Using Completion in the zsh Shell
The zsh shell also offers completion but with added twists over the bash shell for the power user. Basically, though, you can type just part of a command, press 
, and have the Z-shell complete the command for you (Code Listing 3.10).
Code Listing 3.10. In this example, we typed only the ls command followed by cd pub and pressed the key; zsh completed the command for us.
$ ls CompleteNewProject bogus2 → ftp puppy Completed News dead.letter → mail temp Mail access files → public_html testme $ cd public_html/ $ |
To use completion in the zsh shell:
1. | ls -l Use ls -l to list the files in your current directory. |
2. | cd pub
Type in a partial command, and then press 
to complete the command. In this example, we typed the cd command and part of the public_html directory (truncated to pub in the example), and then pressed the 
key to complete it (see Code Listing 3.10). |
✓ Tips
In the Z-shell, command completion works even if multiple files might match the partial command that you type. For example, if you type cd pu (for public_html) and there’s another subdirectory called puppy, then use
to complete the name, the shell will show you the options (public_html and puppy), then cycle through the options as you continue hitting 
.You can use command completion to complete commands, directory names within commands, and nearly anything else you might enter.
The Z-shell is smart enough to show you only the subdirectories you could change to. bash, on the other hand, would show you files and directories, and beep at you— not as helpful, for sure.