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Proxy command completion in zsh

Commands like sudo take other commands as input and run them in a specific context. I also have a command similar, called lazyloadNvm that runs nvm use when needed.

I wanted zsh to suggest completion for the passed commands instead of completion for the initial command (sudo or lazyloadNvm).

The solution was to create a _nvm-lazyload comdef file like this:

#compdef

function _nvm-lazyload() {
  # Remove the first word (lazyloadNvm)
  shift words
  # Update which word is currently being focused for tab completion
  (( CURRENT-- ))
  # Re-run completion with the new input
  _normal
}
  • shift words removes the first element of the words array (sudo git status becomes git status)
  • (( CURRENT-- )) decreases the index of the word focused by tab completion. Updating words doesn't automatically updates CURRENT
  • _normal re-runs the completion functions with the current words and CURRENT context.
#zsh