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Oil Shell

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A modern Unix shell and programming language for systems programming.

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Tracked since2026
0 reviews tracked

The Bottom Line

Entry price

Free, no paid tier

Biggest pro

Preserves historical project information and development logs

Biggest con

No new content or updates are posted on this domain after 2024

TL;DR - Oil Shell

  • A modern Unix shell and programming language.
  • Designed for improved systems programming and scripting.
  • Aims to replace traditional shells like Bash with better features.
Pricing: Free forever
Best for: Individuals & startups

What is Oil Shell?

Editorial review
Oils, formerly known as Oil Shell, is a new Unix shell and programming language designed for systems programming. It aims to be a better shell for the 21st century, combining the strengths of traditional Unix shells like Bash with modern programming language features. Oils is intended for developers, system administrators, and anyone who works extensively with the command line and shell scripting, offering improved reliability, readability, and maintainability for shell scripts. The project has been under development since 2016 and recently transitioned its primary domain to oils.pub. The oilshell.org site serves as an archive for its earlier blog posts and releases. Oils seeks to address the well-known pitfalls and complexities of existing shell languages, providing a more robust and predictable environment for automation and system tasks.

Available on: Linux, macOS

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Preserves historical project information and development logs
  • Offers access to past software releases for archival or reference purposes
  • Provides context for the evolution of the 'Oils for Unix' project
  • Ensures continuity of access to older documentation and discussions
  • Acts as a stable, indefinite archive for the original 'Oil Shell' content

Cons

  • No new content or updates are posted on this domain after 2024
  • Does not reflect the current state or future development of the 'Oils for Unix' project
  • Requires users to navigate to a different domain (oils.pub) for current information

Key Features

Hosts blog posts from 2016-2024Provides access to releases from 2017-2024Serves as an archive for the 'Oil Shell' projectDocuments the history of the project before its renaming to 'Oils for Unix'Maintains historical content related to the 'Oil Shell' development

Pricing

Free

Oil Shell is completely free to use with no hidden costs.

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Oil Shell FAQ

Why did the project rename from 'Oil Shell' to 'Oils'?

The project was renamed to 'Oils' or 'Oils for Unix' to reflect its evolution and broader scope. This change coincided with the move to the oils.pub domain in 2025.

What content will remain accessible on oilshell.org after the move to oils.pub?

The oilshell.org domain will continue to host historical content indefinitely. This includes all blog posts and releases published between 2016 and 2024.

When did the project transition its primary website to oils.pub?

The project transitioned its primary website from oilshell.org to oils.pub in 2025. This move marked a new phase for the 'Oils for Unix' project.

Will new releases and blog posts be published on oilshell.org?

No, new releases and blog posts will not be published on oilshell.org. This domain will serve as an archive for content from 2016-2024, with new content appearing on oils.pub.

What is the date range for the releases archived on oilshell.org?

The oilshell.org site archives releases published between 2017 and 2024. All releases within this timeframe will remain accessible on the original domain.

Source: oilshell.org

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