Nushell Fundamentals

Nushell Fundamentals

Comprehensive reference for core Nushell language patterns, syntax, and best practices. Nushell treats data as structured tables rather than text streams, enabling type-safe pipelines and powerful data manipulation.

Core Philosophy

Nushell follows the Unix philosophy with modern enhancements:

• Everything is data - Commands return structured tables, records, and lists
• Pipelines are typed - Data flows with known shapes between commands
• Errors are values - Explicit error handling, not silent failures
• Help is built-in - Every command has discoverable documentation

Data Types

Primitive Types

Structured Types

Type Annotations

Annotate function parameters and return types for safety:

def greet [name: string] -> string {
    $"Hello, ($name)!"
}

def add [a: int, b: int] -> int {
    $a + $b
}

# Optional parameters with defaults
def connect [host: string, --port: int = 8080] {
    # ...
}

# Rest parameters
def sum [...nums: int] -> int {
    $nums | math sum
}

Pipelines

Basic Pipeline Flow

# Data flows left to right through pipes
ls | where size > 1mb | sort-by modified | first 5

# Each stage receives the output of the previous
open data.json | get users | where active == true

Pipeline Input/Output

Commands declare their pipeline signature:

• Input type - What data the command accepts
• Output type - What data the command produces

# nothing -> table<name, size, modified>
ls

# table -> table (filters rows)
where size > 1mb

# any -> any (transforms each element)
each { |it| $it.name | str upcase }

Spreading into Pipelines

Use spread operator for multiple values:

[...[1, 2], ...[3, 4]] # [1, 2, 3, 4]
{...{a: 1}, ...{b: 2}} # {a: 1, b: 2}

Custom Commands

Basic Definition

# Simple command
def hello [] {
    "Hello, World!"
}

# With typed parameters
def greet [name: string] {
    print $"Hello, ($name)!"
}

Flags and Options

def fetch-data [
    url: string           # Required positional
    --format: string      # Optional flag with value
    --verbose (-v)        # Boolean flag with short form
    --timeout: duration = 30sec  # Flag with default
] {
    # Implementation
}

# Usage: fetch-data https://api.example.com --format json -v

Documentation

# Fetch data from a URL
#
# Returns the response body parsed according to format.
#
# Examples:
#   fetch-data https://api.example.com
#   fetch-data https://api.example.com --format json --verbose
def fetch-data [
    url: string           # The URL to fetch
    --format: string      # Response format (json, text, binary)
    --verbose (-v)        # Enable verbose output
] -> any {
    # Implementation
}

Closures

Syntax

# Explicit parameter
let double = {|x| $x * 2}

# Using $in for implicit input
let double = { $in * 2 }

# Multiple parameters
let add = {|a, b| $a + $b}

Common Uses

# Iteration
[1, 2, 3] | each { |n| $n * 2 }

# Filtering
ls | where { |f| $f.size > 1mb }

# Reduction
[1, 2, 3, 4] | reduce { |acc, x| $acc + $x }

# Transformation
{name: "test", value: 42} | update value { |r| $r.value * 2 }

Modules

Creating a Module

# math-utils.nu
export def double [n: int] -> int {
    $n * 2
}

export def square [n: int] -> int {
    $n * $n
}

# Private (not exported)
def helper [] {
    # Internal use only
}

Using Modules

# Import entire module
use math-utils.nu

# Import specific commands
use math-utils.nu [double, square]

# Import with prefix
use math-utils.nu *

Module Constants

# config.nu
export const VERSION = "1.0.0"
export const API_URL = "https://api.example.com"

Overlays

Overlays provide scoped environments that can be added/removed:

# Create overlay from module
overlay use ./my-env.nu

# List active overlays
overlay list

# Remove overlay
overlay hide my-env

# Create named overlay
overlay new dev-env

# Add commands to current overlay
def my-cmd [] { "hello" }

Overlay Use Cases

• Development environments - Different tool versions
• Project-specific configs - Custom commands per project
• Feature flags - Enable/disable functionality

Control Flow

Conditionals

if $condition {
    # true branch
} else if $other {
    # else if branch
} else {
    # false branch
}

# Match expressions
match $value {
    "a" => "got a"
    "b" | "c" => "got b or c"
    $x if $x > 10 => "big number"
    _ => "default"
}

Loops

# For loop
for item in [1, 2, 3] {
    print $item
}

# While loop
mut counter = 0
while $counter < 10 {
    $counter = $counter + 1
}

# Loop with break/continue
loop {
    if $condition { break }
    continue
}

Error Handling

# Try/catch
try {
    risky-operation
} catch { |err|
    print $"Error: ($err.msg)"
}

# Propagate errors
def safe-divide [a: int, b: int] -> int {
    if $b == 0 {
        error make { msg: "Division by zero" }
    }
    $a / $b
}

Variables and Scope

Immutable by Default

let name = "value"        # Immutable
mut counter = 0           # Mutable
const PI = 3.14159        # Compile-time constant

Environment Variables

$env.MY_VAR = "value"     # Set
$env.MY_VAR               # Read
$env.MY_VAR?              # Read with null fallback
hide-env MY_VAR           # Remove

Scope Rules

let outer = "outer"
do {
    let inner = "inner"    # Scoped to block
    print $outer           # Can access outer
}
# $inner not accessible here

String Interpolation

let name = "world"
$"Hello, ($name)!"              # Interpolated string
$"Math: (2 + 2)"                # Expressions work
$"Today: (date now | format date '%Y-%m-%d')"  # Pipelines work

# Raw strings (no interpolation)
r#'Hello, ($name)!'#            # Literal: Hello, ($name)!

Help System

Access built-in documentation:

help commands              # List all commands
help modules               # List modules
help operators             # Operator reference
help escapes               # Escape sequences
help pipe-and-redirect     # Pipeline syntax

help ls                    # Specific command help
help str                   # Subcommand category

Additional Resources

Reference Files

For detailed patterns and advanced techniques:

• references/patterns.md - Idiomatic Nushell patterns
• references/configuration.md - Complete $env.config reference (from config nu --doc)
• references/type-system.md - Complete type system reference
• references/module-patterns.md - Module organization patterns

Example Files

Working examples in examples/:

• basic-script.nu - Simple script template
• custom-command.nu - Command definition patterns
• module-example/ - Complete module structure

Scripts

Utility scripts in scripts/:

• validate-syntax.nu - Validate .nu file syntax

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