FAQ

How do I update Powerlevel10k?

The command to update Powerlevel10k depends on how it was installed.

Installation	Update command
Manual	git -C ~/powerlevel10k pull
Oh My Zsh	git -C ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k pull
Prezto	zprezto-update
Zim	zimfw update
Antigen	antigen update
Zplug	zplug update
Zgen	zgen update
Zplugin	zplugin update
Zinit	zinit update
Homebrew	brew update && brew upgrade
Arch Linux	yay -S --noconfirm zsh-theme-powerlevel10k-git

IMPORTANT: Restart Zsh after updating Powerlevel10k. Do not use source ~/.zshrc.

How do I uninstall Powerlevel10k?

Remove all references to "p10k" from ~/.zshrc. You might have this snippet at the top:

if [[ -r "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh" ]]; then
  source "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh"
fi

And this at the bottom:

[[ ! -f ~/.p10k.zsh ]] || source ~/.p10k.zsh

These are added by the configuration wizard. Remove them.

Remove all references to "powerlevel10k" from ~/.zshrc, ~/.zpreztorc and ~/.zimrc (some of these files may be missing -- this is normal). These references have been added manually by yourself when installing Powerlevel10k. Refer to the installation instructions if you need a reminder. Verify that all references to "p10k" and "powerlevel10k" are gone from ~/.zshrc, ~/.zpreztorc and ~/.zimrc.

grep -E 'p10k|powerlevel10k' ~/.zshrc ~/.zpreztorc ~/.zimrc 2>/dev/null

If this command produces output, there are still references to "p10k" or "powerlevel10k". You need to remove them.

Delete Powerlevel10k configuration file. This file is created by the configuration wizard and may contain manual edits by yourself.

rm -f ~/.p10k.zsh

Delete Powerlevel10k source files. These files have been downloaded when you've installed Powerlevel10k. The command to delete them depends on which installation method you'd chosen. Refer to the installation instructions if you need a reminder.

Installation	Uninstall command
Manual	rm -rf ~/powerlevel10k
Oh My Zsh	rm -rf -- ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k
Prezto	n/a
Zim	zimfw uninstall
Antigen	antigen purge romkatv/powerlevel10k
Zplug	zplug clean
Zgen	zgen reset
Zplugin	zplugin delete romkatv/powerlevel10k
Zinit	zinit delete romkatv/powerlevel10k
Homebrew	brew uninstall powerlevel10k; brew untap romkatv/powerlevel10k
Arch Linux	yay -R --noconfirm zsh-theme-powerlevel10k-git

Restart Zsh. Do not use source ~/.zshrc.

How do I install Powerlevel10k on a machine without Internet access?

Run this command on the machine without Internet access:

uname -sm | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'

Run these commands on a machine connected to the Internet after replacing the value of target_uname with the output of the previous command:

target_uname="replace this with the output of the previous command"
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ~/powerlevel10k
GITSTATUS_CACHE_DIR="$HOME"/powerlevel10k/gitstatus/usrbin ~/powerlevel10k/gitstatus/install -f -s "${target_uname% *}" -m "${target_uname#* }"

Copy ~/powerlevel10k from the machine connected to the Internet to the one without Internet access. Add source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme to ~/.zshrc on the machine without Internet access:

echo 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme' >>~/.zshrc

If ~/.zshrc on the machine without Internet access sets ZSH_THEME, remove that line.

sed -i.bak '/^ZSH_THEME=/d' ~/.zshrc

To update, remove ~/powerlevel10k on both machines and repeat steps 1-3.

Where can I ask for help and report bugs?

The best way to ask for help and to report bugs is to open an issue.

Gitter is another option.

If all else fails, email roman.perepelitsa@gmail.com.

If necessary, encrypt your communication with this PGP key.

Which aspects of shell and terminal does Powerlevel10k affect?

Powerlevel10k defines prompt and nothing else. It sets prompt-related options, and parameters PS1 and RPS1.

Everything within the highlighted areas on the screenshot is produced by Powerlevel10k. Powerlevel10k has no control over the terminal content or colors outside these areas.

Powerlevel10k does not affect:

• Terminal window/tab title.
• Colors used by ls.
• The behavior of git command.
• The content and style of Tab completions.
• Command line colors (syntax highlighting, autosuggestions, etc.).
• Key bindings.
• Aliases.
• Prompt parameters other than PS1 and RPS1.
• Zsh options other than those related to prompt.

