diff --git a/.zshrc b/.zshrc
index e69efa9..b1dc67b 100644
--- a/.zshrc
+++ b/.zshrc
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ alias clare="clear"
 alias cleae="clear"
 alias clera="clear"
 alias hotp="htop"
+grep --color=auto < /dev/null &>/dev/null && alias grep='grep --color=auto'
 #paths and environment
 fpath=(~/.zsh/completions $fpath)
 export PATH=$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH
diff --git a/.zshrc.root b/.zshrc.root
index 3787a28..e95f15d 100644
--- a/.zshrc.root
+++ b/.zshrc.root
@@ -26,3 +26,4 @@ export MANPATH=/usr/pkg/man:$MANPATH
 
 #aliases for root
 alias ..='echo "cd .."; cd ../'
+grep --color=auto < /dev/null &>/dev/null && alias grep='grep --color=auto'