# xonsh/xonsh

🐚 Python-powered shell. Full-featured, cross-platform and AI-friendly.

Repository: https://github.com/xonsh/xonsh
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/xonsh
Homepage: http://xon.sh
Language: Python
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: xonsh, devops, iterm2, data-engineering, security-automation, raspberry-pi, kitty, hyper, devsecops, wezterm, claude, claude-code, anthropic, vscode-extension, data-scientists, cmux, nix, nixos, python-automation
Last push: 2026-08-25T08:24:46+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 99/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 99, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4242, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 10, "gap_med": 7.5, "n_releases_24m": 35}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 9622, forks 736 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:36.398629+00:00)

## What it is
Xonsh is a cross-platform shell whose language is a superset of Python 3, seamlessly mixing shell commands, pipelines, and Python code. It is extensible via xontribs and works on Linux, macOS, Windows, BSD, Android, and Nix.

## Use cases
- python-powered shell for daily terminal use
- mix shell commands and python in scripts
- automate devops tasks with python in the shell
- replace bash with a cross-platform shell on windows and linux
- write shell aliases as python functions
- orchestrate other shells like fish and nushell from one shell

## When to choose
- you know Python and want shell scripting without bash quirks
- you need one shell that works identically across Linux, macOS, and Windows
- you want to call Python libraries and subprocess commands interchangeably
- you want an extensible shell with a plugin ecosystem (xontribs)

## When to avoid
- you need strict POSIX shell compatibility for existing scripts
- your team only knows bash/zsh and won't learn a Python-based language
- you need a minimal, lightweight shell for constrained environments
- you rely on tooling that assumes bash or zsh startup files

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, interpreter, programming-language, developer-tools, terminal-ui, plugin-system
- domain: developer-tools, programming-languages
- platform: windows, bsd, cross-platform, python, cli
- tags: shell, python-shell, xontrib, scripting, meta-shell, extensible-shell, command-line, automation, devops, linux, macos, android

## Member repositories
- xonsh/xonsh (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:36.398629+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 2026-08-29T17:21:22.157608+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/xonsh/xonsh (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:36.398629+00:00, sha f348fb357ed2)
  - homepage: http://xon.sh (fetched 2026-08-29T08:21:16.078713+00:00, sha eb422f05cade)
  - site_page: https://xon.sh/install.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:21:16.088410+00:00, sha 21a7cfc3bdf7)
  - registry_pypi: https://pypi.org/pypi/xonsh/json (fetched 2026-08-29T08:21:16.092913+00:00, sha bace702716a9)
  - site_page: https://xon.sh/contents.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:21:16.090770+00:00, sha 867c29a920d6)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.