Xonsh shell
Hacker ApprovedRanked 6 of 12 shells by recommenders
Python-based shell people pick to avoid learning a new language, now more stable. Critics find interactive editing awkward and some features missing.
Python-based shell people pick to avoid learning a new language, now more stable. Critics find interactive editing awkward and some features missing.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 15
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 15 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 7.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Uses Python, no new language
“is a very pleasant experience, especially when you just don't feel like learning another bespoke language”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “I wrote an bash enumerator because I was sick of xargs” “the shell language isn't some new thing you have to learn”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Rubish: A Unix shell written in pure Ruby” “If you know Python, just switch to xonsh”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “What Killed Perl?” Better than bash for scripts
“It is already the language I lean on over bash for most utility scripts with its kitchen sink built-ins.”
Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “The tilde in your PATH may not be your HOME” “Really great in particular for people like me who are bash-challenged”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “The Case for Nushell (2023)” Getting more stable over time
“It promises to be the most stable in the project’s history and docs improvements are nice.”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Xonsh shell 0.23 REFORGED – not just a release” “The shell has become much more stable.”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “The Xonsh shell wrapped up 2024-2025 with impressive improvements” Happy long-term users
“a bunch of happy xonsh users disagree”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “A shell colon does nothing. Use it anyway.” “xonsh user for 8 years here”
Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “The Missing Semester of Your CS Education”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Missing pipelines and other features
“xonsh is a neat experiment but ultimately is missing pipeline programming that nushell gives”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “You probably don't need Oh My Zsh” “awkward & klunky interactive editing, special prefix syntax, some missing features”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “A shell colon does nothing. Use it anyway.”
Other shells people recommend
The four most recommended other shells, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bash | 171 | 127 | 57% | 12 | 20 yrs7 owners | — |
| PowerShell | 156 | 92 | 63% | 12 | — | — |
| fish shell | 97 | 20 | 83% | 12 | 5 yrs11 owners | Approved |
| Nushell | 92 | 15 | 86% | 11 | 1.7 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Xonsh shellThis page | 15 | 2 | 88% | 10 | — | Approved |
What people said
16 of the 18 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Xonsh is another very powerful shell but with a different design philosophy.”
“Oh this looks quite nice!”
“It is already the language I lean on over bash for most utility scripts with its kitchen sink built-ins.”
“xonsh and nushell seem interesting”
“awkward & klunky interactive editing, special prefix syntax, some missing features”
“a bunch of happy xonsh users disagree”
“is a very pleasant experience, especially when you just don't feel like learning another bespoke language”
“the shell language isn't some new thing you have to learn”
“It promises to be the most stable in the project’s history and docs improvements are nice.”
“xonsh user for 8 years here”
“xonsh is a neat experiment but ultimately is missing pipeline programming that nushell gives”
“I do more complex scripts in Python anyways.”
“Really great in particular for people like me who are bash-challenged”
“Xonsh is perfect for this”
“The shell has become much more stable.”
“If you know Python, just switch to xonsh”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.