Installing Nushell on Windows via Scoop: Complete Guide
1. Environment Baseline
Before installing Nushell, ensure your system meets these requirements:
- OS: Windows 10 or Windows 11 (22H2+)
- Existing Shell: Git Bash (MINGW64)
- Target Shell: Nushell 0.113.1
- Package Manager: Scoop
- Network: Local proxy (e.g., 127.0.0.1:PORT)
2. Installation Steps
2.1 Install Scoop
In Git Bash, configure the proxy and run:
powershell.exe -Command "Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser -Force"
powershell.exe -Command "Invoke-RestMethod get.scoop.sh | Invoke-Expression"
2.2 Install Nushell
scoop install nu
3. Key Paths
| Item | Path |
|---|---|
| Scoop root | C:\Users\YourUserName\scoop\ |
| Nu binary | C:\Users\YourUserName\scoop\shims\nu.exe |
| Nu config | C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\nushell\config.nu |
4. Common Pitfalls
Pitfall 1: Shell Syntax Confusion
Don’t write PowerShell syntax ($env:...) in Git Bash. Use powershell.exe -Command to invoke PowerShell commands from Git Bash.
Pitfall 2: Proxy Not Working
Scoop relies on .NET’s WebRequest, which doesn’t read environment variables. Set both:
$proxy = New-Object System.Net.WebProxy('http://127.0.0.1:7897')
[System.Net.WebRequest]::DefaultWebProxy = $proxy
$env:HTTP_PROXY = 'http://127.0.0.1:7897'
Pitfall 3: Wrong Config File Path
On Windows, Nushell config is at %APPDATA%\nushell\config.nu, not ~/.config/nushell/. Use echo $nu.config-path to confirm.
Pitfall 4: Slow Download
Use a proxy and ensure the .NET proxy is also configured (see Pitfall 2).
5. Verification
nu --version
# Should output: 0.113.1 or similar