Dev CLI Tools

Installs the modern CLI toolbelt and — the part everyone forgets — the shell integration lines that make half of these tools actually work. Encodes the 2026 state of the ecosystem (eza not exa, fzf --zsh not the install script, zoxide after compinit).

When NOT to use

• Homebrew missing/broken → homebrew-setup (prerequisite)
• Prompt/theme/plugins → zsh-setup
• GUI apps → mac-dev-apps · cloud CLIs → cloud-dev-setup · AI agent CLIs → ai-dev-tools · runtimes → language-runtimes
• Using the tools (jq queries, ripgrep patterns) → native competence

Prerequisites

command -v brew must succeed; otherwise stop and point at homebrew-setup.

Safety rails

• Append init lines to ~/.zshrc idempotently (grep-guard); never restructure the file (that's zsh-setup's job).
• Aliases that shadow system commands (ls→eza, cat→bat) are opt-in: offer, don't impose. Never alias in scripts' path (aliases are interactive-only anyway, but say so).

Workflow

1. Install the curated set

Ask which groups the user wants (default: all of core + git):

# Core search/navigation/viewing
brew install ripgrep fd fzf bat eza zoxide tree wget jq yq
# Git experience
brew install gh git-delta lazygit
# System monitoring
brew install htop            # or btop for the fancier one
# Optional: synced, searchable shell history (owns Ctrl-R when enabled)
# brew install atuin         # + eval "$(atuin init zsh)" in ~/.zshrc; default local-only

2. Shell integration (the step that makes them work)

Append each exactly once (grep-guarded), in the "tool inits" section of ~/.zshrc:

# zoxide needs compinit. Oh My Zsh runs it; a STOCK .zshrc may not - ensure it first:
grep -qE 'compinit|oh-my-zsh.sh' ~/.zshrc || echo 'autoload -Uz compinit && compinit' >> ~/.zshrc

grep -q 'fzf --zsh' ~/.zshrc || echo 'source <(fzf --zsh)' >> ~/.zshrc          # Ctrl-R history, Ctrl-T files, Alt-C cd
grep -q 'zoxide init' ~/.zshrc || echo 'eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"' >> ~/.zshrc  # AFTER compinit; provides z / zi

Notes: fzf --zsh is the current integration (fzf ≥ 0.48; the old ~/.fzf/install script is legacy). zoxide's init must run after compinit — in an Oh My Zsh setup, anywhere after source $ZSH/oh-my-zsh.sh is fine. After appending, read the tail of ~/.zshrc once to confirm the lines landed where intended (grep guards match commented lines too — eyes beat grep here), then verify behavior in a fresh shell.

3. Optional aliases (ask first)

--icons needs a Nerd Font selected in the terminal (→ zsh-setup); drop the flag otherwise.

alias ls='eza --icons'
alias ll='eza -l --git --icons'
alias la='eza -la --git --icons'
alias cat='bat --style=plain'
alias lg='lazygit'

4. delta as git's pager (if the user wants pretty diffs)

git config --global core.pager delta
git config --global interactive.diffFilter 'delta --color-only'
git config --global delta.navigate true      # n / N jump between files

(Full git config strategy lives in git-ssh-identity; this is delta's self-contained block, straight from delta's docs.)

5. gh auth

gh is installed here; authentication (gh auth login) belongs to git-ssh-identity — point there rather than half-doing it.

6. Verify

sh "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/check.sh"

Then in a new shell: Ctrl-R opens fzf's history search; z <dir-frag> jumps after one visit; rg --version prints.

Output spec

Done means: requested tools installed, integration lines present exactly once, Ctrl-R/z work in a fresh shell, aliases applied only if chosen, and nothing outside the toolbelt was touched.

Gotchas

• exa is dead (formula removed) — anything recommending it is stale; eza is the maintained fork.
• fzf without the --zsh source line looks "installed but broken" — the binary works, the keybindings don't.
• zoxide before compinit breaks its completions; symptom: zi errors.
• bat as cat alias with default style breaks piping expectations for some tools — --style=plain keeps output clean; never rely on aliases in scripts.
• macOS ships BSD userland; GNU-flag muscle memory (ls --color) fails — these replacements sidestep that, or brew install coreutils for real GNU tools (g-prefixed).