Question 1

How much faster is Powerline-hs compared to the original Powerline?

Accepted Answer

Powerline-hs renders prompts in 79.1 ms, over 15 times faster than the original's 1.25 seconds, based on benchmarks in the README. This drastically reduces shell lag and improves responsiveness.

Question 2

Can I use my existing Powerline theme with Powerline-hs?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it's designed as a drop-in replacement, so it uses the same configuration files and should work with your current Powerline theme without modifications. Just update the POWERLINE_COMMAND environment variable to point to powerline-hs.

Question 3

What git features does Powerline-hs support in prompts?

Accepted Answer

It supports key gitstatus segments including commits ahead/behind and staged, unmerged, changed, and untracked files. However, it's partial support following powerline-gitstatus conventions, as detailed in the README's configuration section.

Question 4

How to install Powerline-hs on Linux without compiling?

Accepted Answer

Download the pre-compiled binary from the Releases page on GitHub, extract the tarball, and set the POWERLINE_COMMAND environment variable to its path. This bypasses the need for Stack or Haskell toolchain installation.

Question 5

Powerline-hs vs powerline-go: which is better for ZSH?

Accepted Answer

Powerline-hs focuses on compatibility with original Powerline configs and offers Haskell-based speed, while powerline-go is a Go alternative with different features. For drop-in replacement with existing setups, powerline-hs is ideal; for a Go-based solution, consider powerline-go.

Question 6

How to add custom segments to Powerline-hs?

Accepted Answer

You can use Powerline's configuration system, but implementing new segments may require Haskell knowledge or pull requests, as support is added on request per the Limitations section. Check the GitHub repo for contribution guidelines.

powerline-hs

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