I'm using Powerlevel9k with Oh My Zsh. How do I migrate?

1. Run this command:

# Add powerlevel10k to the list of Oh My Zsh themes.
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git $ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/powerlevel10k
# Replace ZSH_THEME="powerlevel9k/powerlevel9k" with ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k".
sed -i.bak 's/powerlevel9k/powerlevel10k/g' ~/.zshrc
# Restart Zsh.
exec zsh

1. Optional but highly recommended:
2. Install the recommended font.
3. Type p10k configure and choose your favorite prompt style.

Related:

• Powerlevel9k compatibility.
• Does Powerlevel10k always render exactly the same prompt as Powerlevel9k given the same config?
• Extra or missing spaces in prompt compared to Powerlevel9k.
• Configuration wizard.

Is it really fast?

Yes.

Benchmark results obtained with zsh-prompt-benchmark on an 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 well below the 50 ms mark, leaving most of the latency budget for other plugins you might install.

How do I enable instant prompt?

See instant prompt to learn about instant prompt. This section explains how you can enable it and lists caveats that you should be aware of.

Instant prompt can be enabled either through p10k configure or by manually adding the following code snippet at the top of ~/.zshrc:

# Enable Powerlevel10k instant prompt. Should stay close to the top of ~/.zshrc.
# Initialization code that may require console input (password prompts, [y/n]
# confirmations, etc.) must go above this block; everything else may go below.
if [[ -r "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh" ]]; then
  source "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh"
fi

It's important that you copy the lines verbatim. Don't replace source with something else, don't call zcompile, don't redirect output, etc.

When instant prompt is enabled, for the duration of Zsh initialization standard input is redirected to /dev/null and standard output with standard error are redirected to a temporary file. Once Zsh is fully initialized, standard file descriptors are restored and the content of the temporary file is printed out.

When using instant prompt, you should carefully check any output that appears on Zsh startup as it may indicate that initialization has been altered, or perhaps even broken, by instant prompt. Initialization code that may require console input, such as asking for a keyring password or for a [y/n] confirmation, must be moved above the instant prompt preamble in ~/.zshrc. Initialization code that merely prints to console but never reads from it will work correctly with instant prompt, although output that normally has colors may appear uncolored. You can either leave it be, suppress the output, or move it above the instant prompt preamble.

Here's an example of ~/.zshrc that breaks when instant prompt is enabled:

if [[ -r "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh" ]]; then
  source "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh"
fi

keychain id_rsa --agents ssh  # asks for password
chatty-script                 # spams to stdout even when everything is fine
# ...

Fixed version:

keychain id_rsa --agents ssh  # moved before instant prompt

# OK to perform console I/O before this point.
if [[ -r "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh" ]]; then
  source "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/p10k-instant-prompt-${(%):-%n}.zsh"
fi
# From this point on, until zsh is fully initialized, console input won't work and
# console output may appear uncolored.

chatty-script >/dev/null      # spam output suppressed
# ...

If POWERLEVEL9K_INSTANT_PROMPT is unset or set to verbose, Powerlevel10k will print a warning when it detects console output during initialization to bring attention to potential issues. You can silence this warning (without suppressing console output) with POWERLEVEL9K_INSTANT_PROMPT=quiet. This is recommended if some initialization code in ~/.zshrc prints to console and it's infeasible to move it above the instant prompt preamble or to suppress its output. You can completely disable instant prompt with POWERLEVEL9K_INSTANT_PROMPT=off. Do this if instant prompt breaks Zsh initialization and you don't know how to fix it.

Note: Instant prompt requires Zsh >= 5.4. It's OK to enable it even when using an older version of Zsh but it won't do anything.

What do different symbols in Git status mean?

When using Lean, Classic or Rainbow style, Git status may look like this:

feature:master ⇣42⇡42 ⇠42⇢42 *42 merge ~42 +42 !42 ?42

Symbol	Meaning	Source
feature	current branch; replaced with #tag or @commit if not on a branch	git status --ignore-submodules=dirty
master	remote tracking branch; only shown if different from local branch	git rev-parse --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name @{u}
⇣42	this many commits behind the remote	git status --ignore-submodules=dirty
⇡42	this many commits ahead of the remote	git status --ignore-submodules=dirty
⇠42	this many commits behind the push remote	git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...@{push}
⇢42	this many commits ahead of the push remote	git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...@{push}
*42	this many stashes	git stash list
merge	repository state	git status --ignore-submodules=dirty
~42	this many merge conflicts	git status --ignore-submodules=dirty
+42	this many staged changes	git status --ignore-submodules=dirty
!42	this many unstaged changes	git status --ignore-submodules=dirty
?42	this many untracked files	git status --ignore-submodules=dirty
─	the number of staged, unstaged or untracked files is unknown	echo $POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_MAX_INDEX_SIZE_DIRTY or git config --get bash.showDirtyState

Related: How do I change the format of Git status?

