This project has reached a minimum-viable product level of quality. While contributors dogfood it as their daily driver, it may be unstable for some commands. Future releases will work to fill out missing features and improve stability. Its design is also subject to change as it matures.
Nu comes with a set of built-in commands (listed below). If a command is unknown, the command will shell-out and execute it (using cmd on Windows or bash on Linux and macOS), correctly passing through stdin, stdout, and stderr, so things like your daily git workflows and even `vim` will work just fine.
There are a few good resources to learn about Nu. There is a [book](https://www.nushell.sh/book/) about Nu that is currently in progress. The book focuses on using Nu and its core concepts.
If you're a developer who would like to contribute to Nu, we're also working on a [book for developers](https://www.nushell.sh/contributor-book/) to help you get started. There are also [good first issues](https://github.com/nushell/nushell/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A%22good+first+issue%22) to help you dive in.
Up-to-date installation instructions can be found in the [installation chapter of the book](https://www.nushell.sh/book/en/installation.html). **Windows users**: please note that Nu works on Windows 10 and does not currently have Windows 7/8.1 support.
You can also build Nu yourself with all the bells and whistles (be sure to have installed the [dependencies](https://www.nushell.sh/book/en/installation.html#dependencies) for your platform), once you have checked out this repo with git:
Nu draws inspiration from projects like PowerShell, functional programming languages, and modern CLI tools. Rather than thinking of files and services as raw streams of text, Nu looks at each input as something with structure. For example, when you list the contents of a directory, what you get back is a table of rows, where each row represents an item in that directory. These values can be piped through a series of steps, in a series of commands called a 'pipeline'.
In Unix, it's common to pipe between commands to split up a sophisticated command over multiple steps. Nu takes this a step further and builds heavily on the idea of _pipelines_. Just as the Unix philosophy, Nu allows commands to output from stdout and read from stdin. Additionally, commands can output structured data (you can think of this as a third kind of stream). Commands that work in the pipeline fit into one of three categories:
Being able to use the same commands and compose them differently is an important philosophy in Nu. For example, we could use the built-in `ps` command as well to get a list of the running processes, using the same `where` as above.
Nu can load file and URL contents as raw text or as structured data (if it recognizes the format). For example, you can load a .toml file as structured data and explore it:
```
/home/jonathan/Source/nushell(master)> open Cargo.toml
Nu will work inside of a single directory and allow you to navigate around your filesystem by default. Nu also offers a way of adding additional working directories that you can jump between, allowing you to work in multiple directories at the same time.
To do so, use the `enter` command, which will allow you create a new "shell" and enter it at the specified path. You can toggle between this new shell and the original shell with the `p` (for previous) and `n` (for next), allowing you to navigate around a ring buffer of shells. Once you're done with a shell, you can `exit` it and remove it from the ring buffer.
Nu supports plugins that offer additional functionality to the shell and follow the same structured data model that built-in commands use. This allows you to extend nu for your needs.
Plugins are binaries that are available in your path and follow a `nu_plugin_*` naming convention. These binaries interact with nu via a simple JSON-RPC protocol where the command identifies itself and passes along its configuration, which then makes it available for use. If the plugin is a filter, data streams to it one element at a time, and it can stream data back in return via stdin/stdout. If the plugin is a sink, it is given the full vector of final data and is given free reign over stdin/stdout to use as it pleases.
Nu adheres closely to a set of goals that make up its design philosophy. As features are added, they are checked against these goals.
* First and foremost, Nu is cross-platform. Commands and techniques should carry between platforms and offer first-class consistent support for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
* Nu ensures direct compatibility with existing platform-specific executables that make up people's workflows.
* Nu's workflow and tools should have the usability in day-to-day experience of using a shell in 2019 (and beyond).
You can find a list of Nu commands, complete with documentation, in [quick command references](https://www.nushell.sh/documentation.html#quick-command-references).
