docs: add instructions for removing fish help abbreviations#3655
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Add documentation showing how to erase the fish abbreviations for --help and -h, since the dash-prefixed names make removal non-obvious. The key is using -- before the abbreviation name to prevent fish from interpreting it as a flag. Closes sharkdp#3536
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keith-hall
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Mar 26, 2026
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Maybe it is worth putting these instructions in a callout or something to separate it from the main flow, otherwise it doesn't quite feel like a natural placement for the new instructions, to me at least, it reads like "to remove the abbreviations later, do this. This way, you can keep on using cp --help, but get colorized help pages." (but removing abbreviations wouldn't allow this.)
Address review feedback from @keith-hall: wrap the abbreviation removal instructions in a GitHub callout (> [!TIP]) to visually separate them from the main setup flow. Also reorder so the 'This way, you can keep on using...' sentence follows directly after the abbreviation creation, improving readability.
keith-hall
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Mar 28, 2026
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Summary
Add documentation showing how to remove the fish abbreviations for
--helpand-hthat are suggested in the README's "Highlighting--helpmessages" section.Problem
As reported in #3536, once a user creates these abbreviations, removing them is non-obvious because the abbreviation names start with dashes. Running
abbr --erase --helpdoesn't work — fish interprets--helpas a flag toabbritself, showing help text instead of erasing the abbreviation.Solution
Add a small section showing the correct removal syntax:
The
--(end-of-options marker) before the abbreviation name prevents fish from interpreting the dash-prefixed name as a flag.Closes #3536