How do I change the format of Git status?

To change the format of Git status, open ~/.p10k.zsh, search for my_git_formatter and edit its source code.

Related: What do different symbols in Git status mean?

Why is Git status from $HOME/.git not displayed in prompt?

When using Lean, Classic or Rainbow style, ~/.p10k.zsh contains the following parameter:

# Don't show Git status in prompt for repositories whose workdir matches this pattern.
# For example, if set to '~', the Git repository at $HOME/.git will be ignored.
# Multiple patterns can be combined with '|': '~(|/foo)|/bar/baz/*'.
typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_DISABLED_WORKDIR_PATTERN='~'

To see Git status for $HOME/.git in prompt, open ~/.p10k.zsh and remove POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_DISABLED_WORKDIR_PATTERN.

Why does Git status sometimes appear grey and then gets colored after a short period of time?

tl;dr: When Git status in prompt is greyed out, it means Powerlevel10k is currently computing up-to-date Git status in the background. Prompt will get automatically refreshed when this computation completes.

When your current directory is within a Git repository, Powerlevel10k computes up-to-date Git status after every command. If the repository is large, or the machine is slow, this computation can take quite a bit of time. If it takes longer than 20 milliseconds (configurable via POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_MAX_SYNC_LATENCY_SECONDS), Powerlevel10k displays the last known Git status in grey and continues to compute up-to-date Git status in the background. When the computation completes, Powerlevel10k refreshes prompt with new information, this time with colored Git status.

How do I add username and/or hostname to prompt?

When using Lean, Classic or Rainbow style, prompt shows username@hostname when you are logged in as root or via SSH. There is little value in showing username or hostname when you are logged in to your local machine as a normal user. So the absence of username@hostname in your prompt is an indication that you are working locally and that you aren't root. You can change it, however.

Open ~/.p10k.zsh. Close to the top you can see the most important parameters that define which segments are shown in your prompt. All generally useful prompt segments are listed in there. Some of them are enabled, others are commented out. One of them is of interest to you.

typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_RIGHT_PROMPT_ELEMENTS=(
  ...
  context  # user@hostname
  ...
)

Search for context to find the section in the config that lists parameters specific to this prompt segment. You should see the following lines:

# Don't show context unless running with privileges or in SSH.
# Tip: Remove the next line to always show context.
typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_CONTEXT_{DEFAULT,SUDO}_{CONTENT,VISUAL_IDENTIFIER}_EXPANSION=

If you follow the tip and remove (or comment out) the last line, you'll always see username@hostname in prompt. You can change the format to just username, or change the color, by adjusting the values of parameters nearby. There are plenty of comments to help you navigate.

You can also move context to a different position in POWERLEVEL9K_RIGHT_PROMPT_ELEMENTS or even to POWERLEVEL9K_LEFT_PROMPT_ELEMENTS.

Why some prompt segments appear and disappear as I'm typing?

Prompt segments can be configured to be shown only when the current command you are typing invokes a relevant tool.

# Show prompt segment "kubecontext" only when the command you are typing
# invokes kubectl, helm, kubens, kubectx, oc, istioctl, kogito, k9s or helmfile.
typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_KUBECONTEXT_SHOW_ON_COMMAND='kubectl|helm|kubens|kubectx|oc|istioctl|kogito|k9s|helmfile'

Configs created by p10k configure may contain parameters of this kind. To customize when different prompt segments are shown, open ~/.p10k.zsh, search for SHOW_ON_COMMAND and either remove these parameters or change their values.

