Starship

Fast, customisable cross-shell prompt written in Rust.

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 3
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Starship

Starship is a prompt rather than a shell: it replaces the line you type commands on with an informative, fast prompt that works the same in bash, zsh, fish, PowerShell, Nushell, Elvish, xonsh, Cmd through Clink and others. It shows context such as the current Git branch and status, language and tool versions for the project you are in, Kubernetes context, cloud profiles, command duration and exit status, only when relevant. Everything is configured in a single TOML file, with presets to start from. Because it is written in Rust and compiled to a single binary, it adds very little delay, and people often use it to replace heavier zsh themes. It is free and ISC licensed, and runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD. Icons need a Nerd Font installed in your terminal, and the many modules can make a cluttered prompt if you do not trim them.

Best for: People who use several shells and want one fast, informative prompt everywhere.

What works

Same prompt across almost every shell
Fast single Rust binary
Context modules appear only when relevant

Why people leave

Needs a Nerd Font for icons
Only handles the prompt, not completions or plugins
Default prompt can feel busy

Top Starship alternatives

See all 3

1
Oh My Zsh
Full zsh framework with themes, plugins and aliases.
66.5
2
fish
Comes with a good default prompt and features without add-ons.
62.6
3
Zsh
Write your own prompt with zsh's built-in prompt system.
59.6

Why people left Starship

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Starship: common questions

Is Starship free?

Yes. Starship is free, open-source software.

Is Starship open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at starship/starship.

What platforms does Starship run on?

Starship is available for Linux, macOS and Windows.

What are the best alternatives to Starship?

The highest-ranked Starship alternatives right now are Oh My Zsh, fish and Zsh. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 3 Starship alternatives

Starship facts

4 of 4 verified

License: ISC; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “License: ISC (ISC License).”
Compatibility: Most common shells and operating systems; Checked Oct 25, 2026starship.rs(opens source in a new tab); “Works on the most common shells on the most common operating systems.”
Language: Rust; Checked Oct 25, 2026starship.rs(opens source in a new tab); “Rust-Powered Brings the best-in-class speed and safety of Rust, to make your prompt as quick and reliable as possible.”
Requirement: A Nerd Font; Checked Oct 25, 2026starship.rs(opens source in a new tab); “Explore the Starship docs ▶ 🚀 Installation Prerequisites A Nerd Font installed and enabled in your terminal (for example, try the FiraCode Nerd Font ).”