# Nushell

A new type of shell

Repository: https://github.com/nushell/nushell
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/nushell
Homepage: https://www.nushell.sh/
Language: Rust
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: shell, rust, nushell
Last push: 2026-08-26T23:20:50+00:00
Link (homepage): https://www.nushell.sh/
Link (site_page): https://www.nushell.sh/book/installation.html

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 87, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2672, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 10, "gap_med": 35.0, "n_releases_24m": 27}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 40344, forks 2223 (observed 2026-08-28T04:12:08.208403+00:00)

## What it is
Nushell is a cross-platform shell written in Rust that treats pipelines as streams of structured, typed data (tables, records, lists) instead of raw text. It natively reads formats like JSON, YAML, SQLite, and Excel, offers strong error messages, and is extensible via a plugin system.

## Use cases
- filter and sort structured data in shell pipelines without parsing strings
- replace bash with a modern typed shell as a daily driver
- query JSON, YAML, CSV, and SQLite files from the command line
- automate tasks with a shell scripting language that has real data types
- inspect and transform API responses directly in the terminal
- extend the shell with custom commands and plugins

## When to choose
- you want shell pipelines that operate on structured data instead of text
- you frequently parse JSON/YAML/CSV output in shell scripts
- you want the same shell experience across Linux, macOS, and Windows
- you value good error messages and typed command arguments

## When to avoid
- you need strict POSIX sh/bash compatibility for existing scripts
- you rely on tooling that assumes a POSIX shell environment
- you need a fully stable, unchanging scripting language for production scripts

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, parser, serialization, developer-tools, plugin-system, terminal-ui
- domain: developer-tools, data-science, cross-platform
- platform: windows, bsd, rust, cli, cross-platform
- tags: structured-data-shell, pipelines, shell-scripting, typed-data, json-pipelines, command-line, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- nushell/nushell (main) score 95
- nushell/awesome-nu (docs) score 77
- nushell/nu_scripts (examples) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:12:08.208403+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 2026-08-29T16:24:04.507226+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/nushell/nushell (fetched 2026-08-28T04:12:08.208403+00:00, sha 1e37b1fdc8eb)
  - homepage: https://www.nushell.sh/ (fetched 2026-08-29T07:46:31.605091+00:00, sha ed562af8c17a)
  - site_page: https://www.nushell.sh/book/installation.html (fetched 2026-08-29T07:46:31.607767+00:00, sha 6af146dca5a6)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.