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1st chunk of `book/default_shell.md`
ed201320ded46d91cdabd8b8c7ba376ee9578202494d88db0000000100000ef2
# Default Shell

## Setting Nu as default shell on your terminal

|     Terminal     | Platform     |                                                                                                                 Instructions                                                                                                                 |
| :--------------: | ------------ | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: |
|  GNOME Terminal  | Linux & BSDs |                                  Open `Edit > Preferences`. In the right-hand panel, select the `Command` tab, tick `Run a custom command instead of my shell`, and set `Custom command` to the path to Nu.                                  |
|  GNOME Console   | Linux & BSDs |  Type the command `gsettings set org.gnome.Console shell "['/usr/bin/nu']"` (replace `/usr/bin/nu` with the path to Nu). Equivalently, use [dconf Editor](https://apps.gnome.org/DconfEditor/) to edit the `/org/gnome/Console/shell` key.   |
|      Kitty       | Linux & BSDs |                                                     Press `Ctrl`+`Shift`+`F2` to open `kitty.conf`. Go to `shell` variable, uncomment the line and replace the `.` with the path to Nu.                                                      |
|     Konsole      | Linux & BSDs |                                                                                   Open `Settings > Edit Current Profile`. Set `Command` to the path to Nu.                                                                                   |
|  XFCE Terminal   | Linux & BSDs |                                                           Open `Edit > Preferences`. Check `Run a custom command instead of my shell`, and set `Custom command` to the path to Nu.                                                           |
|   Terminal.app   | macOS        | Open `Terminal > Preferences`. Ensure you are on the `Profiles` tab, which should be the default tab. In the right-hand panel, select the `Shell` tab. Tick `Run command`, put the path to Nu in the textbox, and untick `Run inside shell`. |
|      iTerm2      | macOS        |                       Open `iTerm > Preferences`. Select the `Profiles` tab. In the right-hand panel under `Command`, change the dropdown from `Login Shell` to `Custom Shell`, and put the path to Nu in the textbox.                       |
| Windows Terminal | Windows      |    Press `Ctrl`+`,` to open `Settings`. Go to `Add a new profile > New empty profile`. Fill in the 'Name' and enter path to Nu in the 'Command line' textbox. Go to `Startup` option and select Nu as the 'Default profile'. Hit `Save`.     |

## Setting Nu as login shell (Linux, BSD & macOS)

::: warning
Nu is not intended to be POSIX compliant.
Be aware that some programs on your system (or their documentation) might assume that your login shell is [POSIX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POSIX) compatible.
Breaking that assumption can lead to unexpected issues. See [Configuration - Login Shell](./configuration.md#configuring-nu-as-a-login-shell) for more details.
:::

To set the login shell you can use the [`chsh`](https://linux.die.net/man/1/chsh) command.
Some Linux distributions have a list of valid shells located in `/etc/shells` and will disallow changing the shell until Nu is in the whitelist.
You may see an error similar to the one below if you haven't updated the `shells` file:

@[code](@snippets/installation/chsh_invalid_shell_error.sh)

You can add Nu to the list of allowed shells by appending your Nu binary to the `shells` file.
The path to add can be found with the command `which nu`, usually it is `$HOME/.cargo/bin/nu`.
Title: Setting Nu as Default and Login Shell
Summary
This section provides instructions for setting Nu as the default shell in various terminal applications on Linux, BSD, macOS, and Windows. It also covers setting Nu as the login shell on Linux, BSD, and macOS using the `chsh` command, while cautioning about potential POSIX compliance issues and how to resolve errors related to whitelisting Nu in `/etc/shells`.