You can also define a function in ~/.zshrc to toggle the display of a prompt segment between always and on command. This is similar to kubeon/kubeoff from kube-ps1.

function kube-toggle() {
  if (( ${+POWERLEVEL9K_KUBECONTEXT_SHOW_ON_COMMAND} )); then
    unset POWERLEVEL9K_KUBECONTEXT_SHOW_ON_COMMAND
  else
    POWERLEVEL9K_KUBECONTEXT_SHOW_ON_COMMAND='kubectl|helm|kubens|kubectx|oc|istioctl|kogito|k9s|helmfile'
  fi
  p10k reload
  if zle; then
    zle push-input
    zle accept-line
  fi
}

Invoke this function by typing kube-toggle. You can also bind it to a key by adding two more lines to ~/.zshrc:

zle -N kube-toggle
bindkey '^]' kube-toggle  # ctrl-] to toggle kubecontext in powerlevel10k prompt

How do I change prompt colors?

You can either change the color palette used by your terminal or set colors through Powerlevel10k configuration parameters.

Change the color palette used by your terminal

How exactly you change the terminal color palette (a.k.a. color scheme, or theme) depends on the kind of terminal you are using. Look around in terminal's settings/preferences or consult documentation.

When you change the terminal color palette, it usually affects only the first 16 colors, numbered from 0 to 15. In order to see any effect on Powerlevel10k prompt, you need to use prompt style that utilizes these low-numbered colors. Type p10k configure and select Rainbow, Lean → 8 colors or Pure → Original. Other styles use higher-numbered colors, so they look the same in any terminal color palette.

Set colors through Powerlevel10k configuration parameters

Open ~/.p10k.zsh, search for "color", "foreground" and "background" and change values of appropriate parameters. For example, here's how you can set the foreground of time prompt segment to bright red:

typeset -g POWERLEVEL9K_TIME_FOREGROUND=160

Colors are specified using numbers from 0 to 255. Colors from 0 to 15 look differently in different terminals. Many terminals also support customization of these colors through color palettes (a.k.a. color schemes, or themes). Colors from 16 to 255 always look the same.

Type source ~/.p10k.zsh to apply your changes to the current Zsh session.

To see how different colors look in your terminal, run the following command:

for i in {0..255}; do print -Pn "%K{$i}  %k%F{$i}${(l:3::0:)i}%f " ${${(M)$((i%6)):#3}:+$'\n'}; done

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 perform computation without blocking prompt. To avoid security hazard, these background processes aren't shared by different interactive shells. They terminate automatically when the parent zsh process terminates or runs exec(3).

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?

Yes, provided that you are using Zsh >= 5.4.

Loading time, or time to first prompt, can be measured with the following benchmark:

time (repeat 1000 zsh -dfis <<< 'source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme')

Note: This measures time to first complete prompt. Powerlevel10k can also display a limited prompt before the full-featured prompt is ready.

Running this command with ~/powerlevel10k as the current directory on the same machine as in the prompt benchmark takes 29 seconds (29 ms per invocation). This is about 6 times faster than powerlevel9k/master and 17 times faster than powerlevel9k/next.

What is the relationship between Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k?

Powerlevel10k was forked from Powerlevel9k in March 2019 after a week-long discussion in powerlevel9k#1170. Powerlevel9k was already a mature project with large user base and release cycle measured in months. Powerlevel10k was spun off to iterate on performance improvements and new features at much higher pace.

Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k are independent projects. When using one, you shouldn't install the other. Issues should be filed against the project that you actually use. There are no individuals that have commit rights in both repositories. All bug fixes and new features committed to Powerlevel9k repository get ported to Powerlevel10k.

Over time, virtually all code in Powerlevel10k has been rewritten. There is currently no meaningful overlap between the implementations of Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k.

Powerlevel10k is committed to maintaining backward compatibility with all configs indefinitely. This commitment covers all configuration parameters recognized by Powerlevel9k (see Powerlevel9k compatibility) and additional parameters that only Powerlevel10k understands. Names of all parameters in Powerlevel10k start with POWERLEVEL9K_ for consistency.

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

Almost. There are a few differences.

• By default only git vcs backend is enabled in Powerlevel10k. If you need svn and hg, add them to POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_BACKENDS. These backends aren't yet optimized in Powerlevel10k, so enabling them will make prompt very slow.
• Powerlevel10k doesn't support POWERLEVEL9K_VCS_SHOW_SUBMODULE_DIRTY=true.
• Powerlevel10k strives to be bug-compatible with Powerlevel9k but not when it comes to egregious bugs. If you accidentally rely on these bugs, your prompt will differ between Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k. Some examples:
• Powerlevel9k ignores some options that are set after the theme is sourced while Powerlevel10k respects all options. If you see different icons in Powerlevel9k and Powerlevel10k, you've probably defined POWERLEVEL9K_MODE before sourcing the theme. This parameter gets ignored by Powerlevel9k but honored by Powerlevel10k. If you want your prompt to look in Powerlevel10k the same as in Powerlevel9k, remove POWERLEVEL9K_MODE.
• Powerlevel9k doesn't respect ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT. As a result, right prompt in Powerlevel10k can have an extra space at the end compared to Powerlevel9k. Set ZLE_RPROMPT_INDENT=0 if you don't want that space. More details in troubleshooting.
• Powerlevel9k has inconsistent spacing around icons. This was fixed in Powerlevel10k. Set POWERLEVEL9K_LEGACY_ICON_SPACING=true to get the same spacing as in Powerlevel9k. More details in troubleshooting.
• There are dozens more bugs in Powerlevel9k that don't exist in Powerlevel10k.

