# How can I set my shell to irb?

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-can-i-set-my-shell-to-irb/148248>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [September 10, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-can-i-set-my-shell-to-irb/148248 "2008-09-10T22:23:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lpc2148)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-can-i-set-my-shell-to-irb/148248/1 "2008-09-10T22:23:17Z")

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Hi guys !

I’m running opensuse 11.0 . I would like to know 2 things :

1. is it possible to change my shell from bash to irb ? if so,how ? ( I  
tried chsh , but with no success )
2. is it possible to add methods to irb , by writing code in .irbrc ? If  
so , could I see an example ?

Thanks

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**Author:** ![lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lpc2148)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-can-i-set-my-shell-to-irb/148248/2 "2008-09-10T22:33:46Z")

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Lex W. wrote:

> Hi guys !
> 
> I’m running opensuse 11.0 . I would like to know 2 things :
> 
> 1. is it possible to change my shell from bash to irb ? if so,how ? ( I  
> tried chsh , but with no success )
> 2. is it possible to add methods to irb , by writing code in .irbrc ? If  
> so , could I see an example ?
> 
> Thanks

1. Try putting ‘exec /usr/bin/irb’ or equivalent into your current  
shell’s rc file. Is typing ‘irb’ really that painful? 🙂 Do you really  
countenance using irb as your main shell???
2. Here’s mine:

# load libraries

require ‘rubygems’  
require ‘wirble’

# start wirble (with color)

Wirble.init  
Wirble.colorize  
Wirble::Colorize.colors[:symbol\_prefix] = :green  
Wirble::Colorize.colors[:symbol] = :black

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lpc2148)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-can-i-set-my-shell-to-irb/148248/3 "2008-09-10T22:36:08Z")

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Lex W. wrote:

> Hi guys !
> 
> I’m running opensuse 11.0 . I would like to know 2 things :
> 
> 1. is it possible to change my shell from bash to irb ? if so,how ? ( I  
> tried chsh , but with no success )  
> You’ll need to add it to /etc/shells, otherwise chsh will not let you  
> change to it.

Phil

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**Author:** ![lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lpc2148)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-can-i-set-my-shell-to-irb/148248/4 "2008-09-10T23:05:25Z")

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1. 

echo ‘exec irb’ \>\> ~/.bashrc

1. 

npowell@delilah ~ $ grep -A 3 def .irbrc  
def test  
puts “Oh Hai!”  
end  
npowell@delilah ~ $ irb

> > test  
> > Oh Hai!

On Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 05:16:44AM +0900, Lex W. wrote:

> –  
> Posted via [http://www.ruby-forum.com/](http://www.ruby-forum.com/).

–  
nathan  
nathan\_at\_nathanpowell\_dot\_org

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those  
who have not got it.  
~ George Bernard Shaw

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**Author:** ![lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lpc2148)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-can-i-set-my-shell-to-irb/148248/5 "2008-09-11T15:31:42Z")

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This is interesting…

rush, a replacement for the unix shell (bash, zsh, etc) which uses  
pure Ruby syntax.

[http://rubyconf.org/talks/31](http://rubyconf.org/talks/31)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@lpc2148](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/lpc2148)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-can-i-set-my-shell-to-irb/148248/6 "2008-09-11T17:25:45Z")

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vim .bashrc

add  
irb

😉

On Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:16:44 +0900