Coming from Bash
Tips
If you're coming from Git Bash on Windows, then the external commands you're used to (e.g, ln, grep, vi, etc) will not be available in Nushell by default unless you have already explicitly made them available in the Windows Path environment variable. To make these commands available in Nushell as well, add the following line to your config.nu with either append or prepend.
$env.Path = ($env.Path | prepend 'C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin')Command Equivalents:
| Bash | Nu | Task |
|---|---|---|
ls | ls | Lists the files in the current directory |
ls <dir> | ls <dir> | Lists the files in the given directory |
ls pattern* | ls pattern* | Lists files that match a given pattern |
ls -la | ls --long --all or ls -la | List files with all available information, including hidden files |
ls -d */ | ls | where type == dir | List directories |
find . -name *.rs | ls **/*.rs | Find recursively all files that match a given pattern |
find . -name Makefile | xargs vim | ls **/Makefile | get name | vim ...$in | Pass values as command parameters |
cd <directory> | cd <directory> | Change to the given directory |
cd | cd | Change to the home directory |
cd - | cd - | Change to the previous directory |
mkdir <path> | mkdir <path> | Creates the given path |
mkdir -p <path> | mkdir <path> | Creates the given path, creating parents as necessary |
touch test.txt | touch test.txt | Create a file |
> <path> | out> <path> or o> <path> | Save command output to a file |
| save <path> | Save command output to a file as structured data | |
>> <path> | out>> <path> or o>> <path> | Append command output to a file |
| save --append <path> | Append command output to a file as structured data | |
> /dev/null | | ignore | Discard command output |
> /dev/null 2>&1 | out+err>| ignore or o+e>| ignore | Discard command output, including stderr |
command 2>&1 | less | command out+err>| less or command o+e>| less | Pipe stdout and stderr of an external command into less (NOTE: use explore for paging output of internal commands) |
cmd1 | tee log.txt | cmd2 | cmd1 | tee { save log.txt } | cmd2 | Tee command output to a log file |
command | head -5 | command | first 5 | Limit the output to the first 5 rows of an internal command (see also last and skip) |
cat <path> | open --raw <path> | Display the contents of the given file |
open <path> | Read a file as structured data | |
mv <source> <dest> | mv <source> <dest> | Move file to new location |
for f in *.md; do echo $f; done | ls *.md | each { $in.name } | Iterate over a list and return results |
for i in $(seq 1 10); do echo $i; done | for i in 1..10 { print $i } | Iterate over a list and run a command on results |
cp <source> <dest> | cp <source> <dest> | Copy file to new location |
cp -r <source> <dest> | cp -r <source> <dest> | Copy directory to a new location, recursively |
rm <path> | rm <path> | Remove the given file |
rm -t <path> | Move the given file to the system trash | |
rm -rf <path> | rm -r <path> | Recursively removes the given path |
date -d <date> | "<date>" | into datetime -f <format> | Parse a date (format documentation) |
sed | str replace | Find and replace a pattern in a string |
grep <pattern> | where $it =~ <substring> or find <substring> | Filter strings that contain the substring |
man <command> | help <command> | Get the help for a given command |
help commands | List all available commands | |
help --find <string> | Search for match in all available commands | |
command1 && command2 | command1; command2 | Run a command, and if it's successful run a second |
stat $(which git) | stat ...(which git).path | Use command output as argument for other command |
echo /tmp/$RANDOM | $"/tmp/(random int)" | Use command output in a string |
cargo b --jobs=$(nproc) | cargo b $"--jobs=(sys cpu | length)" | Use command output in an option |
echo $PATH | $env.PATH (Non-Windows) or $env.Path (Windows) | See the current path |
<update ~/.bashrc> | vim $nu.config-path | Update PATH permanently |
export PATH = $PATH:/usr/other/bin | $env.PATH = ($env.PATH | append /usr/other/bin) | Update PATH temporarily |
export | $env | List the current environment variables |
<update ~/.bashrc> | vim $nu.config-path | Update environment variables permanently |
FOO=BAR ./bin | FOO=BAR ./bin | Update environment temporarily |
export FOO=BAR | $env.FOO = BAR | Set environment variable for current session |
echo $FOO | $env.FOO | Use environment variables |
echo ${FOO:-fallback} | $env.FOO? | default "ABC" | Use a fallback in place of an unset variable |
unset FOO | hide-env FOO | Unset environment variable for current session |
alias s="git status -sb" | alias s = git status -sb | Define an alias temporarily |
type FOO | which FOO | Display information about a command (builtin, alias, or executable) |
<update ~/.bashrc> | vim $nu.config-path | Add and edit alias permanently (for new shells) |
bash -c <commands> | nu -c <commands> | Run a pipeline of commands |
bash <script file> | nu <script file> | Run a script file |
\ | ( <command> ) | A command can span multiple lines when wrapped with ( and ) |
pwd | $env.PWD | Display the current directory |
read var | let var = input | Get input from the user |
read -s secret | let secret = input -s | Get a secret value from the user without printing keystrokes |
History Substitutions and Default Keybindings:
| Bash | Nu | Task |
|---|---|---|
!! | !! | Insert last command-line from history |
!$ | !$ | Insert last spatially separated token from history |
!<n> (e.g., !5) | !<n> | Insert <n>th command from the beginning of the history |
Tip: history | enumerate | last 10 to show recent positions | ||
!<-n> (e.g., !-5) | !<-n> | Insert <n>th command from the end of the history |
!<string> (e.g., !ls) | !<string> | Insert the most recent history item that begins with the string |
| Ctrl/Cmd+R | Ctrl/Cmd+R | Reverse history search |
| (Emacs Mode) Ctrl+XCtrl+E | Ctrl/Cmd+O | Edit the command-line in the editor defined by $env.EDITOR |
| (Vi Command Mode) V | Ctrl/Cmd+O | Edit the command-line in the editor defined by $env.EDITOR |
Most common Emacs-mode and Vi-mode keybindings are also available. See the Reedline Chapter.
Tips
In Bash, history substitution occurs immediately after pressing Enter to execute the command-line. Nushell, however, inserts the substitution into the command-line after pressing Enter. This allows you to confirm the substitution and, if needed, make additional edits before execution.
This behavior extends to "Edit command-line in Editor" as well. While Bash immediately executes the command after exiting the editor, Nushell (like other, more modern shells such as Fish and Zsh) inserts the editor contents into the command-line, allowing you to review and make changes before committing it to execution.