Ghostty Vibe Coding Stack

A complete terminal-based AI coding environment for macOS (Apple Silicon). Replaces heavy IDEs with lightweight, composable tools for Claude Code / AI-assisted development.

Setup Workflow

Follow these steps in order. Skip steps where the tool is already installed.

Copy this checklist and track progress:

Setup Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Pre-flight checks
- [ ] Step 2: Install Ghostty
- [ ] Step 3: Install CLI tools
- [ ] Step 4: Install fonts
- [ ] Step 5: Configure Ghostty
- [ ] Step 6: Configure Fish shell
- [ ] Step 7: Install Fish plugins
- [ ] Step 8: Configure lazygit
- [ ] Step 9: Configure yazi
- [ ] Step 10: Install Neovim + LazyVim
- [ ] Step 11: Set Ghostty as default terminal
- [ ] Step 12: Validate and verify

Step 1: Pre-flight Checks

Verify prerequisites before starting:

bash

# Check macOS and architecture
uname -m  # expect: arm64
sw_vers --productVersion  # expect: 13.0+

# Check Homebrew
brew --version || echo "Homebrew not installed — install from https://brew.sh"

If Homebrew is missing, install it:

bash

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Check what is already installed to skip redundant steps:

bash

for cmd in ghostty fish yazi lazygit nvim fzf zoxide atuin fd rg bat delta; do
  printf "%-10s: " "$cmd"
  which $cmd 2>/dev/null || echo "not installed"
done

Step 2: Install Ghostty

Check if Ghostty is already installed:

bash

ls /Applications/Ghostty.app 2>/dev/null && echo "Ghostty installed" || echo "Not installed"

If not installed:

bash

brew install --cask ghostty

Step 3: Install CLI Tools

Install all tools in one command (already-installed tools are skipped automatically):

bash

brew install fish yazi lazygit neovim fzf zoxide atuin fd ripgrep bat git-delta

Step 4: Install Fonts

Ask the user which font setup they prefer before installing:

Option A: CJK-optimized (recommended for Chinese/Japanese/Korean users)

bash

brew install --cask font-maple-mono-nf-cn font-sarasa-gothic font-jetbrains-mono-nerd-font

Option B: Latin-only (English-primary users)

bash

brew install --cask font-jetbrains-mono-nerd-font

Step 5: Configure Ghostty

Read the complete config template from references/ghostty-config.md.

Before writing, ask the user about preferences:

Theme: Run
```
ghostty +list-themes
```
to show options. Popular: Monokai Vivid, Rose Pine, TokyoNight Storm, Catppuccin Mocha
Transparency: Whether to enable background opacity (some users prefer fully opaque)
Font size: Default 15, adjust for their display

Write config to

~/.config/ghostty/config

bash

mkdir -p ~/.config/ghostty

After writing, ALWAYS validate:

bash

ghostty +validate-config

If validation shows theme errors, the theme name likely needs exact casing. Check with

ghostty +list-themes | grep -i <name>

Step 6: Configure Fish Shell

Read the complete config template from references/fish-config.md.

bash

grep -q "$(which fish)" /etc/shells || echo "$(which fish)" | sudo tee -a /etc/shells

Write config to

~/.config/fish/config.fish

bash

mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/{completions,conf.d,functions}

Import existing shell history into atuin:

bash

fish -c "atuin import auto"

Step 7: Install Fish Plugins

Check if Fisher (plugin manager) is installed:

bash

fish -c "type fisher" 2>/dev/null || fish -c "curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jorgebucaran/fisher/main/functions/fisher.fish | source && fisher install jorgebucaran/fisher"

Install Tide prompt:

bash

fish -c "fisher install IlanCosman/tide@v6"

Step 8: Configure lazygit

Read the complete config template from references/lazygit-config.md.

The reference includes color themes for Monokai, TokyoNight, and Rose Pine. Match the lazygit theme to whichever Ghostty theme the user chose in Step 5.

Write config to

~/.config/lazygit/config.yml

bash

mkdir -p ~/.config/lazygit

Step 9: Configure yazi

Read the complete config template from references/yazi-config.md.

