GoPrompt

GoPrompt is a CLI tool designed to create customizable shell prompts using small, parallel segments. When your shell opens or refreshes, GoPrompt executes each segment (like Git branch detection or directory information) concurrently with a short timeout. This ensures your prompt remains responsive, even if a segment (such as a Git check in a large repository) takes longer than expected. Written in Go, it compiles into a single, lightweight binary without external dependencies.

Why Use GoPrompt?

Traditional shell prompts often rely on shell scripts that can block the prompt while waiting for slow operations (like Git status checks). GoPrompt avoids these issues by using Go's concurrency features. Each segment has a limited time (approximately 100ms) to produce output. If a segment fails or times out, GoPrompt omits it, preventing slowdowns.

Installation

To install GoPrompt, ensure you have Go installed and configured. Then:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/go-prompt.git
cd go-prompt
go build -o goprompt

You can move the resulting goprompt binary into a folder on your PATH, or run go install directly if you prefer:

go install

Verify everything worked by running:

goprompt --help

Basic Usage

At its core, GoPrompt generates a single line of text that includes information from various segments in a user-defined order or layout. If you simply type:

goprompt

it immediately returns your prompt string, using default settings for theme and layout. You can capture that string in your shell’s PS1 variable or reference it however you like.

Making It Permanent (Shell Integration)

To automatically apply GoPrompt to each new shell session, you can place an eval statement in your ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or similar shell config file. GoPrompt offers a shell subcommand that prints the recommended lines for you. For instance:

eval "$(goprompt shell)"

Putting that line in your RC file ensures every time you open a shell, goprompt is called and your prompt is set accordingly.

Alternatively, you can manually set your shell prompt to the output of goprompt, but calling the shell subcommand is a convenient shortcut for most setups.

Themes and Layout

GoPrompt uses two environment variables to determine how the prompt looks:

• GOTHEME — Controls color schemes (e.g., monokai_dark, solarized_light, etc.).

• GOLAYOUT — Defines the arrangement of segments, for example:

  "┌ $dir(2) on $git\n└─ $ "
  

Whenever you run goprompt, it reads these variables to decide how to format each segment’s output. If you want a permanent setup, you can export them in your shell config, for example:

export GOTHEME=monokai_dark
export GOLAYOUT="┌ $dir on $git\n└─ $ "

After editing your RC file, open a new shell or source the file to see the updated prompt.

Example Prompt

With just those two variables set, you might get something like:

┌ ~/go-prompt on main
└─ $

If Git takes too long or you’re not in a Git repo, that segment simply doesn’t appear, and the rest of your prompt remains responsive.

Concurrency Under the Hood

One of GoPrompt’s core strengths is its parallel architecture. Each segment runs in a separate goroutine under a ~100ms deadline. If it finishes in time, the segment’s data is included; if not, the prompt is generated without it—no stalling or partial hangs. This keeps your shell feeling snappy, even when you’re working in big repositories or running other background tasks.

License

GoPrompt is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License v2.0 (LGPL-2.0). You are free to use, modify, and distribute this project according to those terms. See the included LICENSE file for more information.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request if you have ideas for new segments, bug fixes, or documentation improvements. We aim to keep GoPrompt simple, reliable, and fast—so we appreciate discussions about how any proposed changes fit into that goal.