# mitnk/cicada

An old-school bash-like Unix shell written in Rust

Repository: https://github.com/mitnk/cicada
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/mitnk-cicada
Homepage: https://hugo.wang/cicada/
Language: Rust
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: shell, cicada, unix, linux
Last push: 2026-08-22T14:40:37+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 99/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 99, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3464, "days_push": 11, "days_rel": 11, "gap_med": 9.0, "n_releases_24m": 17}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1006, forks 50 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:11.894282+00:00)

## What it is
Cicada is a bash-like Unix shell written in Rust that supports pipelines, redirections, command substitution, job control, completion, and scripting. It can be installed via cargo or pre-built binaries and set as a login shell on Linux and macOS.

## Use cases
- replace bash with a shell written in Rust
- run pipelines and redirections in a lightweight shell
- do math arithmetic directly in the shell
- try an alternative login shell on Linux or macOS
- write shell scripts with a simple bash-like syntax
- customize prompt, completion, and history in a Unix shell

## When to choose
- you want a simple, fast bash-like shell implemented in Rust
- you want built-in arithmetic without subshells
- you're curious about alternative Unix shells and job control features

## When to avoid
- you need full POSIX/bash compatibility for existing scripts
- you rely on advanced bash features like extensive parameter expansion or arrays
- you need a shell with a large plugin ecosystem like zsh

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: cli, interpreter, developer-tools
- domain: operating-systems, developer-tools
- platform: cli, rust
- tags: unix-shell, bash-like, login-shell, shell-scripting, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- mitnk/cicada (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:11.894282+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:12:57.830371+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mitnk/cicada (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:11.894282+00:00, sha ecf38e0e7094)
  - homepage: https://hugo.wang/cicada/ (fetched 2026-08-29T13:12:52.927210+00:00, sha cd117692734e)
  - site_page: https://hugo.wang/cicada/install.md (fetched 2026-08-29T13:12:52.936980+00:00, sha 5989afebec27)
  - registry_crates: https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/cicada (fetched 2026-08-29T13:12:52.939644+00:00, sha b117326e8ced)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.