Powerlevel10k

Powerlevel10k is a theme for ZSH. It's a backward-compatible reimplementation of Powerlevel9k with lower latency and better prompt responsiveness.

If you like the looks of Powerlevel9k but feeling frustrated by its slow prompt, simply replace it with Powerlevel10k and enjoy responsive shell like it's 80's again!

Powerlevel10k is a drop-in replacement for Powerlevel9k. It uses the same configuration options as Powerlevel9k and produces the same results [*]. It's simply much faster.

Table of Contents

1. Installation
   1. Manual
   2. Oh My Zsh
   3. Prezto
   4. Antigen
   5. Zplug
   6. Zgen
   7. Antibody
2. Configuration
3. Fonts
4. Try it out
   1. For Powerlevel9k users
   2. For new users
   3. Docker playground
5. Is it really faster?
6. License
7. FAQ
   1. Why does Powerlevel10k spawn extra processes?
   2. Are there configuration options that make Powerlevel10k slow?
   3. Is Powerlevel10k fast to load?
   4. Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?
   5. I am getting an error: "zsh: bad math expression: operand expected at end of string"
   6. Is there an AUR package for Powerlevel10k?
   7. I cannot make Powerlevel10k work with my plugin manager. Help!
   8. What is the minimum supported ZSH version?

Installation

Installation is virtually the same as in Powerlevel9k. If you managed to install Powerlevel9k, you'll be able to install Powerlevel10k.

Manual

git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/powerlevel10k
echo 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme' >>! ~/.zshrc

This is the simplest kind of installation and it works even if you are using a plugin manager. Just make sure to disable your current theme in your plugin manager. See FAQ for help.

Oh My Zsh

git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git $ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/powerlevel10k

Set ZSH_THEME=powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k in your ~/.zshrc.

Prezto

Add zstyle :prezto:module:prompt theme powerlevel10k to your ~/.zpreztorc.

Antigen

Add antigen theme romkatv/powerlevel10k to your ~/.zshrc. Make sure you have antigen apply somewhere after it.

Zplug

Add zplug romkatv/powerlevel10k, use:powerlevel10k.zsh-theme to your ~/.zshrc.

Zgen

Add zgen load romkatv/powerlevel10k powerlevel10k to your ~/.zshrc.

Antibody

Add antibody bundle romkatv/powerlevel10k to your ~/.zshrc.

Configuration

Powerlevel10k recognized all configuration options used by Powerlevel9k. See Powerlevel9k configuration guide. Powerlevel10k has a few extensions.

If you've been using Powerlevel9k before, do not remove the configuration options. Powerlevel10k will pick them up and provide you with the same prompt UI you are used to.

The default configuration in Powerlevel10k is the same as in Powerlevel9k, which is to say it's not pretty. Pure Power is recommended as a good starting point for new users. It'll make your prompt look like this.

Installation of Pure Power is the same regardless of your plugin manager of choice.

( cd && curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/romkatv/dotfiles-public/master/.purepower )
echo 'source ~/.purepower' >>! ~/.zshrc

Pure Power needs to be installed in addition to Powerlevel10k, not instead of it. ~/.purepower defines a set of configuration parameters that affect the styling of Powerlevel10k; there is no code in it.

Read the documentation at the top of ~/.purepower (or here) to get an idea of what your prompt is capable of. You can edit the file to change your Powerlevel10k configuration.

Fonts

Depending on your configuration, you might need to install a Powerline font. Follow the font installation guide from Powerlevel9k.

Pure Power config doesn't require custom fonts. It'll work even with regular system fonts. If you are having trouble with patched fonts, try Pure Power.

Try it out

Try Powerlevel10k without making any changes to your setup. If you like it, see installation and configuration for how to make a permanent switch.

For Powerlevel9k users

If you are currently using Powerlevel9k, you can try Powerlevel10k in a temporary zsh session. The prompt will look exactly like what you are used to but it'll be faster.

git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git /tmp/powerlevel10k
source /tmp/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme

When you are done playing, rm -rf /tmp/powerlevel10k and exit zsh. Feel the difference in prompt latency.

For new users

git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git /tmp/powerlevel10k
(cd /tmp/powerlevel10k && curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/romkatv/dotfiles-public/master/.purepower)
echo '
  source /tmp/powerlevel10k/.purepower
  source /tmp/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme' >/tmp/powerlevel10k/.zshrc
ZDOTDIR=/tmp/powerlevel10k zsh

When you are done playing, rm -rf /tmp/powerlevel10k and exit zsh.

Docker playground

You can try Powerlevel10k in Docker (Linux only). You can safely make any changes to the file system while trying out Powerlevel10k. Once you exit zsh, the image is deleted.

docker run -e LANG=C.UTF-8 -e LC_ALL=C.UTF-8 -e TERM=$TERM -it --rm ubuntu bash -uexc '
  apt update && apt install -y zsh git curl
  git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/powerlevel10k
  cd && curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/romkatv/dotfiles-public/master/.purepower
  echo "
    source ~/.purepower
    source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme" >~/.zshrc
  cd ~/powerlevel10k
  exec zsh'

Is it really fast?

Yes.

Benchmark results obtained with zsh-prompt-benchmark on Intel i9-7900X running Ubuntu 18.04 with the config from the demo.

Theme	Prompt Latency
powerlevel9k/master	1046 ms
powerlevel9k/next	1005 ms
powerlevel10k	8.7 ms

Powerlevel10k is over 100 times faster than Powerlevel9k in this benchmark.

In fairness, Powerlevel9k has acceptable latency when given a spartan configuration. If all you need is the current directory without truncation or shortening, Powerlevel9k can render it for you in 17 ms. Powerlevel10k can do the same 30 times faster but it won't matter in practice because 17 ms is fast enough (the threshold where latency becomes noticeable is around 50 ms). You have to be careful with Powerlevel9k configuration as it's all too easy to make prompt frustratingly slow. Powerlevel10k, on the other hand, doesn't require trading latency for utility -- it's virtually instant with any configuration. It stays way below the 50 ms mark, leaving most of the latency budget for other plugins you might install.

License

Powerlevel10k is released under the MIT license. Contributions are covered by the same license.

FAQ

Why does Powerlevel10k spawn extra processes?

Powerlevel10k uses gitstatus as the backend behind vcs prompt; gitstatus spawns gitstatusd and zsh. See gitstatus for details. Powerlevel10k spawns another zsh if POWERLEVEL9K_EXPERIMENTAL_TIME_REALTIME is set to true. This is used to trigger prompt refresh every second.

Are there configuration options that make Powerlevel10k slow?

No, Powerlevel10k is always fast, with any configuration you throw at it. If you have noticeable prompt latency when using Powerlevel10k, please open an issue.

Is Powerlevel10k fast to load?

The short answer is no. The amount of time it takes for Powerlevel10k to render the first prompt is in the same ballpark as for Powerlevel9k.

Time to first prompt can be measured with the following benchmark:

time (repeat 100 zsh -dfis <<< 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme')

On the same machine as in the prompt benchmark this results in 147 ms per invocation when executed in a small git repository (I used the powerlevel10k repo itself). For comparison, the same benchmark gives 170 ms for powerlevel9k/master and 505 ms for powerlevel9k/next.

If your workflow requires that you open a terminal tab, type a command or two and close the tab, Powerlevel10k isn't the best choice. Powerlevel10k is optimized for long-lived ZSH sessions.

Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?

This is the goal. You should be able to switch between Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k with no visible changes except for performance. There are, however, several differences.

• By default only git vcs backend is enabled in Powerlevel10k. If you need svn and hg, you'll need to set POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_BACKENDS.
• Powerlevel10k implements a few extensions. If you use them, you'll get different prompt when you switch to Powerlevel9k. However, extensions are designed with graceful degradation in mind, so your prompt will still be functional.
• Fewer configuration options can be changed after the theme is loaded. For example, if you decide to change background color of some segment in the middle of an interactive session, it may not work.

If you notice any other differences between prompts in Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k when running with the same settings, please open an issue.

I am getting an error: "zsh: bad math expression: operand expected at end of string"

Did you change any POWERLEVEL9K options after the first prompt got rendered, perhaps by editing your ~/.zshrc and executing source ~/.zshrc? This isn't supported. You'll need to restart zsh for configuration changes to take effect. Run exec zsh to do this without forking a process.

Is there an AUR package for Powerlevel10k?

Yes, zsh-theme-powerlevel10k-git. This package is owned by an unaffiliated volunteer.

I cannot make Powerlevel10k work with my plugin manager. Help!

If the installation instructions didn't work for you, try disabling your current theme (so that you end up with no theme) and then installing Powerlevel10k manually.

1. Disable the current theme in your framework / plugin manager.

• zplug: Open ~/.zshrc and remove the zplug command that refers to your current theme. For example, if you are currently using Powerlevel9k, look for zplug bhilburn/powerlevel9k, use:powerlevel9k.zsh-theme.
• prezto: Open ~/.zpreztorc and put zstyle :prezto:module:prompt theme off in it. Remove any other command that sets theme such as zstyle :prezto:module:prompt theme powerlevel9k.
• oh-my-zsh: Open ~/.zshrc and remove the line that sets ZSH_THEME, such as ZSH_THEME=powerlevel9k/powerlevel9k.
• antigen: Open ~/.zshrc and remove the line that sets antigen theme, such as antigen theme bhilburn/powerlevel9k powerlevel9k.

2. Install Powerlevel10k manually.

git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/powerlevel10k
echo 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme' >>! ~/.zshrc

This method of installation won't make anything slower or otherwise sub-par.

What is the minimum supported ZSH version?

ZSH 5.1 or newer should work.

However, there are too many version, OS, platform, terminal and option configurations to test. If Powerlevel10k doesn't work for you, please open an issue.