Linux change default shell

When I set up a new machine or a new user, changing from bash to zsh is one of the first things I do. chsh does it properly — it updates /etc/passwd so the change is permanent and applies to all login sessions, not just the current terminal.

Changing my shell to zsh

• Check if I have zsh installed

$ which zsh

/usr/bin/zsh

• Verify current logged-in user

$ whoami

testing

• Change shell for current logged-in user to zsh

$ sudo chsh -s $(which zsh) $(whoami)