I’m looking for inspiration for a custom Bash prompt[1]. I’d love to see yours! 😊 If possible, include both the prompt’s PS1, and a screenshot/example of what it looks like.

References
  1. Type: Documentation. Title: “Bash Reference Manual”. Publisher: Gnu Project. Edition: 5.2. Published: 2022-09-19. Accessed: 2025-03-21T02:46Z. URI: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/index.html.

Crossposts:

  • TheFadingOne@feddit.org
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    1 month ago

    I’m mainly using zsh but I have a backup bash prompt that closely mirrors it. It shows the return value of the previous command if it’s non-zero and gives some information about the current git repository if there is one.

    retval() {
            if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
                    printf ""
            else
                    printf "\001\e[31m\002($?)\001\e[0m\002"
            fi
    }
    
    gitbranch() {
            if type git 2> /dev/null 1> /dev/null && git rev-parse 2> /dev/null 1> /dev/null ; then
                    MODIFIED=""
                    if [[ -n $(git status --short) ]]; then
                            MODIFIED=" M"
                    fi
                    BRANCH=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)
                    SHORTREF=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
                    printf "\001\e[31m\002%s\001\e[0m\002(%s)\001\e[31m\002%s\001\e[0m\002" $BRANCH $SHORTREF $MODIFIED
            else
                    echo -n ""
            fi
    }
    
    export PROMPT_DIRTRIM=3
    
    PS1='$(retval)[\001\e[1;95m\002\u\001\e[0m\002@\h : \w $(gitbranch)] \$ '
    PS2='> '
    

    • hallettj@leminal.space
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      1 month ago

      Do you have anything to check whether the current directory is under /media/ or /mnt/ so that you can change the drive letter according to a deterministic assignment?

      /s

  • DeuxChevaux@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Mine is simple (inspired by Kali Linux, if that’s even correct)
    PS1='\[\033[0;32m\]┌──[\t] (\u@\h)-[\w]\n└─$ \[\033[0m\]'

  • beirdobaggins@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Mine shows the full path and a new line for commands.

    It will also print the exit code of the last command in red above the prompt, if the exit code is not 0.

    PS1='$(ec=“$?”; if [ $ec -gt 0 ]; then echo -e “\n”[\e[91m]“exit code: $ec”[\e[0m]; fi)\n[\e[92m]\u[\e[38;5;213m]@[\e[38;5;39m]\h[\e[0m]:$PWD\n$ ’

  • winety@lemmy.zip
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    1 month ago

    Mine’s really simple; I just make the path bold and yellow:

    My Bash prompt

    What I like to do is change the colour depending on the machine I ssh into, e.g. make the path red on my Raspberry Pi.

  • SinkingLotus@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    PS1='\[\e[1m\][\[\e[92m\]\u\[\e[0m\]@\[\e[96;1;3m\]\h\[\e[0;1m\]]\[\e[0m\] \[\e[1m\][\[\e[38;5;226m\]\w\[\e[39m\]]\[\e[0m\] \[\e[97;1m\]~\[\e[92;5m\]\$\[\e[0m\] '

    image

    Note: The “$” prompt flashes like a typical cursor.

  • golden_zealot@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    Prompt is pretty simple, mainly just adjusted coloring and added a timestamp.

    PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\[\033[01;36;01m\]\t \[\033[01;32m\]\u@\[\033[01;37;01m\]\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;36m\]\w\[\033[00m\]\$ '

  • z3rOR0ne@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    I use zsh, but my old Bash prompt looks almost the same as my Zsh prompt. Sorry, no screenshot, but here’s the code:

    export PS1='\[\033[01;34m\][\[\033[01;37m\] \W\[\033[01;34m\]]\$\033[01;34m\] $(git branch 2>/dev/null | grep '^*' | colrm 1 2)\n\033[01;34m└─>\033[37m '
    
  • Xanza@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago
    export PS1="\[\e[31m\][\[\e[m\]\[\e[38;5;172m\]\u\[\e[m\]@\[\e[38;5;153m\]\h\[\e[m\] \[\e[38;5;214m\]\W\[\e[m\]\[\e[31m\]]\[\e[m\]\\$ "
    
  • Asparagus0098@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    My bash prompt is just me copying the prompt I have set on fish.

    # Prompt
    green=$'\e[38;5;2m'
    bright_red=$'\e[38;5;9m'
    bright_green=$'\e[38;5;10m'
    reset=$'\e[0m'
    
    prompt_command()
    {
        local exit_status=$?
    
        if [[ $exit_status != 0 ]]; then
            exit_color=$bright_red
            exit_prompt=" [$exit_status]"
        else
            exit_color=$bright_green
            exit_prompt=""
        fi
    }
    
    PROMPT_COMMAND=prompt_command
    PS1='\[$green\]\w\[$exit_color\]$exit_prompt\n❯ \[$reset\]'
    

    I have a small issue with this prompt though. Sometimes the ❯ ends up turning white for some reason.