Claude Code Skills·Claude Skills·The open SKILL.md registry for Claude
ClaudSkills / Dev Tools / dev-shells

Zsh Compat

Category: Dev Tools  ·  Sub-category: dev-shells  ·  Last updated:
Use when generating Bash commands on macOS, when ZSH-001 hook denies a command, when "read-only variable", "no matches found", or "command not found: !" errors appear in shell output, when writing for loops over glob patterns, or when "bad math expression" errors appear from date commands. Covers read-only variables (status, pipestatus, ERRNO), glob NOMATCH protection, history expansion of the "!" operator before "[[", word splitting, array indexing, and BSD date missing `%N` nanoseconds (macOS). Keywords: zsh, NOMATCH, status variable, read-only, nullglob, glob, ZSH-001, history expansion, command not found, date, %N, nanosecond, millisecond, gdate, bad math expression.
Security AStatic scan found no risk patternsHow grading works ›

From the source SKILL.md

Claude Code's Bash tool inherits the user's shell. On macOS (default since Catalina), that shell is zsh. Many common bash patterns silently break in zsh. This reference covers the most dangerous differences.

What this skill does

Zsh Compat is a community-contributed Claude Code skill in the dev-shells sub-category. It ships as a SKILL.md file that Claude Code auto-discovers under ~/.claude/skills/zsh-compat/ and loads when your prompt matches the skill's trigger.

When to invoke it: Use when generating Bash commands on macOS, when ZSH-001 hook denies a command, when "read-only variable", "no matches found", or "command not found: !" errors appear in shell output, when writing for loops over glob patterns, or when "bad math expression" errors appear from date commands. Covers read-only variables (status, pipestatus, ERRNO), glob NOMATCH protection, history expansion of the "!" operator before "[[", word splitting, array indexing, and BSD date missing `%N` nanoseconds (macOS).

Who uses this skill

The Zsh Compat Claude Code skill is built for developers, power users, and teams automating repetitive workflows and improving developer experience. It's part of ClaudSkills (also referred to as Claude Skills or Claude Code Skills) — the open community-curated registry of 159,000+ SKILL.md files for Anthropic's Claude Code agent and the wider Claude ecosystem (Claude API, Claude Agent SDK).

How to install

Free

Manual install (2 steps)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/zsh-compat
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/zsh-compat/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/zsh-compat/SKILL.md

Or just download SKILL.md directly and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/zsh-compat/. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next session.

Skills live at ~/.claude/skills/zsh-compat/SKILL.md on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\zsh-compat\SKILL.md on Windows. See the full install guide for step-by-step instructions.

Telegram

📱 Install from your phone or desktop Telegram

Open @claudskills_bot on Telegram, tap Open Desktop App, and the desktop app installs this skill for you. Or share the bot link with a colleague — they get the same one-tap install. Learn more →

Pro

One-click install via the desktop app

The ClaudSkills desktop app installs any skill directly into ~/.claude/skills/ with one click — no terminal required. Pro starts at $9/mo or $149 lifetime.

Pro

For the full experience including quality scoring and one-click install features for each skill — upgrade to Pro.

See pricing → Download desktop app

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Zsh Compat Claude Code skill?
Install via the ClaudSkills desktop app (one click) or copy SKILL.md from the source repository to ~/.claude/skills/zsh-compat/SKILL.md and restart Claude Code. Both flows are detailed at claudskills.com/install/.
What does the Zsh Compat skill do?
Use when generating Bash commands on macOS, when ZSH-001 hook denies a command, when "read-only variable", "no matches found", or "command not found: !" errors appear in shell output, when writing for loops over glob patterns, or when "bad math expression" errors appear from date commands. Covers read-only variables (status, pipestatus, ERRNO), glob NOMATCH protection, history expansion of the "!" operator before "[[", word splitting, array indexing, and BSD date missing `%N` nanoseconds (macOS). Keywords: zsh, NOMATCH, status variable, read-only, nullglob, glob, ZSH-001, history expansion, command not found, date, %N, nanosecond, millisecond, gdate, bad math expression.
Is this skill free to install?
Yes. ClaudSkills is an open registry — every skill keeps its source repository's license, and manual install via copy is free. ClaudSkills Pro ($9/mo, $79/yr, or $149 one-time) adds one-click install via the desktop app and a multi-signal Quality Score.
When should I use the Zsh Compat skill?
Use Zsh Compat when your Claude Code task falls under the Dev Tools category — specifically in the dev shells area. Claude Code auto-discovers installed skills and invokes the right one based on the task description, so you can also ask Claude directly (e.g. "use Zsh Compat" or describe the task and let Claude pick). Browse related skills at /category/tools/.
What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Zsh Compat skill fit in?
A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Zsh Compat is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Dev Tools category. Learn more at /learn/what-is-a-claude-skill/.

Cite this skill

If you reference this skill in a blog post, paper, or documentation, you can cite it as:

APA
ClaudSkills. (2026). Zsh Compat [Claude Code skill]. ClaudSkills. https://claudskills.com/skills/zsh-compat/
BibTeX
@misc{zsh-compat-2026,
  author    = {ClaudSkills},
  title     = {Zsh Compat [Claude Code skill]},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {ClaudSkills},
  url       = {https://claudskills.com/skills/zsh-compat/}
}

Embed this skill

Promote, attribute, or link this skill from your own README, blog post, or documentation. All three snippets are free to use — no sign-up, no API key. More distribution surfaces →

Badge
[![ClaudSkills](https://claudskills.com/badge/zsh-compat.svg)](https://claudskills.com/skills/zsh-compat/?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=skill_badge)
<script>
<script src="https://claudskills.com/embed/zsh-compat.js" async></script>
<iframe>
<iframe src="https://claudskills.com/embed/zsh-compat.html" width="100%" height="160" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" title="ClaudSkills: Zsh Compat"></iframe>

Security scan

Grade A · scanned 2026-07-24 — free static scan against the OWASP Agentic Skills Top 10.

No risk patterns were found in any of the ten OWASP-aligned categories. How grading works ›

Show this grade on your repo (click to copy):

[![Security: A](https://img.shields.io/badge/Security-A-2e7d32)](https://claudskills.com/skills/zsh-compat/#security)

Free. No spam. Unsubscribe in one click.

More Dev Tools skills

Browse all Dev Tools skills in the ClaudSkills registry, or explore these other picks from the same category:

Browse all Dev Tools skills → Top 100 skills
Part of ClaudSkills — the open registry for Claude Skills & Claude Code Skills.  ·  What's New  ·  Install guide  ·  About  ·  llms.txt

Part of Acreator Store — Adam Lankamer's AI tools: PerfectStudio · Ucaption · UTagger · AutoXPoster · TestYourSkills · AutomationFlows · Au Naturel · Telegram @acreatorstore

Categories

Use cases

Popular tags

Learn

Site