Documentation

Configuration

You can tweak pure behavior and color by changing universal variables either directly in the terminal or in your config.fish, e.g.:

# try to change prompt symbol
set --universal pure_symbol_prompt '>>>'
# restore default
set --universal pure_symbol_prompt '❯'

Features

Check For New Release

Option	Default	Description
pure_check_for_new_release	false	true: check repo for new release (on every shell start)

Setting up release checking

Check the troubleshooting section Customizing Fish Greeting.

🐌 Faster Prompt

Checking new release sends an HTTP request that slows down your prompt rendering as it waits for remote server response. Set it to false to speed up rendering:

set --universal pure_check_for_new_release false

Enabled (with update)Enabled (no update)

Container Detection (Docker)

Option	Default	Description
pure_enable_container_detection	true	false: Do not check pure runs inside a container (e.g. docker, podman, LXC/LXD, etc.). Detection is a bit tricky across OSes.
pure_symbol_container_prefix		Prefix when being inside a container (to customize)

Enabled (inside a container)Enabled (outside a container)

Current Working Directory

Option	Default	Description
pure_begin_prompt_with_current_directory	true	true: pwd git, SSH, duration. false: SSH pwd git, duration.
pure_shorten_prompt_current_directory_length	0	Shorten every prompt path component but the last to X characters (0 do not shorten)
pure_truncate_prompt_current_directory_keeps	0	Truncate working directory path in prompt, but keeps the last to n components (0 full path in current directory)

Enabled (pwd first)Disabled (SSH first)

Git

Option	Default	Description
pure_enable_git	true	Show info about Git repository.
pure_symbol_git_dirty	*	Repository is Dirty (uncommitted/untracked changes).
pure_symbol_git_stash	≡	Repository git stash status.
pure_symbol_git_unpulled_commits	⇣	Branch is behind upstream (commits to pull).
pure_symbol_git_unpushed_commits	⇡	Branch is ahead upstream (commits to push).
pure_show_numbered_git_indicator	false	Show number of git stash and commits behind/ahead

Large repositories

If your prompt feels slow in a large Git repository, see the Troubleshooting section on large repositories.

Need safer git symbols?

Enabled (with git)Disabled (without git info)

Jobs

Option	Default	Description
pure_show_jobs	false	Show Number of running jobs

Enabled (with running jobs)Disabled (without jobs info)

Kubernetes

Option	Default	Description
pure_symbol_k8s_prefix	☸	Prefix when being connected to Kubernetes/K8s
pure_enable_k8s	false	true: shows kubernetes context and namespace.

Enabled (with k8s context and namespace)Disabled (without k8s info)

NixOS

Indicate if nix develop shell is activated in their prompt.

Option	Default	Description
pure_enable_nixdevshell	false	Indicate if a nix develop shell is activated (based on IN_NIX_SHELL).
pure_symbol_nixdevshell_prefix	❄️	otherwise nerdfonts: '󱄅' or ''
pure_color_nixdevshell_prefix	pure_color_info	prefix color
pure_color_nixdevshell_symbol	pure_color_mute	symbol color

Enabled (inside nix develop shell)Disabled (without nix info)

Prompt Symbol

Option	Default	Description
pure_symbol_prompt	❯	Control the prompt symbol.

Previous command status

Previous command exit status change the prompt symbol color.

On Successful commandOn Failed command

Python Virtualenv

Option	Default	Description
pure_enable_virtualenv	true	Show virtual env name (based on VIRTUAL_ENV_PROMPT, VIRTUAL_ENV or CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV).
pure_symbol_virtualenv_prefix		Prefix when a Python virtual env is activated (default: undefined)

Enabled (with virtualenv)Disabled (without virtualenv)

AWS Profile

Option	Default	Description
pure_enable_aws_profile	true	Show AWS profile name (based on AWS_VAULT or AWS_PROFILE).
pure_symbol_aws_profile_prefix		Prefix when a AWS profile is activated (default: undefined)

Enabled (with AWS profile)Disabled (without AWS profile)

Separate Error Symbol

Option	Default	Description
pure_separate_prompt_on_error	false	Show last command exit code as a second prompt symbol.

Enabled (separate error symbol)Disabled

List Exit Statuses

Option	Default	Description
pure_show_exit_status	false	true: Show list of status codes if the last command failed
pure_convert_exit_status_to_signal	false	true: Convert statuses 129 and up to their signal names
pure_symbol_exit_status_prefix	|	Prefix when the last command failed
pure_symbol_exit_status_separator	|	Separator between statuses in a pipeline

Enabled (list exit statuses)Enabled (convert statuses to signals)Disabled

Single Line Prompt

Option	Default	Description
pure_enable_single_line_prompt	false	true: Compact prompt as a single line

Enabled (prompt on a single line)Disabled (prompt on two lines)

SSH Session

Option	Default	Description
pure_symbol_ssh_prefix		Show SSH session prefix, after path, when being connected to an SSH session (default: undefined)

Connected (show SSH username and host)Disconnected

Time

Option	Default	Description
pure_show_system_time	false	true: shows system time before the prompt symbol (as %H:%M:%S).

