Show full path in the ZSH prompt on macOS.

2022-03-26

Here you learn how to replace the default prompt with one that omits user information and just shows the full path.

Before:

dave@mymac ~ % cd dev
dave@mymac dev %

After:

/Users/dave % cd dev
/Users/dave/dev %

Step 1: Inspect the current prompt format.

Open a terminal and execute this command:

echo $PS1

%n@%m %1~ %#

You can use this information to make gradual changes if you want. Here is the meaning of the variables:

%n  - username
@   - literal at sign
%m  - hostname
%1/ - trailing directory
%1~ - trailing directory, replaces home directory with ~
%#  - # for a privileged shell or % for an unprivileged one

Replace the prompt with the full path.

Open file ~/.zshrc and add this line:

PS1='%d %# '

Save the file and open a new terminal. The prompt now shows the full path.

Comments in Shell file.

A hash character is used to comment out lines in the shell file.

#PS1='%n@%m %1/ %# '
PS1='%d %# '

I just added the commented line for reference purposes. If you want the default ZSH prompt back, just delete the PS1 variable from the script. Restart the terminal and everything is as before.