The default shell for the PMC domain is currently tcsh. PMC users are welcome to run any of the standard command line shells, and we understand that some users prefer different shells. Please note however, it would be impossible for our support group to:
Know all available shells
Know or understand all impacts (sometimes subtle) that selection of other shells may have on the system or on the operation of a specific software system
Therefore, selection of a shell besides our supported default shell may impacts the level of support you can expect to receive. For example, the bash shell is also well understood by us, but ksh, zsh, etc. are not and thus it would be more difficult for us to provide support for any problems you might encounter.
It is also important to note that many of the tools and software utilities that have been developed within the PMC domain are dependent on using tcsh, and thus workarounds may be necessary in order to make them function
To change your shell you must request that it be changed; users can not change their own shell. Once we process your request, the change will not take effect until you log out of any systems you are currently logged into. To put in this request, please email science-it@ucsc.edu.
If you need help with familiarizing yourself with different shells, please consider these resources: