Changing a default Zsh completion function

Question

I noticed that tab completion for the source command in Zsh tries to complete a LOT of files. Maybe everything in $PATH? I tried using a blank .zshrc file to make sure it wasn't anything in there.

ubuntu% source d
zsh: do you wish to see all 109 possibilities (16 lines)?

I did find this file that seems to control that: /usr/share/zsh/functions/Completion/Zsh/_source

#compdef source .

if [[ CURRENT -ge 3 ]]; then
  compset -n 2
  _normal
else
  if [[ -prefix */ && ! -o pathdirs ]]; then
    _files
  elif [[ $service = . ]]; then
    _files -W path
  else
    _files -W "(. $path)"
  fi
fi

If I change the line in that last "else" statement from _files -W "(. $path)" to _files, it works the way I want it to. The tab completion only looks at files & directories in the current dir.

It doesn't seem like altering this file is the best way to go. I'd rather change something in my .zshrc file. But my knowledge of Zsh completions is a bit lacking and the searching I've done thus far hasn't led me to an answer for this.

Marlon Richert · Accepted Answer · 2021-06-02T07:46:45.677

1

Maybe everything in $PATH?

Yes, that is correct. It offers those, because source will search your the current dir and your $PATH for any file name you pass it.

To apply your change without modifying the original file, add this to your .zshrc file after calling compinit:

compdef '
if [[ CURRENT -ge 3 ]]; then
  compset -n 2
  _normal
else
  _files
fi
' source

This tells the completion system to use the inline function you specified for the command source (instead of the default function).

Alternatively, to see file completions for the current dir only, you can type

$ source ./<TAB>

edited Jun 02 '21 at 07:46

answered Jun 02 '21 at 07:34

Marlon Richert

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It looks like I'm not calling `compinit` in my `.zshrc` file at all. How should that be called? – Andrew Lamarra Jun 02 '21 at 16:59
Ahh, never mind. I just put `compinit` before that block and it works. Thank you! – Andrew Lamarra Jun 02 '21 at 17:06
1

If you're using, for example, Oh-My-Zsh or Ubuntu, then `compinit` will already get called automatically and you don't need to call it manually. – Marlon Richert Jun 03 '21 at 12:13
I'm using https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k Seems like it's called automatically there as well. – Andrew Lamarra Jun 03 '21 at 15:27
I don’t think so: https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k/search?q=compinit+&type= – Marlon Richert Jun 04 '21 at 05:23
Ahh, well this still works w/out calling compinit in my .zshrc file. – Andrew Lamarra Jun 04 '21 at 14:33
What operating system do you use? – Marlon Richert Jun 04 '21 at 20:18
Ubuntu/Arch Linux – Andrew Lamarra Jun 08 '21 at 01:10
Like I said, on Ubuntu, `compinit` gets called automatically: https://salsa.debian.org/debian/zsh/-/blob/debian/debian/zshrc#L106 – Marlon Richert Jun 08 '21 at 05:43
Oh thanks. I read that as "Oh-My-Zsh on Ubuntu" and not "Oh-My-Zsh or Ubuntu." – Andrew Lamarra Jun 08 '21 at 20:53

Changing a default Zsh completion function

1 Answers1