Promptly

A collection of shell scripts for configuring a zsh development environment with Kubernetes tooling and other useful aliases.

Why Promptly?

Promptly was built with a clear philosophy: keep it simple, keep it light.

Instead of pulling in full-fledged frameworks like oh-my-zsh or heavyweight plugin managers that come bundled with hundreds of features you may never use, Promptly takes a minimal approach. Each script is a standalone, readable shell file that does one thing well. Also, keeping all custom installed scripts/plugins inside Promptly makes it easier to plug-and-play things and also keeps .zshrc cleaner.

• No framework dependencies just plain shell scripts that are easy to read, modify, and debug.
• Fast shell startup only the scripts you need are sourced, with no plugin resolution overhead.
• Full transparency every alias, completion, and prompt tweak lives in a file you can open and understand in minutes.

The trade-off is intentional: the feature set is narrower than a full framework, but the code stays small, predictable, and entirely under your control.

Directory Structure

scripts/
├── core/
│   └── load_my_scripts.sh    # Entry point loader
├── k8s/
│   ├── kubectl_aliases.sh    # Kubectl shorthand aliases
│   ├── kubectl_completion.sh # Kubectl zsh completion
│   └── kubectl_prompt.sh     # Kubernetes-aware prompt
└── misc/
    └── stern_completion.sh   # Stern zsh completion

Trying out the setup

For trying out the setup. Source the loader script from your .zshrc:

source /path/to/promptly/scripts/core/load_my_scripts.sh

Installation

For installing it to start up everytime with ZSH:

echo "\nsource /path/to/promptly/scripts/core/load_my_scripts.sh" >> ~/.zshrc

This will automatically load all the other scripts listed below.

Scripts

scripts/core/load_my_scripts.sh

Entry point that sources all other scripts in order. It iterates over a list of script paths, checks each exists and is non-empty, and sources it. You can Set PROMPTLY_DISABLE=1 to skip loading all of Promptly entirely without removing it from your .zshrc.

scripts/k8s/kubectl_aliases.sh

Kubectl aliases extracted from the oh-my-zsh kubectl plugin with minor custom changes. Provides short aliases for common kubectl operations:

Category	Examples
General	k (kubectl), kaf (apply -f), kdel (delete)
Context	kcuc (use-context), kcgc (get-contexts), kccc (current-context)
Pods	kgp (get pods), kdp (describe), kdelp (delete), kgpa (all namespaces)
Deployments	kgd (get), ked (edit), ksd (scale), krrd (rollout restart)
Services	kgs (get svc), kds (describe svc)
Logs	kl (logs), klf (logs -f), kl1h (logs since 1h)
Namespaces	kgns (get ns), kcn (set current namespace)
Nodes	kgno (get nodes), kdno (describe node)
Output	kj (json + jq), kjx (json + fx), kyq (yaml + yq)

scripts/k8s/kubectl_completion.sh

Zsh tab-completion for kubectl. Generated from kubectl completion zsh. Licensed under Apache 2.0 by The Kubernetes Authors.

scripts/misc/stern_completion.sh

Zsh tab-completion for stern (multi-pod log tailing tool). Generated from stern --completion zsh.

scripts/k8s/kubectl_prompt.sh

Customizes the zsh prompt to display the current Kubernetes context and namespace. The prompt format is:

~/current/dir ~<k8s>~ context-name:namespace >

Set PROMPTLY_DISABLE_KUBE_PROMPT=1 to hide the Kubernetes info from the prompt.

Disabling Individual Scripts

Every script supports a PROMPTLY_ prefixed environment variable that lets you skip loading it entirely. Set any of the following in your .zshrc before sourcing load_my_scripts.sh:

Environment Variable	Script it disables
PROMPTLY_DISABLE	load_my_scripts.sh (disables all of Promptly)
PROMPTLY_DISABLE_COMMON_ALIASES	kubectl_aliases.sh
PROMPTLY_DISABLE_KUBECTL_COMPLETION	kubectl_completion.sh
PROMPTLY_DISABLE_STERN_COMPLETION	stern_completion.sh
PROMPTLY_DISABLE_KUBE_PROMPT	kubectl_prompt.sh

Example disable stern completion:

export PROMPTLY_DISABLE_STERN_COMPLETION=1
source /path/to/promptly/scripts/core/load_my_scripts.sh

Reporting Issues

If you run into a bug, unexpected behaviour, or something that just feels off, please open an issue on the repository. When filing an issue, it helps to include:

• The shell and OS you are using (e.g. zsh 5.9 on macOS Sonoma).
• The script that is causing the problem.
• Steps to reproduce the issue, or the error output you are seeing.

Every report big or small helps make Promptly better.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you have a script or alias set that you find useful in your day-to-day workflow, consider adding it to Promptly. To keep the project consistent, please follow the checklist below when submitting a pull request.

How to contribute

1. Fork the repository and create a new branch for your feature.

2. Add your script create a new .sh file in the appropriate subdirectory under scripts/ (e.g. scripts/k8s/ for Kubernetes-related scripts, scripts/misc/ for other tools).

3. Add a disable switch at the top of your script, add an early-return guard using a PROMPTLY_ prefixed environment variable so users can opt out of loading it. Follow the existing convention:

   # Skip if PROMPTLY_DISABLE_YOUR_SCRIPT is set
   if [[ -n "$PROMPTLY_DISABLE_YOUR_SCRIPT" ]]; then
     return
   fi

4. Register the script in load_my_scripts.sh add your script's path to the scripts_to_load array so it gets sourced automatically:

   scripts_to_load=(
       # ... existing entries ...
       "$SCRIPTS_DIR/<category>/your_script.sh"  # Short description of what it does
   )

5. Document your script in this README add a new subsection under Scripts explaining:

   • What the script does.
   • Why it exists (the problem it solves or the workflow it improves).
   • Any notable aliases, functions, or configuration it provides.
   • The PROMPTLY_DISABLE_* variable that disables it.

   Also add the new environment variable to the table in the Disabling Individual Scripts section.

6. Open a pull request with a clear description of your changes and the motivation behind them.

PR Checklist

Before submitting your pull request, make sure you have completed all of the following:

• Make sure the .sh file has a single, focused responsibility.
• Added a PROMPTLY_DISABLE_* environment variable guard at the top of the script.
• Verified the disable switch works (export PROMPTLY_DISABLE_YOUR_SCRIPT=1 skips loading).
• Added the script path to the scripts_to_load array in load_my_scripts.sh.
• Added a section in this README under Scripts explaining what the script does and why.
• Added the new PROMPTLY_DISABLE_* variable to the Disabling Individual Scripts table.
• Tested that the script sources cleanly in a fresh zsh session without errors.
• Confirmed the script is safe to source multiple times without side effects. (idempotent)

Guidelines

• Keep scripts simple and lightweight.
• Avoid adding dependencies beyond standard CLI tools.
• Make sure your script is safe to source multiple times without side effects.
• Test that the disable switch works correctly before submitting.