Zoxide Setup

Install and configure zoxide - a smarter cd command that learns your habits.

What is Zoxide?

Say: "Zoxide remembers the directories you visit. Instead of typing long paths, just type part of the name:"

bash

# Instead of:
cd ~/Developer/work/my-awesome-project

# Just type:
z project
# or even:
z awesome

Say: "It learns which directories you use most and jumps to the best match."

Step 1: Install

bash

brew install zoxide

Ask: "Did it install successfully?"

Step 2: Add to Shell

Say: "Add zoxide to your shell config. Run:"

bash

echo 'eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Ask: "Done? Let's verify it works."

Step 3: First Use

Say: "Zoxide needs to learn your directories first. Visit a few:"

bash

cd ~/Developer
cd ~/Documents
cd ~/Downloads
cd ~

Say: "Now try jumping back:"

bash

z dev      # Should jump to ~/Developer
z doc      # Should jump to ~/Documents or ~/Downloads

Ask: "Did it jump to the right place?"

Step 4: Interactive Mode

Say: "If there are multiple matches, use interactive mode:"

bash

zi doc

Say: "This opens fzf to let you choose between matches (Documents vs Downloads)."

Ask: "Try zi with an ambiguous term."

Step 5: How It Works

Say: "Zoxide scores directories based on:"

•Frecency = Frequency + Recency
•Directories you visit often score higher
•Recently visited directories score higher

Say: "The more you use it, the smarter it gets."

Commands Reference

code

z <query>     Jump to best match
zi <query>    Interactive selection (fzf)
z -           Jump to previous directory
zoxide query  See what z would match
zoxide edit   Manually edit the database

Pro Tips

Say: "Some power-user tricks:"

Multiple keywords:

bash

z work project api    # Matches path containing all three

Exclude paths:

bash

z project --exclude ~/old-projects

Check what would match:

bash

zoxide query project --list

Wrap Up

Say: "That's it! The key command is just z <partial-name>"

Say: "It takes a day or two to build up the database, but then it's magical. You'll never type long paths again."

Ask: "Any questions about zoxide?"