---
url: https://ws.kloudkit.com/editor/terminal.md
description: >-
  The Kloud Workspace terminal runs on zsh with a Starship prompt, rich
  colorization, and sensible defaults for a productive shell.
---

# Terminal

![Terminal logo](/icons/terminal.svg){.doc-image}

The terminal in Kloud Workspace runs on `zsh`, tailored for a seamless and productive
experience with sensible defaults, rich colorization, and integrated tooling.

## Components

### Prompt

The terminal prompt is powered by [`starship`][starship] and blends perfectly with our
[color theme](/editor/theme-and-fonts).
Modules are shown based on the specific context of the prompt.
For instance, the Python module appears only when your current working directory includes
a Python-based project.

![Prompt](/editor/terminal/prompt.gif){.doc-image-shadow}

Some users find the descriptive prompt to be too noisy.
To *opt-out* of some of the prompt modules, you can set any of the following environment variables
to either `1` or `true`:

For example, to disable the Docker and Python modules, you could add the following lines
to your deployment:

```sh{2,3}
docker run \
  -e WS_TERMINAL_PROMPT_HIDE_DOCKER_CONTEXT=1 \
  -e WS_TERMINAL_PROMPT_HIDE_PYTHON_VERSION=1 \
  ghcr.io/kloudkit/workspace:v0.4.0
```

### Colorful Output

Many CLI tools feature colorization by default
*(matching the [color theme](/editor/theme-and-fonts))*, enhancing your experience with
improved readability.

![Ls animation](/editor/terminal/ls.gif){.doc-image-shadow}

![Ip animation](/editor/terminal/ip-a.gif){.doc-image-shadow}

![Tree animation](/editor/terminal/tree.gif){.doc-image-shadow}

![Cat animation](/editor/terminal/cat.gif){.doc-image-shadow}

::: tip Clickable file paths
Paths printed as `file://…` URIs are clickable and open the file in the editor.
Because the workspace runs remotely, they resolve against the remote filesystem —
so they work in the browser instead of pointing at your local machine.
:::

### Clipboard

The workspace provides clipboard utilities that bridge the terminal with the browser's
clipboard.

#### Available Commands

* **`pbcopy`**
* **`pbpaste`**
* **`xclip`**
* **`xsel`**
* **`ws clip paste`**

```sh
# Copy to clipboard
echo "Hello World" | pbcopy
cat file.txt | xclip -sel c
echo "data" | xsel -b

# Paste from clipboard
pbpaste
xclip -o -sel c
xsel -b -o

# Use in pipelines
pbpaste | grep "pattern"
xclip -o | jq .
```

::: info
All clipboard commands communicate with the VS Code extension running in your browser,
bridging the terminal environment with your native clipboard.

All X11 selections *(primary, secondary, clipboard)* map to the same browser clipboard.
:::

### ZSH

The standard shell utilized is `zsh`, enhanced by the [`oh-my-zsh`][oh-my-zsh] framework.
Tools and programming languages within the *workspace* that have corresponding
*oh-my-zsh plugins* are automatically activated for each shell session.

To modify the default set of plugins, adjust the `env` variables listed below:

::: code-group

```sh{2} [Override]
docker run \
  -e WS_ZSH_PLUGINS="kubectl npm python pip" \
  ghcr.io/kloudkit/workspace:v0.4.0
```

```sh{2} [Append]
docker run \
  -e WS_ZSH_ADDITIONAL_PLUGINS="php" \
  ghcr.io/kloudkit/workspace:v0.4.0
```

:::

### History Search

The workspace includes an interactive history search powered by [`fzf`][fzf].
Press Ctrl+R to open a fuzzy finder over your shell history.

By default, duplicate entries are removed and event numbers are hidden for a
clean, distraction-free list. The following environment variables let you
customize the behavior:

[fzf]: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf

[oh-my-zsh]: https://ohmyz.sh

[starship]: https://starship.rs