Configure shell commands

KnightCode starts a separate non-interactive shell process for each Bash command. Non-interactive Bash does not expand aliases by default and usually does not load the same startup files as an interactive terminal.

Use shellPath to choose the Bash executable and shellCommandPrefix to run setup before each command.

Understand which shell KnightCode uses

KnightCode normally invokes Bash with bash -c. On Unix systems, it uses /bin/bash, then bash on PATH, and finally sh when Bash is unavailable. Native Windows first checks the configured path, then Git Bash, then bash.exe on PATH.

Choose a Bash executable

Set shellPath in ~/.knightcode/agent/settings.json when KnightCode should use a specific executable:

{
  "shellPath": "~/.local/bin/bash"
}

On Windows, use forward slashes or escape backslashes:

{
  "shellPath": "C:\\cygwin64\\bin\\bash.exe"
}

Run /reload after changing the setting. See Run KnightCode on Windows for the native Windows defaults.

Run setup before every Bash command

Set shellCommandPrefix to prepend shell setup to both the built-in bash tool and user-entered ! or !! commands:

{
  "shellCommandPrefix": "export CI=1"
}

KnightCode joins the prefix and requested command with a newline. The prefix runs again for every command, so keep it fast and free of interactive prompts.

Enable Bash aliases

Store aliases needed by KnightCode in a Bash-compatible file instead of parsing an entire interactive shell configuration.

Create ~/.bash_aliases:

alias ll='ls -la'
alias gs='git status --short'

Then configure KnightCode to enable alias expansion and load the file:

{
  "shellCommandPrefix": "shopt -s expand_aliases\nsource ~/.bash_aliases"
}

Run /reload, then verify the alias through KnightCode:

!ll

The command should produce the same listing as ls -la.

Aliases must use Bash-compatible syntax. Do not source an arbitrary .zshrc into Bash because zsh options, functions, and plugins may not parse or behave correctly there.

Troubleshooting

The prefix works for ! but not for an extension tool

shellCommandPrefix configures KnightCode's built-in Bash execution. An extension that replaces the bash tool or provides its own shell operations controls its own setup. Check that extension's documentation.

shopt is not found

KnightCode has fallen back to sh or shellPath points to a non-Bash shell. Install Bash or set shellPath to a Bash executable before using Bash-specific setup such as shopt.

A setup command waits for input

Remove interactive commands from shellCommandPrefix. The prefix runs in a non-interactive process before every Bash command.

For the complete setting definitions, see Shell settings.