If you notice any other changes in prompt appearance when switching from Powerlevel9k to Powerlevel10k, please open an issue.

What is the best prompt style in the configuration wizard?

There are as many opinions on what constitutes the best prompt as there are people. It mostly comes down to personal preference. There are, however, a few hidden implications of different choices.

Pure style is an exact replication of Pure Zsh theme. It exists to ease the migration for users of this theme. Unless you are one of them, choose Lean style over Pure.

If you want to confine prompt colors to the selected terminal color palette (say, Solarized Dark), use Rainbow, Lean → 8 colors or Pure → Original. Other styles use fixed colors and thus look the same in any terminal color palette.

All styles except Pure have an option to use ASCII charset. Prompt will look less pretty but will render correctly with all fonts and in all locales.

If you enable transient prompt, take advantage of two-line prompt. You'll get the benefit of extra space for typing commands without the usual drawback of reduced scrollback density. Having all commands start from the same offset is also nice.

Similarly, if you enable transient prompt, sparse prompt (with an empty line before prompt) is a great choice.

If you are using vi keymap, choose prompt with prompt_char in it (shown as green ❯ in the wizard). This symbol changes depending on vi mode: ❯, ❮, V, ▶ for insert, command, visual and replace mode respectively. When a command fails, the symbol turns red. Lean style always has prompt_char in it. Rainbow and Classic styles have it only in the two-line configuration without left frame.

If you value horizontal space or prefer minimalist aesthetics:

• Use a monospace font, such as the recommended font. Non-monospace fonts require extra space after icons that are larger than a single column.
• Use Lean style. Compared to Classic and Rainbow, it saves two characters per prompt segment.
• Disable current time and frame.
• Use few icons. The extra icons enabled by the many icons option primarily serve decorative function. Informative icons, such as background job indicator, will be shown either way.

Note: You can run configuration wizard as many times as you like. Type p10k configure to try new prompt style.

How to make Powerlevel10k look like robbyrussell Oh My Zsh theme?

Use this config.

You can either download it, save as ~/.p10k.zsh and source ~/.p10k.zsh from ~/.zshrc, or source p10k-robbyrussell.zsh directly from your cloned powerlevel10k repository.

Can prompts for completed commands display error status for those commands instead of the commands preceding them?

No. When you hit ENTER and the command you've typed starts running, its error status isn't yet known, so it cannot be shown in prompt. When the command completes, the error status gets known but it's no longer possible to update prompt for that command. This is why the error status for every command is reflected in the next prompt.

For details, see this post on /r/zsh.

What is the minimum supported Zsh version?

Zsh 5.1 or newer should work. Fast startup requires Zsh >= 5.4.

How were these screenshots and animated gifs created?

All screenshots and animated gifs were recorded in GNOME Terminal with the recommended font and Tango Dark color palette with custom background color (#171A1B instead of #2E3436 -- twice as dark).

Syntax highlighting, where present, was provided by zsh-syntax-highlighting.

How was the recommended font created?

The recommended font is the product of many individuals. Its origin is Bitstream Vera Sans Mono, which has given birth to Menlo, which in turn has spawned Meslo. Finally, extra glyphs have been added to Meslo with scripts forked from Nerd Fonts. The final font is released under the terms of Apache License.

MesloLGS NF font can be recreated with the following command (requires git and docker):

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/nerd-fonts.git
cd nerd-fonts
./build 'Meslo/S/*'

If everything goes well, four ttf files will appear in ./out.

How to package Powerlevel10k for distribution?

It's currently neither easy nor recommended to package and distribute Powerlevel10k. There are no instructions you can follow that would allow you to easily update your package when new versions of Powerlevel10k are released. This may change in the future but not soon.