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Rat Zsh is an open-source Zsh plugin manager that reads plugin definitions from a TOML configuration file. Its README describes it as “lightweight, fast, and reproducible”; however, the documentation reviewed provides no benchmark or measured startup-time result. Its practical appeal is a small, documented workflow for syncing GitHub-hosted plugins, choosing revisions, and controlling how plugins load.
What Rat Zsh manages—and what “reproducible” means
Rat Zsh uses a TOML file to identify plugins and their loading settings. The README currently lists GitHub as its supported source. A plugin entry can select a repository, a revision, a file to load, and either Zsh’s source mechanism or its completion-function path, fpath. It can also require commands to be present in PATH before the plugin is synced and loaded.
Revision choice determines how much a configuration follows upstream changes. A branch can move as its repository changes; a fixed tag or commit stays attached to that selected revision. Rat Zsh’s README recommends pinning a tag or commit to avoid unexpected updates. The documented configuration is not described as a lockfile.
Install Rat Zsh and initialize it
The project README documents installation with this command, which downloads and runs its installer:
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curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gotokazuki/rat-zsh/main/install.zsh | zshAccording to the README, the executable is installed at $(rz home)/bin/rz. Rat Zsh uses $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/.rz as its default home, falling back to $HOME/.rz. The first installation creates a sample config.toml.
To initialize the manager in Zsh, add the output of rz init to ~/.zshrc. The project documents this line:
eval "$(rz init)"Then open a new shell, or load the updated file in the current shell with source ~/.zshrc. These are the project’s documented setup steps; they have not been independently tested here.
Configure plugins in config.toml
Rat Zsh’s README documents the following plugin-entry settings:
sourceidentifies the repository source. The README lists onlygithubas supported.repospecifies the GitHub repository in owner/repository form.revoptionally selects a branch or tag; the project feature summary also names commits as supported revision choices.fileoptionally selects a file within the repository to load.typeselectssourceorfpath;sourceis the default.nameoptionally assigns a local alias, which can help distinguish multiple scripts from one repository.fpath_dirslists repository directories to add to Zsh’s$fpath.requireslists commands that must be available inPATH.
If a command listed in requires is missing, Rat Zsh says it skips the plugin: it will not clone or update it, create its plugin-directory symlink, or load it through rz init.
Use a fixed tag or commit when you want a plugin to stay on a known revision; use a branch when you want it to follow that branch’s upstream changes. The README says pinned tags and commits do not track upstream updates, while branch-attached plugins can.
Use Rat Zsh’s commands
| Command | Documented purpose |
|---|---|
rz init |
Print initialization code for the shell configuration. |
rz config |
Open the Rat Zsh configuration. The README says it uses EDITOR, defaulting to vim. |
rz sync |
Clone or update configured plugins. |
rz upgrade |
Update Rat Zsh itself, rather than the configured plugins. |
rz list |
Show the effective plugin order and metadata. |
rz list -u |
Show update status for plugins attached to branches. |
rz home |
Print Rat Zsh’s installation directory. |
The update distinction matters: run rz sync for configured plugins and rz upgrade for Rat Zsh. The README describes rz list -u status indicators for new upstream commits, local commits ahead of upstream, synchronized branches, uncommitted changes, and unknown status. Those indicators apply to branch-attached plugins; a pinned tag or commit does not track upstream updates.
Understand the default plugin order
Rat Zsh documents this effective order:
- Other plugins, alphabetically.
zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions.zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.
The project says it enforces this ordering automatically. Use rz list to inspect the effective order and plugin metadata.
For zsh-autosuggestions, the README suggests setting ZSH_AUTOSUGGEST_MANUAL_REBIND=1 before rz init to avoid rebinding ZLE widgets before every prompt. It also cautions that changes to plugins or key bindings may require running zle autosuggest-start manually. This is project-specific configuration advice, not a general performance guarantee.
How Rat Zsh differs from other documented approaches
Other managers’ READMEs describe different workflows, but the available documentation does not establish a speed ranking:
| Manager | Documented approach |
|---|---|
| Rat Zsh | TOML configuration; GitHub source listed; supports source and fpath loading, revision selection, command requirements, and a documented default order. Rat Zsh README |
| ZPM | Its README describes a generated startup cache and its own configuration and command workflow. ZPM README |
| zplug | Its README describes multiple sources, parallel installation and updates, lazy loading, and branch, tag, or commit selection. zplug README |
| zgenom | Its README recommends generating a static initialization script so installation and update work do not run during every shell startup. zgenom README |
These documented features offer useful comparison points—source support, revision control, loading methods, conditional loading, lazy loading or generated startup files, ordering, and configuration style—but they are not benchmark results. Rat Zsh’s description of itself as “fast” is the project’s own characterization; no independent startup-time measurement is established here.
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The project README’s removal instructions are to delete the directory printed by rz home and remove the Rat Zsh initialization line from ~/.zshrc.
Quick Recap
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