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Oh My Fish (OMF) - Install Themes & Plugins

How to install and use Oh My Fish framework for Fish Shell, including themes, plugins, and when to consider Fisher as an alternative.

Dragos

6 min read

Oh My Fish (OMF) - Install Themes & Plugins

Oh My Fish (OMF) is a framework for Fish Shell, similar to what Oh My Zsh is for Zsh. It gives you a command-line tool (omf) for installing themes and plugins from a curated repository. I used it briefly before switching to Fisher, and I’ll be upfront about why.

OMF maintenance status

Oh My Fish’s GitHub page carries a warning that the project has been unmaintained for years and some packages are broken. It still works for many use cases, but if you’re starting fresh, Fisher is the more actively maintained option. I’m covering OMF here because it’s still widely referenced in guides and forums.

Install Oh My Fish

Make sure you have Fish Shell installed first. Then:

fish
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/oh-my-fish/oh-my-fish/master/bin/install | fish

The installer downloads OMF and sets it up in ~/.local/share/omf/ with config in ~/.config/omf/.

To verify:

fish
omf version

Offline installation

If you need to install without internet access (servers, air-gapped environments):

bash
git clone https://github.com/oh-my-fish/oh-my-fish
cd oh-my-fish
bin/install --offline

OMF basics

All management happens through the omf command.

Install a package or theme

fish
omf install bobthefish
omf install z
omf install bass

List installed packages

fish
omf list

Apply a theme

fish
omf theme bobthefish

To see available themes:

fish
omf theme

Update everything

fish
omf update

Remove a package

fish
omf remove z

Uninstall OMF entirely

fish
omf destroy

These are themes that still work well despite OMF’s maintenance gaps.

bobthefish

The most popular OMF theme. It’s a Powerline-style prompt showing git status, virtual environments, Node version, and more. Needs a Nerd Font or Powerline font.

fish
omf install bobthefish

Configure it through environment variables:

fish
set -g theme_display_git yes
set -g theme_display_git_dirty yes
set -g theme_display_docker_machine yes
set -g theme_color_scheme dracula
set -g theme_nerd_fonts yes

agnoster

A port of the Zsh Agnoster theme. Two-line prompt with Powerline characters, git info, and virtualenv support.

fish
omf install agnoster

clearance

A clean, minimal theme. No special fonts needed.

fish
omf install clearance

lambda

Minimal theme with a λ prompt character.

fish
omf install lambda

You can preview OMF themes (with screenshots) in the Oh My Fish themes documentation.

Useful OMF plugins

bass

Runs Bash scripts and captures their environment variable changes. Useful for tools that only support Bash configuration:

fish
omf install bass
bass source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh

This is one of the more genuinely useful OMF packages. It bridges the gap between Fish’s non-POSIX syntax and Bash-only tools.

z

Directory jumping similar to zoxide. Tracks the directories you visit and lets you jump to them with partial names:

fish
omf install z
z projects

I’d recommend zoxide over this — it’s faster, works across shells, and is actively maintained. But if you want everything through OMF, the z plugin works.

fish-spec

A testing framework for Fish functions. Useful if you write Fish plugins or complex functions:

fish
omf install fish-spec

extract

A universal archive extraction tool. extract file.tar.gz instead of remembering tar flags:

fish
omf install extract

OMF configuration files

OMF uses two config files:

~/.config/omf/bundle — lists installed packages:

text
package bass
package z
theme bobthefish

~/.config/omf/init.fish — runs at startup. Add your OMF-specific configuration here:

fish
# ~/.config/omf/init.fish
set -g theme_nerd_fonts yes
set -g theme_color_scheme dracula

Sharing your ~/.config/omf/ directory across machines lets you replicate your setup with omf install.

OMF vs Fisher

This is the real question. Here’s how they compare:

Oh My Fish Fisher
Status Unmaintained Actively maintained
Approach Framework (has its own init) Plugin manager only
Startup impact Adds some overhead Zero overhead
Plugin format OMF-specific packages Standard Fish plugins
Compatibility OMF packages only OMF packages + any Fish plugin
Config omf commands + config files fisher commands + fish_plugins file
Themes Built-in theme system Install prompt plugins directly

Fisher is faster, maintained, and can install OMF-compatible packages. The main reason to use OMF today is if you already have a working OMF setup and don’t want to migrate.

Migrating from OMF to Fisher

If you want to switch:

  1. Note your installed packages: omf list
  2. Install Fisher:
    fish
    curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jorgebucaran/fisher/main/functions/fisher.fish | source && fisher install jorgebucaran/fisher
  3. Install equivalents through Fisher. Most OMF packages can be installed directly:
    fish
    fisher install oh-my-fish/theme-bobthefish
  4. Uninstall OMF: omf destroy

Fisher can install packages from the OMF repository by using the oh-my-fish/ prefix. Not every package works, but the popular ones do.

Creating OMF packages

If you want to create your own package or theme:

fish
omf new plugin my-plugin
omf new theme my-theme

This creates a scaffold in ~/.config/omf/pkg/my-plugin/ or ~/.config/omf/themes/my-theme/.

Plugin structure:

text
my-plugin/
├── completions/
│   └── my-plugin.fish
├── functions/
│   └── my-plugin.fish
├── init.fish
└── uninstall.fish

init.fish runs when the plugin loads. uninstall.fish runs when it’s removed.

Troubleshooting

OMF commands not found — restart your shell after installation, or run source ~/.config/fish/conf.d/omf.fish.

Theme not changing — some themes need a Nerd Font. Install MesloLGS NF and set it in your terminal.

Plugin errors after update — OMF’s unmaintained status means some plugins may break. Check the plugin’s GitHub page for patches, or find a Fisher-compatible alternative.

#Fish Shell

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