Splitting a string with zsh

This is one of those transformations I know how to do with node, ruby, or even the command line, but that I always have to refer to Stack Overflow when attempting to do it with zsh.

Hopefully, writing this blog post (and referring to it later) will help me remember how to do it.

To split a string variables by a delimiter, one can use the (${(@s/X/)variableName}) syntax.

• The wrapping () means that the resulting variable will be treated as an array
• The ${} interpolation syntax allow passing specific modifiers
• The (@s/X/) modifier means to split it by the X character.

To split by the / character, you can use an alternate syntax like (@s:/:) instead. The character following the @s is part of the zsh syntax parsing, and the character between them will be your actual delimiter.