nushell

nushell

An open source shell, also called Nu, for working in a terminal. Its README covers pipelines, opening files and plugins. Suits people comfortable with a young project.

Made by nushell on GitHub. These notes are Mindket's, written from its README; the project's own files and license are in its repository.

About

What it is: Nushell, shortened to Nu, is an open source shell for working in a terminal, written in Rust. It is at an early but usable stage, and many people already run it every day. Some commands may be unstable, and the design may change as it matures.

Who it suits: Nu suits people who spend their day in a terminal and are willing to try a young shell, including developers, system administrators and Rust enthusiasts.

Industry | Who uses it | How they use it | Example
Software development | Developers | Use it as their everyday shell | Running daily command line tasks in Nu
System administration | Administrators | Work with files and pipelines in a shell | Chaining commands in a pipeline to handle files
Open source | Contributors | Read the code and the contributing notes | Joining the project's Discord chat to ask a question
Rust community | Rust developers | Study a shell written in Rust | Reading how a Rust shell is put together

Anyone who needs a settled shell for critical scripts can skip it for now.

Where to use it: Nu runs in a terminal, and the project keeps its help in a few places.

• A terminal on your computer, as your shell
• The pipelines, file opening and plugin topics that its README covers
• Discord, where the project is active

How to set it up: You can install Nu from its README or copy the code.

1. Follow the Installation section of the project's README for your system, or copy the code with git from its GitHub page.
2. Read the Configuration section to adjust Nu to your taste.
3. Check the Plugins section if you want to add plugins.

How to use it: You work in Nu as you would in any shell. The Nushell book is the main documentation and lists every Nu command, and the cookbook shows plenty of examples.

For newcomers and experts: A shell is the program that reads the commands you type in a terminal. A first small thing to try is reading the Learning section of the README, then the first pages of the book.

The README names pipelines, opening files and plugins as core topics, and separate Philosophy and Goals sections explain the design. Because the design may still change, expect some movement as the project grows.

Good to know: This kit holds notes and a pointer to the code, so nothing runs by itself.

• License: MIT
• Cost to run: none named
• Data it reaches: none named

On GitHub, 7 November 2026

• Stars: 40,994 (131 that day)
• Forks: 2,343
• Watching: 227
• Open issues and pull requests: 1,456
• Language: Rust
• License: MIT
• Topics: nushell, rust, shell
• Trending: #12 repository of the day on GitHub trending (7 November 2026)

Links

• Code: https://github.com/nushell/nushell
• Website: https://www.nushell.sh/
• Releases: https://github.com/nushell/nushell/releases
• Issues: https://github.com/nushell/nushell/issues
• Star history: https://www.star-history.com/#nushell/nushell&Date

Get the code

git clone https://github.com/nushell/nushell.git

Then follow the setup in its README. Nothing in this kit runs by itself.