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Oh My Zsh and Powerlevel10k work together: Oh My Zsh manages your Zsh configuration, while Powerlevel10k supplies the command prompt. You can add the theme to Oh My Zsh’s custom themes folder, select it in ~/.zshrc, then restart Zsh and configure the prompt.
What Oh My Zsh and Powerlevel10k each do
Oh My Zsh is a framework for managing Zsh configuration. Powerlevel10k is a Zsh prompt theme that Oh My Zsh can load. They are complementary tools, not competing frameworks. The Powerlevel10k project describes it as “a theme for Zsh” that “emphasizes speed, flexibility and out-of-the-box experience.” (Powerlevel10k README; Oh My Zsh wiki)
Install Powerlevel10k with Oh My Zsh
These are the project’s documented installation steps. They assume Oh My Zsh is already installed and that Git is available.
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Clone Powerlevel10k into Oh My Zsh’s custom themes directory:
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git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git "${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k" -
Open
~/.zshrcand set the theme:ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k" -
Restart Zsh:
exec zsh -
If the configuration wizard does not open automatically, start it with:
p10k configure
The project also lists Powerlevel10k among themes usable with Oh My Zsh’s custom theme mechanism. (Powerlevel10k README; Oh My Zsh wiki)
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The configuration wizard helps choose the prompt’s appearance. Pick a layout for the information and visual style you want rather than assuming one is universally best. Powerlevel10k’s README says its styles other than Pure show the same information and are functionally equivalent; Pure differs in function. The wizard writes settings to ~/.p10k.zsh, which you can edit for further customization. (Powerlevel10k README)
A custom font is optional: Powerlevel10k says it works with ordinary system fonts. Nerd Fonts support the full range of prompt styles and symbols, and the project recommends Meslo Nerd Font patched for Powerlevel10k. On iTerm2 or Termux, p10k configure can install the recommended font automatically; for other terminals, the project documents manual installation of four TTF variants. (Powerlevel10k font instructions)
Fix missing symbols or an unrecognized theme
Symbols appear as question marks or do not render
First check whether the mark is actually a font problem: Powerlevel10k can use a question mark to indicate untracked Git files, so inspect the repository with git status. If other prompt symbols are also missing or garbled, the project’s troubleshooting guidance recommends restarting the terminal, installing its recommended font, and running p10k configure. (Powerlevel10k README)
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Oh My Zsh says the theme was not found
If Zsh reports [oh-my-zsh] theme 'powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k' not found, verify that the clone completed into ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k and that ~/.zshrc contains the matching ZSH_THEME value. The theme directory must be in the custom themes folder for Oh My Zsh to load it. (Powerlevel10k README)
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Update Powerlevel10k
For this Oh My Zsh installation, update the theme from its Git repository with:
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git -C "${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k" pull
Then restart Zsh with exec zsh. The project specifically advises restarting rather than using source ~/.zshrc after an update. (Powerlevel10k README)
Know the project’s current support status
As of the Powerlevel10k README available on October 2, 2026, the project warns that support is very limited, no new features are in the works, most bugs will go unfixed, and help requests will be ignored. This is a time-sensitive statement from the project, not a guarantee about future maintenance. (Powerlevel10k README)
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