The tech community has long heralded Oh My Zsh as the ultimate framework for Zsh, boasting thousands of themes and plugins. However, a growing contingent of developers is arguing that for many users, this massive suite of tools is essentially bloatware.
The primary argument against Oh My Zsh centers on performance. Loading hundreds of plugins—even unused ones—can significantly slow down your shell startup time. For developers who live in the terminal, those extra milliseconds add up. Furthermore, modern Zsh (versions 5.1 and later) includes robust features out-of-the-box, such as intelligent autocompletion and syntax highlighting, which previously required third-party tools.
Adopting a minimalist configuration allows users to reclaim speed and deeply understand their shell environment. Rather than copying a pre-made .zshrc, configuring Zsh manually forces you to learn exactly what each function does. Ultimately, while Oh My Zsh lowers the barrier to entry, seasoned users are finding that a leaner, custom-tailored configuration offers a far snappier and more transparent development experience.
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