iTerm2 + Oh My ZSH => a better Terminal

iTerm2 is an OpenSource replacement for apples Terminal. It is highly customisable and has a lot of useful features. This is a getting started guide for anyone new to MacOS and in general development.

Install Iterm2

Download and install the latest version of iTerm2 from iterm2.com.

Install Zsh

Zsh is one of the most popular shells that you can install. zsh includes many useful features for both the beginner and advanced CLI user. It also includes support for autocomplete and plugins. Install zsh using the brew command.

brew install zsh

Install Oh My ZSH

On My Zsh is a community driven framework to manage zsh configurations. It comes bundled with a ton of helpful functions, helpers, plugins and themes.

Install Oh My ZSH by following the instructions from the ohmyz.sh website.

Use an Oh My ZSH theme

Check out the various themes provided by Oh My ZSH.

You can change the theme by editing the file ~/.zshrc.

vim ~/.zshrc

Set the theme that you want. Here I am setting it to avit.

Configure shortcuts

iTerm2 lets you configure shortcuts. Here are some of the shortcuts that I find useful.

To configure shortcuts:

• Open iTerm2
• iTerm2 -> Preferences (⌘ + ,)
• Open the Profile tab and then click on Keys
• Add the following Shortcut Keys

Move cursor one word left

• Keyboard Combination: ⌥ + ←
• Action: Send Hex Code
• Code: 0x1b 0x62

Move cursor one word right

• Keyboard Combination: ⌥ + →
• Action: Send Hex Code
• Code: 0x1b 0x66

Move cursor to beginning of line

• Keyboard Combination: ⌘ + ←
• Action: Send Hex Code
• Code: 0x01

Move cursor to end of line

• Keyboard Combination: ⌘ + →
• Action: Send Hex Code
• Code: 0x05

Delete word

• Keyboard Combination: ⌥ + ←Delete
• Action: Send Hex Code
• Code: 0x1b 0x08

Delete line

• Keyboard Combination: ⌘ + ←Delete
• Action: Send Hex Code
• Code: 0x15

Undo

• Keyboard Combination: ⌘ + z
• Action: Send Hex Code
• Code: 0x1f

Check this StackOverFlow answer for more details.