Bash is the Only Shell That Matters

Let me be crystal clear: bash is the only shell that matters. All these trendy alternatives like zsh, fish, and PowerShell are just distractions from what actually works.

The Truth About “Modern” Shells

Zsh: The Overhyped Pretender

Zsh fanboys will tell you about “better completion” and “themes.” Here’s the reality:

  • Bloat: Zsh is a bloated mess with features nobody actually uses
  • Compatibility: Your scripts break when you switch to zsh
  • Performance: Bash is faster and uses less memory
  • Ubiquity: Bash is everywhere. Zsh? Not so much.
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# This works everywhere
#!/bin/bash
for file in *.txt; do
    echo "Processing $file"
done

Fish: The “User-Friendly” Trap

Fish claims to be “user-friendly” but it’s actually user-hostile:

  • Incompatible: Breaks POSIX compliance
  • Slow: Interpreted language performance is terrible
  • Limited: Can’t run most existing scripts
  • Pointless: Features that bash already does better

Why Bash Dominates

1. Universal Compatibility

Bash runs on every Unix-like system. Your scripts work everywhere without modification.

2. Performance

Bash is optimized for speed. It’s written in C, not some interpreted mess.

3. Power

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# Complex operations in simple syntax
find . -name "*.log" -exec grep -l "ERROR" {} \; | xargs tail -f

4. Reliability

Bash has been battle-tested for decades. It doesn’t crash, it doesn’t have weird edge cases.

The Real Problem

The problem isn’t bash—it’s programmers who don’t know how to use it.

Most developers:

  • Don’t understand shell scripting
  • Write terrible bash code
  • Blame the tool instead of learning it
  • Jump to “modern” alternatives that solve non-problems

Stop the Madness

Instead of switching shells, learn bash properly:

  1. Read the manual: man bash
  2. Learn POSIX compliance: Write portable scripts
  3. Master the basics: Variables, loops, conditionals
  4. Understand process management: Jobs, signals, pipes

The Bottom Line

Bash isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough and everywhere. These “modern” shells are solutions looking for problems that don’t exist.

Stop chasing shiny objects. Master bash. Your future self will thank you.