It combines features from both ksh and tcsh, offering functionality such as programmable command-line completion, extended file globbing, improved variable/array handling, and themeable prompts.

Zsh is available for Microsoft Windows as part of the UnxUtils collection and has been adopted as the default shell for macOS and Kali Linux.

The "Oh My Zsh" user community website provides a platform for third-party plug-ins and themes, featuring a large and active contributor base.

By the time of the release of version 1.0 in 1990 the aim was to be a cross between ksh and tcsh – a powerful "command and programming language" that is well-designed and logical (like ksh), but also built for humans (like tcsh), with all the neat features like spell checking, login/logout watching and termcap support that were "probably too weird to make it into an AT&T product".

[9] Zsh is available for Microsoft Windows as part of the UnxUtils collection of native Win32 ports of common GNU Unix-like utilities.