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# Comparison

Xonsh is significantly different from most other shells or shell tools. The following table lists built in features and capabilities that various tools may or may not share.

| Bash | zsh | plumbum | fish | IPython | xonsh
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Meant as a shell | ✓ | ✓ |  | ✓ |  | ✓
Native cross-platform |  |  | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Practical language |  |  | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Typed variables and objects |  |  | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Syntax highlighting |  | ✓ |  | ✓ | ✓ | ✓
Large standard library |  | ✓ |  |  | ✓ | ✓
Stays readable at scale |  |  | ✓ |  |  | ✓
Testable |  |  | ✓ |  |  | ✓
User-patchable |  |  | ✓ |  |  | ✓
Package and deps manager |  |  |  |  |  | ✓
AI friendly |  |  |  |  |  | ✓
Rich history backend |  |  |  |  |  | ✓