How to Install and Use Nushell – A Modern Rust‑Based Cross‑Platform Shell

Nushell (Nu) is a modern, cross‑platform shell written in Rust that aims to create a flexible, data‑centric command line experience, combine traditional commands with structured data, and deliver a polished user experience.

Installation on Ubuntu/Debian

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

Installation on RHEL‑based systems

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

Installation on macOS (Homebrew) brew install openssl cmake Manual binary installation on Linux

cd /tmp
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/nushell/nushell/releases/latest | grep browser_download_url | cut -d '"' -f 4 | grep '\linux.tar.gz' | wget -i -
 tar -xvf nu_*_linux.tar.gz
 sudo mv nu_*_linux/nushell-*/nu /usr/local/bin
 sudo mv nu_*_linux/nushell-*/nu_plugin* /usr/local/bin

Manual binary installation on macOS

cd /tmp
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/nushell/nushell/releases/latest | grep browser_download_url | cut -d '"' -f 4 | 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

Running Nushell in Docker (for Windows users) docker run -it quay.io/nushell/nu:latest Setting Nushell as the default shell for a user

sudo adduser techviewleo
sudo chsh -s /usr/local/bin/nu techviewleo
su - techviewleo

After switching to the new user, you can verify Nushell is active (e.g., /home/techviewleo>) and run typical commands such as ls to see the enhanced output.

For more information and the latest releases, visit the official repository at https://github.com/nushell/nushell .