closh
A modern, Bash-like shell that uses Clojure syntax for command composition and data manipulation.
What is closh?
Closh is a Bash-like shell built on Clojure that allows developers to use Clojure syntax for shell scripting and interactive command execution. It solves the problem of Bash's obscure syntax and text-only pipelines by enabling structured data manipulation and a more consistent programming model.
Developers familiar with Clojure who want a more powerful and expressive shell, as well as Unix shell users frustrated with Bash's limitations for complex tasks.
Closh offers the familiarity of traditional shell commands combined with Clojure's powerful data-processing capabilities, providing a unified environment where shell scripting and application development share the same language and idioms.
Overview
Bash-like shell based on Clojure
Use Cases
Best For
- Writing shell scripts in Clojure instead of Bash
- Manipulating structured data (like JSON) in command pipelines
- Interactive command-line workflows requiring complex data transformations
- Clojure developers seeking a more integrated terminal experience
- Experimenting with modern shell UI innovations
- Automating tasks with composable, functional pipelines
Not Ideal For
- Production systems needing a stable, battle-tested shell
- Windows users without WSL 2 or those requiring native support
- Teams relying on extensive third-party plugins or community scripts
- Scripts demanding high-performance, low-latency execution due to JVM/Node overhead
Pros & Cons
Pros
Enables seamless mixing of shell commands with Clojure functions for structured data manipulation, directly addressing Bash's text-only limitation as shown in demo pipelines like `ls |> (group-by first)`.
Aims to innovate beyond traditional shells with planned UI enhancements like better readline support and data helpers, reflecting a forward-thinking design per the roadmap.
Supports standard commands like `ls` and `git` identically to Bash, lowering the barrier to entry for Unix users while adding Clojure extensibility.
Runs on Linux and macOS, with experimental WSL 2 support, offering a consistent experience across major development environments despite Windows limitations.
Cons
Explicitly on hiatus as of 2022, with no active development, making it unreliable for long-term adoption or bug fixes despite its promising concept.
Admits many limitations: JVM version lacks abbreviations, Lumo version has no script mode and prompt quirks, and synchronous execution relies on hacks, per the Limitations section.
Small community and sparse documentation compared to established shells, with limited third-party integrations, increasing the learning curve for troubleshooting.
Depends on JVM or Node.js, introducing startup lag and memory usage unlike native shells, and the roadmap notes need for a low-level pipeline library to improve performance.
Open Source Alternative To
closh is an open-source alternative to the following products:
Frequently Asked Questions
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