Show system time (enabled)Show system time (disabled)

Command Duration

Option	Default	Description
pure_show_subsecond_command_duration	false	Show subsecond (ex. 1.5s) in command duration.
pure_threshold_command_duration	5	Show command duration when above this value (seconds).

Subsecond duration (disabled)Subsecond duration (enabled)

Title

Option	Default	Description
pure_symbol_title_bar_separator	-	Separator in terminal's windows title.
pure_shorten_window_title_current_directory_length	0	Shorten every window title path component but the last to X characters (0 do not shorten)
pure_truncate_window_title_current_directory_keeps	0	Truncate working directory path in window title, but keeps the last to n components (0 full path in window title)

Transient Prompt

Simplify previous prompts in scrollback history (Fish 4.1.0+)

Option	Default	Description
fish_transient_prompt	-	Fish built-in variable. Set to 1 to enable transient prompt.

Shows a simplified prompt (just the prompt symbol) for previous commands, keeping your scrollback clean while maintaining full context on the current prompt. When enabled, Fish re-runs the prompt with --final-rendering before executing a command.

Recommended: Enable Single Line Prompt

Transient prompt works best with single line prompt enabled:

set --universal fish_transient_prompt 1
set --universal pure_enable_single_line_prompt true

Enabled (simplified previous prompts, single line)Enabled (simplified previous prompts, multi-line)Disabled (full prompts in scrollback)

VI Mode

Option	Default	Description
pure_reverse_prompt_symbol_in_vimode	true	true: ❮ indicate a non-insert mode. false: indicate vi mode with [I], [N], [V].
pure_symbol_reverse_prompt	❮	VI non-insert mode symbol.

Reverse symbol (enabled)Mode indicator (disabled)

Working as Root

Option	Default	Description
pure_show_prefix_root_prompt	false	true: shows prompt prefix when logged in as root.
pure_symbol_prefix_root_prompt	#	Prefix prompt when logged in as root.

Enabled (prefix prompt symbol)Disabled

Colours

Tip

See set_color documentation for full possibilities.

Info

The absence of $ sign is expected in pure_ named colours.

Base Color	Inherited by	Default
pure_color_danger	pure_color_prompt_on_error pure_color_exit_status	red
pure_color_dark		black
pure_color_info	pure_color_git_unpulled_commits pure_color_git_unpushed_commits	cyan
pure_color_light	pure_color_username_root	white
pure_color_mute	pure_color_git_branch pure_color_git_dirty pure_color_git_stash pure_color_hostname pure_color_at_sign pure_color_username_normal pure_color_virtualenv	brblack
pure_color_normal	pure_color_jobs	normal
pure_color_primary	pure_color_current_directory	blue
pure_color_success	pure_color_prompt_on_success	magenta
pure_color_warning	pure_color_command_duration	yellow

Troubleshooting

Customizing Fish Greeting

Info

Since version ≥4.13.x, pure does not override your fish_greeting function anymore, allowing you to use your own custom greeting.

To configure your Fish's greeting, edit $__fish_config_dir/functions/fish_greeting.fish function or the related variable:

Check for new releaseVoid fish_greeting functionEmpty fish_greeting variable

Add the following to call pure_check_for_new_release on each new shell (i.e., when a new terminal session or tmux tab starts):

function fish_greeting
    _pure_check_for_new_release
end

Voiding the fish_greeting.fish function will stop printing any greeting:

function fish_greeting
    # remove content to disable greeting
end

Or set the greeting to an empty string to stop printing any greeting:

set --universal fish_greeting

Install and Update

We do our best to clean up after ourselves and provide information on the version installed or updated.

Fresh InstallUpdate

Custom install locations

We support installing pure into a folder other than __fish_config_dir. Updates and uninstallation will work normally even when not installed into __fish_config_dir.

Slowness: try disabling status.showUntrackedFiles

Info

In large repositories, checking for untracked files can significantly slow down the prompt.

Git's status.showUntrackedFiles option controls whether untracked files are listed. Setting it to false in large repositories improves git status performance, and Pure respects this setting when checking for dirty state:

git config status.showUntrackedFiles false

This can reduce dirty-check times from several seconds to under a second in large repositories.

Slowness: try Async git Prompt

Info

Big repository can slow down the prompt rendering.

In order to ensure the git prompt updates without lag, you can add fish-async-prompt using fisher:

fisher install acomagu/fish-async-prompt

... and put this in your config.fish:

set -g async_prompt_functions _pure_prompt_git