ion

name	ion
description	Use when working with ion shell internals — completion system, Liner library, Completer trait, IonCompleter, IonFileCompleter, MultiCompleter, CursorPosition, quoting/expansion, execution model, startup files, initrc, keybindings, prompt hooks, or ion-plugins. Triggers on: "ion", "ion shell", "ion completion", "IonCompleter", "IonFileCompleter", "MultiCompleter", "Completer trait", "redox_liner", "liner", "initrc", "ion-plugins", "CompletionType", "CursorPosition", "keybindings vi", "keybindings emacs", "fn PROMPT", "^>", "^|", "&>", "&|", "let", "sigil", "$sigil", "@sigil".
user-invocable	true

Ion Shell In-Depth Reference

Comprehensive reference for ion shell internals, with emphasis on the completion system and how external tools hook into it.

Sub-Resources

Load the reference that matches your task. When in doubt, load multiple references.

Keywords	Reference
IonCompleter, IonFileCompleter, MultiCompleter, Completer trait, CompletionType, CursorPosition, BeforeComplete event, filename_completion, escape/unescape, command completion, variable completion, file completion, PATH scanning, tab completion, completion cycling, completion display, nospace, carapace ion integration, JSON suggestion format	references/completion.md
Liner, redox_liner, Editor, Context, KeyMap, KeyBindings, emacs mode, vi mode, key bindings, Tab, Ctrl+F, autosuggestion, history, Buffer, word divider, get_buffer_words, print_completion_list, complete() method, read_line()	references/line-editing.md
ion syntax, variables, arrays, let, sigils, $, @, type system, string methods, array methods, slicing, brace expansion, command substitution, process substitution, quoting, single quotes, double quotes, escape sequences, functions, fn, control flow, if, for, while, matches, test, redirection, ^>, ^	, &>, &
execution, subshell, background jobs, fg, bg, jobs, disown, wait, signals, exit status, &&,
initrc, XDG_CONFIG_HOME, startup files, keybindings, set -o, history configuration, HISTFILE, HISTORY_IGNORE, PROMPT function, color namespace, env namespace, aliases, environment variables, ion-plugins	references/startup-config.md

Quick Guide

• How does ion's completion system work? → references/completion.md
• How does the Liner library handle tab completion? → references/line-editing.md
• What are the ion language syntax and quoting rules? → references/language.md
• How does ion handle job control and signals? → references/execution.md
• Which startup files does ion read? → references/startup-config.md
• How does carapace integrate with ion? → references/completion.md
• Can I add custom completions to ion? → references/completion.md
• How do I configure vi/emacs keybindings? → references/startup-config.md
• How do I customize the prompt? → references/startup-config.md
• What are the $ and @ sigils? → references/language.md
• How does stderr piping (^|, ^>) work? → references/language.md

Cross-Project References

For carapace-specific ion integration (snippet, value formatting), see the carapace-dev skill → references/shell.md (ion is listed as a secondary shell).