How to Change Your Default Linux Shell Using the Terminal

Accessing the Terminal and Checking Current Shell

• 💻 Open the Terminal application to begin the process of changing your default shell.
• 💡 Use the command echo $SHELL to display your currently active shell.
• 🎯 For most users, the default shell is likely Bash, but this video demonstrates how to switch to another.

Identifying Available Shells

• 📄 To see all shells installed on your system, use the command cat /etc/shells.
• 🔍 This command lists the full paths to available shells, such as /usr/bin/sh or /usr/bin/zsh.

Changing Your Default Shell

• ⚙️ The command to change your shell is chsh -s, followed by the full path to your desired shell.
• 🔑 After entering the command, you will be prompted to enter your account password for authentication.
• ⚠️ Crucially, the change will not take effect until you log out of your current session and log back in.

Verifying the New Shell

• ✅ Once logged back in, open the Terminal again.
• 🔍 Re-run the echo $SHELL command to confirm that your default shell has been successfully updated to the one you selected.
• 👍 If the command shows the new shell path, the process was successful.