Shell - Configuration Management

Overview

The shell command manages shell configuration files by synchronizing them with system skeleton defaults in /etc/skel. It supports bashrc, zshrc, Starship prompt, and Ghostty terminal configurations.

Key Concept: System skeleton files in /etc/skel contain the default configurations shipped with bazzite-ai. This command helps restore or update user configs to match these defaults.

Quick Reference

Action	Command	Description
Update configs	ujust shell update	Update all configs from /etc/skel (with backup)
Check status	ujust shell status	Check if configs match skeleton
Help	ujust shell help	Show usage help

Parameters

ACTION Parameter

ujust shell ACTION=""

Parameter	Values	Description
ACTION	update, status, help	Action to perform

Without ACTION, shows interactive menu (requires TTY).

Managed Configuration Files

File	Purpose	Location
.bashrc	Bash shell configuration	~/.bashrc
.zshrc	Zsh shell configuration	~/.zshrc
starship.toml	Starship prompt config	~/.config/starship.toml
ghostty/	Ghostty terminal config	~/.config/ghostty/

Commands

Update Configurations

ujust shell update

1. Creates timestamped backup of existing configs
2. Copies fresh configs from /etc/skel
3. Reports what was updated

Backup location: ~/.config-backup-shell-YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS/

Check Status

ujust shell status

Shows synchronization status for each config file:

• Green check: Up to date (matches skeleton)

• Yellow X: Modified (differs from skeleton)

• Yellow circle: Not installed (missing)

Common Workflows

Reset to Defaults

# Check current status
ujust shell status

# Update all configs (creates backup first)
ujust shell update

# Reload shell to apply
exec $SHELL

Restore After Bad Customization

# 1. Update from skeleton (auto-backup)
ujust shell update

# 2. If needed, restore from backup
cp ~/.config-backup-shell-*/.<file> ~/

Check Before Customizing

# See current sync status
ujust shell status

# If modified, you might want to backup first
cp ~/.bashrc ~/.bashrc.custom

# Then reset to defaults
ujust shell update

Non-Interactive Usage

# For automation/CI - runs without confirmation
echo | ujust shell update

# Or pipe yes for explicit confirmation
echo "y" | ujust shell update

Troubleshooting

Starship Prompt Not Working

Symptom: Plain bash prompt, no Starship styling

Cause: Starship not initialized in shell config

Fix:

ujust shell update
exec $SHELL

Zsh Plugins Not Loading

Symptom: Zsh starts without expected plugins

Cause: Modified .zshrc missing plugin configuration

Fix:

ujust shell update
source ~/.zshrc

Ghostty Config Missing

Symptom: Ghostty uses default settings

Cause: Config directory not created

Fix:

ujust shell update
# Restart Ghostty

Backup Location

Question: Where are my old configs?

Answer:

ls -la ~/.config-backup-shell-*
# Sorted by date, most recent last

Cross-References

• Related Skills: configure (for system-level settings)

• Modern Shell Features: Includes fzf, zoxide, ripgrep, bat, eza integrations

• Documentation: Managed Configs

When to Use This Skill

Use when the user asks about:

• "reset shell config", "restore bashrc", "default zshrc"

• "starship not working", "prompt broken"

• "update shell configuration", "sync from skeleton"

• "ghostty config", "terminal settings"

• "compare my config to defaults"