz Move the binary to your PATH: sudo mv nu_*_linux/nushell-*/nu /usr/local/bin Move plugins to your PATH (optional but recommended):

sudo mv nu_*_linux/nushell-*/nu_plugin* /usr/local/bin

Fedora users can install via COPR:

sudo dnf copr enable atim/nushell -y && sudo dnf install nushell -y

Step 3: Install Nushell on macOS

Binary installation via Homebrew: brew install nushell Manual binary installation:

cd /tmp
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/nushell/nushell/releases/latest \
  | grep browser_download_url | cut -d '"' -f4 \
  | grep '\macOS.zip' | wget -i -
unzip nu_*_macOS.zip
sudo mv nu_*_macOS/nushell-*/nu /usr/local/bin
sudo mv nu_*_macOS/nushell-*/nu_plugin* /usr/local/bin

Step 4: Set Nushell as the Default Shell

Create a new user (example: techviewleo): sudo adduser techviewleo Set the user's default shell to Nushell: sudo chsh -s /usr/local/bin/nu techviewleo Switch to the new account and verify:

su - techviewleo
# You should see the Nushell prompt, e.g., /home/techviewleo>

Test the Shell

Run a simple command such as ls to see Nushell’s output.

For more information, visit the official repository: https://github.com/nushell/nushell .