Macintosh Terminal Pocket Guide

Name

chsh — stdin  stdout  - file  -- opt  --help  --version

Synopsis

chsh [options] [username]

The chsh (change shell) command sets your login shell program. Different shells have different capabilities, and if you’re familiar with a different shell from another operating system (say, Linux), you might want to use that shell on the Mac.

Invoked without a username, chsh affects your account; invoked with a username (by an administrator), it affects that user. With no options, chsh will prompt you for the desired information:

➜ chsh
Changing shell for smith.
Password: *******
New shell [/bin/bash]: /bin/tcsh

The new shell must be listed in /etc/shells.

Useful options

-s shell	Specify the new shell.
-l	List all permissible shells.