When using the Zsh shell in Linux, it’s common to customize the shell’s functionality by adding various plugins. These plugins can enhance productivity, provide additional features, or change the shell’s behavior. However, there may come a time when you want to remove unnecessary or outdated plugins from your Zsh configuration.

In this article, we will discuss the steps to remove Zsh plugins in Linux.

Step 1: Locate the Zsh Plugin

Before removing a plugin, it’s essential to know its location within your Zsh configuration. Zsh plugins are usually stored in the ~/.oh-my-zsh/plugins directory. However, depending on your configuration, they might be in a different location. You can check the ~/.zshrc file to see if any plugins are explicitly sourced.

$ vim ~/.zshrc

Look for lines that load plugins using the source or plugins directive, such as:

plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions)
source /path/to/some-plugin.zsh

Step 2: Remove the Plugin

Once you have identified the plugin you want to remove, you can proceed with the removal process. There are two common methods to remove Zsh plugins: disabling or deleting.

Method 1: Disabling the Plugin

Disabling a plugin means that it will no longer be loaded or executed by the Zsh shell. To disable a plugin, you need to comment out or remove the corresponding line that loads the plugin from the ~/.zshrc file.

For example, to disable the zsh-autosuggestions plugin, you can comment out or remove the line:

plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions)

Once you have made the changes, save the file and exit the editor.

Method 2: Deleting the Plugin

If you no longer need a plugin and want to completely remove it from your system, you can delete its associated files. The plugin files are typically stored in the ~/.oh-my-zsh/plugins directory.

To delete a plugin, navigate to the plugin’s directory and remove it using the rm command.

$ cd ~/.oh-my-zsh/plugins
$ rm -r plugin-name

Replace plugin-name with the actual name of the plugin you want to delete.

Step 3: Refresh the Zsh Configuration

After disabling or deleting the plugin, you need to refresh the Zsh configuration for the changes to take effect. You can do this by either restarting the terminal session or running the source command to reload the ~/.zshrc file.

$ source ~/.zshrc

These are the essential steps to remove Zsh plugins in Linux. By removing unnecessary plugins, you can keep your Zsh configuration clean and optimize the performance of your shell.

Remember to test your shell to ensure that the removed plugins do not cause any conflicts with other functionalities or break any scripts.