claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [FEATURE] ! shell command mode doesn't load interactive ZSH plugins (zsh-autosuggestions, zsh-autocomplete)

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

In Claude Code's command-line mode (invoked by typing ! to run shell commands directly without AI), interactive ZSH plugins do not work. Specifically:

• zsh-autosuggestions: Typing a command prefix (e.g., ls) should show grey inline suggestions from history; pressing Right arrow accepts the suggestion; Up/Down arrows cycle through matching history entries
• zsh-autocomplete (brew install zsh-autocomplete): IDE-like real-time type-ahead completion that pops up as you type

These features work perfectly in a normal terminal session (iTerm2, Terminal.app, VS Code integrated terminal, etc.) but are completely absent in Claude Code's ! mode.

Current Behavior

When running shell commands via ! in Claude Code:

• No history-based inline suggestions appear while typing
• Up/Down arrows do not cycle through filtered history
• Right arrow does not accept inline suggestions
• The shell behaves as if ZSH plugins are not loaded

Expected Behavior

The ! command mode should behave like a normal interactive ZSH session, respecting the user's .zshrc configuration and loaded plugins (Oh My ZSH, zsh-autosuggestions, zsh-autocomplete, etc.).

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.145 (Claude Code)
• OS: macOS 26.3.1 (a) — Darwin 25.3.0, arm64 (Apple Silicon T6030)
• Shell: ZSH 5.9 (arm64-apple-darwin25.0)
• Framework: Oh My ZSH
• Enabled plugins in .zshrc: git
• Installed but relevant: - zsh-autosuggestions (in ~/.oh-my-zsh/plugins/)
  • zsh-autocomplete v25.03.19 (via Homebrew, currently commented out in .zshrc)
• Node.js: v22.22.0
• npm: 11.4.2

Proposed Solution

This issue affects users who rely on shell plugins for productivity. The ! mode is meant to be a quick way to run shell commands without leaving Claude Code, but the lack of plugin support makes it significantly less usable than a regular terminal for users with custom shell configurations.

Possible root cause: the ! command mode may be spawning a non-interactive shell (missing -i flag) or not sourcing the user's .zshrc/.zshenv, which prevents Oh My ZSH and its plugins from initializing. Ensuring the subprocess is started as an interactive login shell (e.g., zsh -i -l) may resolve this.

Alternative Solutions

No response

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

No response

Additional Context

No response