Write config to

~/.config/yazi/yazi.toml

bash

mkdir -p ~/.config/yazi

Step 10: Install Neovim + LazyVim

Check if nvim config already exists:

bash

ls ~/.config/nvim/init.lua 2>/dev/null && echo "Nvim config exists — skip or backup first" || echo "No config"

If no existing config:

bash

git clone https://github.com/LazyVim/starter ~/.config/nvim && rm -rf ~/.config/nvim/.git

If config exists, ask the user whether to backup and replace or skip.

Tell the user: first time opening

nvim

, LazyVim auto-installs all plugins — wait about 30 seconds.

Step 11: Set Ghostty as Default Terminal (Optional)

Ask the user if they want Ghostty to replace their current default terminal in Finder's "Open in Terminal".

If yes, compile and run the Swift helper:

bash

cat << 'SWIFT' > /tmp/set_default_terminal.swift
import CoreServices
let result = LSSetDefaultRoleHandlerForContentType(
    "public.unix-executable" as CFString, .shell,
    "com.mitchellh.ghostty" as CFString)
print(result == 0 ? "Success: Ghostty set as default terminal" : "Failed: \(result)")
SWIFT
swiftc /tmp/set_default_terminal.swift -o /tmp/set_default_terminal && /tmp/set_default_terminal
rm -f /tmp/set_default_terminal.swift /tmp/set_default_terminal

Step 12: Validate and Verify

Run final verification:

bash

echo "=== Tool Versions ==="
for cmd in fish yazi lazygit nvim fzf zoxide atuin fd rg bat delta; do
  printf "%-10s: " "$cmd"
  $cmd --version 2>&1 | head -1
done

echo ""
echo "=== Ghostty Config ==="
ghostty +validate-config 2>&1 || echo "Config OK (no output = no errors)"

echo ""
echo "=== Fish Shell ==="
fish -c "echo Fish is working"

Present the user with a summary of what was installed and configured, plus the quick reference below.

Quick Reference

Alias	Command
`y`	yazi (file manager)
`yy`	yazi with cd-on-exit
`lg`	lazygit
`v`	nvim
`cc`	claude
`z <keyword>`	zoxide smart cd

Ghostty Shortcut	Action
`Cmd+D`	Vertical split
`Cmd+Shift+D`	Horizontal split
`Cmd+Alt+Arrow`	Navigate splits
Ctrl+`	Quick Terminal (global)

Fish Key	Action
`Tab`	Accept autosuggestion
`Alt+Tab`	Accept one word
`→`	Completion menu
`Ctrl+R`	History search (atuin)

Troubleshooting

Theme names require exact casing with spaces:

Wrong:
```
rose-pine
```
,
```
tokyo-night
```
Correct:
```
Rose Pine
```
,
```
TokyoNight Storm
```
List available:
```
ghostty +list-themes
```
Validate config:
```
ghostty +validate-config
```

Cmd+V does not paste images into Claude Code (Ghostty bug, Discussion #10117):

Use
```
Ctrl+V
```
instead, or drag-and-drop image files

Fish key binding syntax differs from Zsh:

Wrong:
```
bind -k right complete
```
(
```
-k
```
is zsh syntax)
Correct:
```
bind right complete
```
Also override raw escape:
```
bind \e\[C complete
```

Chinese text too large or misaligned:

Add CJK font as first
```
font-family
```
entry
Set
```
adjust-cell-height = 20%
```

List available fonts:

ghostty +list-fonts

List available themes:

ghostty +list-themes

configuring-ghostty-vibe-stack

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Ghostty Vibe Coding Stack

Setup Workflow

Step 1: Pre-flight Checks

Step 2: Install Ghostty

Step 3: Install CLI Tools

Step 4: Install Fonts

Step 5: Configure Ghostty

Step 6: Configure Fish Shell

Step 7: Install Fish Plugins

Step 8: Configure lazygit

Step 9: Configure yazi

Step 10: Install Neovim + LazyVim

Step 11: Set Ghostty as Default Terminal (Optional)

Step 12: Validate and Verify

Quick Reference

Troubleshooting