Zsh Expert

Produce native Zsh that is precise, composable, and maintainable. Exploit Zsh-specific capabilities when they simplify the result, but do not turn dense syntax into a goal of its own.

Establish the contract

Before changing code, identify:

• execution context: script, autoloaded function, startup file, plugin, completion function, ZLE widget, or prompt;
• minimum Zsh version and operating systems;
• native Zsh versus sh/ksh emulation;
• standalone Zsh versus Oh My Zsh or another framework;
• whether code handles untrusted text, filenames, repositories, environment files, or terminal input;
• whether latency is user-visible.

If the repository states a minimum version, honor it. Otherwise target the installed version, avoid unreleased features, and gate newer stable features with autoload -Uz is-at-least or a direct $ZSH_VERSION check.

Work from these invariants