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Terminal Customization Guide

Note

Prerequisites Installing Essential Developer Tools must be completed.

What is Oh My Zsh?

Oh My Zsh is a tool that makes your terminal prettier and more convenient. It provides auto-completion when typing commands, displays with color coding, and lets you see Git information at a glance.

Info

Features provided by Oh My Zsh

  • Themes: Changes the appearance and colors of the terminal
  • Plugins: Adds convenience features like auto-completion and syntax highlighting
  • Aliases: Shortens long commands for easier use
  • Git Info: Shows current branch and status in the prompt

Installing Oh My Zsh

Open Terminal and copy-paste the following command:

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

For questions during installation, enter Y:

  • "Do you want to change your default shell to zsh?" → Enter Y
Info

What happens automatically after installation

  1. Existing .zshrc file is backed up to .zshrc.pre-oh-my-zsh
  2. A new .zshrc file is created to activate Oh My Zsh
  3. The default theme is applied, changing the terminal appearance

Installing Themes and Plugins

Now that Oh My Zsh is installed, let's install more attractive themes and useful plugins.

Components to Install

  • Powerlevel10k: Most popular terminal theme (fast and pretty)
  • zsh-autosuggestions: Shows previously typed commands in gray as suggestions
  • zsh-syntax-highlighting: Shows correct commands in green, incorrect commands in red

Install Powerlevel10k Theme

Open Terminal and copy-paste the following command:

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k

Install zsh-autosuggestions Plugin

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions

Install zsh-syntax-highlighting Plugin

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

Update Configuration File

Update settings to activate the installed theme and plugins:

# Change theme
sed -i '' 's/ZSH_THEME=".*"/ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k\/powerlevel10k"/' ~/.zshrc

# Activate plugins 
sed -i '' 's/plugins=(.*)/plugins=(git docker docker-compose zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting)/' ~/.zshrc

# Apply settings
source ~/.zshrc

[!INFO] Activated plugins

  • git: Git-related aliases and information display
  • docker: Docker command auto-completion
  • docker-compose: Docker Compose auto-completion
  • zsh-autosuggestions: Command suggestion feature
  • zsh-syntax-highlighting: Command syntax highlighting

Changing iTerm2 Color Theme

Want to make your terminal even prettier? Try changing the color theme.

Info

What is a color theme?

A combination of colors that changes the overall background, text, and highlight colors of the terminal. iTerm2 has built-in themes, and you can download additional ones.

Change to Built-in Themes

First, check the themes built into iTerm2:

  1. iTerm2 → Settings → Profiles → Colors
  2. Click "Color Presets..." dropdown in bottom right
  3. Available default themes include:
    • Dark Background (default dark theme)
    • Light Background (light theme)
    • Pastel (Dark Background) (pastel colors)
    • Solarized Dark (popular dark theme)
    • Solarized Light (popular light theme)
    • Tango Dark / Tango Light
  4. Click desired theme to apply immediately

Install More Themes

If you don't like the default themes, you can download hundreds of additional themes.

Popular Theme Recommendations

  • Dracula: Popular dark purple theme
  • Tokyo Night: Modern dark theme
  • Gruvbox Dark: Retro theme with warm colors
  • Catppuccin: Soft pastel tone theme
  • Nord: Minimal theme with cool blue tones

Download and Install Additional Themes

  1. Visit iTerm2 Color Schemes website
  2. Check theme previews
  3. Right-click theme name link → Select "Save Link As..." to download .itermcolors file
  4. Return to iTerm2:
    • Settings → Profiles → Colors
    • Click "Color Presets...""Import..."
    • Select downloaded .itermcolors file
    • Select imported theme from "Color Presets..." to apply
Info

Downloaded theme files can be deleted

Once you import a theme into iTerm2, the settings are copied and saved, so you can delete the .itermcolors files in your Downloads folder.

Tip

Theme Selection Tips

  • Dark themes are easier on the eyes for long coding sessions

Powerlevel10k Configuration Wizard

When you restart the terminal, the Powerlevel10k configuration wizard starts automatically.

MesloLGS NF Font Installation Notice

Before the configuration wizard starts, a screen appears recommending MesloLGS NF font installation:

Important

Powerlevel10k Font Installation Process

  1. When "Install Meslo Nerd Font?" question appears → Enter y
  2. Powerlevel10k automatically downloads and installs MesloLGS NF font
  3. iTerm2 settings are also automatically changed (font changes to MesloLGS NF)

This font is optimized for Powerlevel10k, but Korean characters might not display well.

Configuration Wizard Progress

Info

What is the configuration wizard?

Powerlevel10k creates a prompt style tailored to your preferences through various questions. You can choose icon support, color style, information display method, etc.

Recommended Settings (For Beginners)

It's recommended to select the following for each question:

  • Diamondy (y if you see diamond icon)
  • Locky (y if you see lock icon)
  • Debiany (y if you see Debian logo)
  • Style3 (Rainbow) (most popular colorful style)
  • Character Set1 (Unicode) (use Unicode characters)
  • Prompt Style3 (Pure) (clean 2-line style)
  • Transient Promptn (keep default)
  • Instant Prompt1 (Verbose) (fast start)

Change Back to Korean Font

After Powerlevel10k configuration, iTerm2 font will be changed to MesloLGS NF. To properly display Korean, you need to change back to D2Coding Nerd Font:

  1. iTerm2 → Settings (or Cmd + ,)
  2. Select Profiles → Text tab
  3. Confirm current font is "MesloLGS NF" in Font section
  4. Click Change Font
  5. Select "D2CodingLigature Nerd Font"
  6. Size 14pt recommended
Info

Why set font twice?

  • MesloLGS NF: Font recommended by Powerlevel10k, displays all icons perfectly but not optimized for Korean
  • D2Coding Nerd Font: Font for Korean developers that displays Korean, English, and icons well

It's best to use MesloLGS NF during Powerlevel10k setup and switch to D2Coding afterwards.

Tip

If you made a mistake or want to change later, you can always reconfigure:

p10k configure

Verify Installation

Let's check if everything is installed correctly.

Open Terminal and copy-paste the following command:

echo $ZSH_THEME  # Should output powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k
echo $SHELL      # Should output /bin/zsh

Verification Points for Successful Installation

  1. Terminal Prompt: Shows Git branch name, folder icons, etc.
  2. Auto-completion: Gray text suggestions appear when typing commands
  3. Syntax Highlighting: Correct commands in green, incorrect commands in red
  4. Icons: Nerd Font icons display properly without breaking

Additional Tips

Useful Oh My Zsh Aliases

Convenient shortcut commands provided by Oh My Zsh:

  • ll - ls -l (detailed file list)
  • la - ls -la (list including hidden files)
  • .. - cd .. (go to parent folder)
  • ... - cd ../.. (go up two levels)
  • gst - git status (check Git status)
  • gaa - git add --all (add all changes)
  • gcmsg - git commit -m (commit with message)

Powerlevel10k Advanced Settings

If you want more settings, you can edit the ~/.p10k.zsh file:

# Edit configuration file
code ~/.p10k.zsh  # Open with VS Code

It's recommended to just use default settings at first. Try customizing after becoming familiar with the terminal!

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