Custom Bash Prompt

An advanced and highly configurable bash prompt with memory, CPU, temperature, Git, Conda display and more.

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Preview

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File Structure

~/.bash_prompt     ← main prompt script
~/.color           ← ANSI color definitions

Installation

git clone https://github.com/Minard-Jules/My_prompt.git
mv My_prompt/.bash_prompt ~/
mv My_prompt/.color ~/
rm -rf My_prompt

Activation

Add the following line at the end of ~/.bashrc:

if [ -f ~/.bash_prompt ]; then
    . ~/.bash_prompt
fi

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Configuration

All options are located at the top of the ~/.bash_prompt file:

# ── Display ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
__show_memory_usage=true    # Display memory usage
__show_cpu_usage=false      # Display CPU usage
__show_cpu_temp=false       # Display CPU temperature

# ── Memory Unit ──────────────────────────────────────────────
__memory_unit="MiB"         # Display unit (see table)
__memory_unit_fr=true       # Use French units

# ── CPU Smoothing ────────────────────────────────────────────
__cpu_history_size=5        # Moving average window

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Available Memory Units

Base 1024 — IEC

Value	English	French
B	B	o
KiB	KiB	Kio
MiB	MiB	Mio
GiB	GiB	Gio

Base 1000 — SI

Value	English	French
KB	KB	Ko
MB	MB	Mo
GB	GB	Go

Bits

Value	Unit
bits	bits
Kbits	Kbits
Mbits	Mbits
Gbits	Gbits

Values read from /proc/meminfo are in KiB (base 1024), despite the kB notation used by the Linux kernel.

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Features

Line 1 — System Information

Element	Description
 /  / 	Distribution logo (Debian / Ubuntu / Arch)
user@hostname	Current user — red if root, black otherwise
14:32:05	Current time
 3840/7887Mio 48%	RAM used / total + percentage (if enabled)
󰍛 12%	Moving average CPU load (if enabled)
55°C	CPU temperature (if enabled)
󱦟 2.03s	Last command duration
 master	Current Git branch (if in a repository)
⚙ 2	Number of background jobs (if > 0)
• / • (ERROR 1)	Return code — green if success, red if error

• distribution

• RAM and CPU

Git

git.mp4

• Jobs and exit code

exit code

error.mp4

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Line 2 — Current Directory

Displays the path of the working directory.

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Line 3 — Environment & Symbol

Element	Description
	No active environment
 base	Base Conda environment
󱈚 Fortran_env	Fortran environment
 Python_env	Python environment
 C_env	C environment
 Cpp_env	C++ environment
$ / #	User symbol — $ normal, # root

Conda env

conda_env.mp4

Root

root.mp4

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Execution Time

The execution time of the last command is measured accurately and automatically formatted based on duration:

Duration	Format	Example
< 1 second	ms	423ms
< 1 minute	s	12.34s
< 1 hour	min:sec	2m05s
≥ 1 hour	h:min:sec	1h02m30s

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Memory Usage

Real-time reading from /proc/meminfo:

RAM used = MemTotal - MemAvailable

MemAvailable is used (not MemFree) because it accounts for caches that can be reclaimed by the system.

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CPU Load

• Calculated from /proc/stat between each prompt display
• Moving average over the last cpu_history_size readings
• 3% update threshold to avoid spurious variations
• Early readings won't be displayed until the history is full

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CPU Temperature

Read from /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp. Automatically ignored if the file doesn't exist (virtual machine, etc.).

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Git Integration

Displays the current Git branch if the directory is a Git repository. Branch caching in update_prompt_data avoids a double git call per prompt display.

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Conda Environments

Automatic detection of $CONDA_DEFAULT_ENV with dedicated icons per environment. Easily extensible for new environments.

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Dependencies

Tool	Usage	Optional
bash ≥ 4.0	Arrays, (( ))	No
git	Current branch	Yes
awk	Reading /proc/meminfo	No
bc	Decimal calculations (GiB, MB…)	No
conda	Virtual environments	Yes
Nerd Fonts	Prompt icons	No

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🔤 Recommended Font

Icons require a Nerd Fonts font.

Recommended fonts:

• Cascadia Mono Nerd Font
• JetBrainsMono Nerd Font
• FiraCode Nerd Font
• Hack Nerd Font