Powerlevel10k

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

Powerlevel10k can be used as a drop-in replacement for Powerlevel9k. When given the same configuration options it will generate the same prompt. It will be much faster though.

Table of Contents

1. Installation
   1. Manual
   2. Oh My Zsh
   3. Prezto
   4. Antigen
   5. Zplug
   6. Zgen
   7. Antibody
2. Configuration
   1. For new users
   2. For existing users
3. Fonts
4. Try it in Docker
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

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

For new users

If you are new to Powerlevel10k/9k and don't have your own config yet, start with the lean style.

curl -fsSL -O ~/p10k-lean.zsh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k/master/config/p10k-lean.zsh
echo 'source ~/p10k-lean.zsh' >>! ~/.zshrc

To customize your prompt, open ~/p10k-lean.zsh in your favorite text editor, change it and restart ZSH. The file is well-documented.

For existing users

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. Powerlevel10k recognized all configuration options used by Powerlevel9k. See Powerlevel9k configuration guide.

If you aren't completely satisfied with your prompt or looking for something fresh, try lean config.

Fonts

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

Lean config doesn't require custom fonts. It'll work even with regular system fonts. If you are having trouble with Powerline fonts, try this config.

Try it in Docker

Try Powerlevel10k in Docker. You can safely make any changes to the file system while trying out the theme. Once you exit zsh, the image is deleted.

docker run -e LANG=C.UTF-8 -e LC_ALL=C.UTF-8 -e TERM -it --rm ubuntu bash -uexc '
  cd && apt update && apt install -y zsh git
  git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git
  echo "source ~/powerlevel10k/config/p10k-lean.zsh" >>~/.zshrc
  echo "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 may also spawn zsh to trigger async prompt refresh.

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.
• 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 ZSH 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.