starship/starship

Right and continuation prompts

Two render targets that complement the standard left prompt: the right prompt (printed flush-right on the same line as the input) and the continuation prompt (printed when the shell needs more input on a multi-line command).

Right prompt

right_format = "[$cmd_duration]($style)"

Rendered when the shell calls starship prompt --right. Configuration:

right_format on StarshipRootConfig — the format string.
The render target is Target::Right.
After rendering, all newlines are stripped (buf = buf.replace('\n', "") in print::get_prompt).

Shell-specific wiring

Shell	How
Bash	Bash has no native right prompt. Starship's bash init computes the rendered string into a variable but does not print it; users wire it up with their own escape sequences.
Zsh	Sets `RPROMPT="$(starship prompt --right ...)"`.
Fish	Defines `fish_right_prompt` that calls `starship prompt --right ...`.
PowerShell	Custom logic that uses `$PSStyle` and cursor positioning to print the right prompt then return the cursor.
Nushell	Sets `PROMPT_COMMAND_RIGHT`.

Less mainstream shells (ion, elvish, tcsh) typically don't expose a right prompt; the init scripts skip it.

Continuation prompt

continuation_prompt = "[∙](bright-black) "

Rendered when the shell calls starship prompt --continuation. The default is [∙](bright-black) , defined on StarshipRootConfig. The render target is Target::Continuation.

Shell support

Shell	How
Bash	`PS2="$(starship prompt --continuation)"`.
Zsh	`PROMPT2="$(starship prompt --continuation)"`.
Fish	Defines `fish_prompt_continuation` (relatively new feature in fish).
PowerShell	Heuristic detection from the previous line ending (backtick or open brace).

Each init script in src/init/starship.<shell> shows the exact wiring.

Behavior differences

Target::Continuation takes a different path through load_formatter_and_modules:

if context.target == Target::Continuation {
    let formatter = StringFormatter::new(&config.continuation_prompt);
    // ...
}

It does not descend into format or right_format, and does not run modules unless they are explicitly referenced in continuation_prompt. The default [∙](bright-black) has no modules, so the continuation prompt is essentially zero-cost.

If the format string is unparseable, the renderer falls back to > (literal) instead of erroring out — same as for other targets.

Newline behavior

Target	Newline rule
`Main`	Adds a leading newline if `add_newline = true` (default).
`Right`	Strips all newlines after rendering.
`Continuation`	Skips the leading newline (it would break the shell's continuation).
`Profile(_)`	Adds a leading newline if `add_newline = true` (same as `Main`).

The logic is in get_prompt:

if config.add_newline && context.target != Target::Continuation {
    writeln!(buf).unwrap();
}

Practical examples

A two-line prompt with a right-side timer:

add_newline = true
format = """
$directory$git_branch$git_status
$character"""
right_format = "[$cmd_duration]($style)"
continuation_prompt = "[∙](bright-black) "

[cmd_duration]
min_time = 200

A minimal right prompt that disappears under load:

[cmd_duration]
disabled = false