diff --git a/lib/utils/config.js b/lib/utils/config.js
index 9af6289ffa0f4..f9de6e9a79220 100644
--- a/lib/utils/config.js
+++ b/lib/utils/config.js
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ const editor = process.env.EDITOR ||
   (isWindows ? 'notepad.exe' : 'vi')
 
 const shell = isWindows ? process.env.ComSpec || 'cmd'
-  : process.env.SHELL || 'bash'
+  : process.env.SHELL || 'sh'
 
 const { tmpdir, networkInterfaces } = require('os')
 const getLocalAddresses = () => {
diff --git a/test/lib/utils/config.js b/test/lib/utils/config.js
index 293e68c00449d..e8133eecb24f1 100644
--- a/test/lib/utils/config.js
+++ b/test/lib/utils/config.js
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ t.test('no shell on posix', t => {
     '@npmcli/ci-detect': () => false,
     '../../../lib/utils/is-windows.js': false
   })
-  t.equal(config.defaults.shell, 'bash')
+  t.equal(config.defaults.shell, 'sh')
   t.end()
 })