Introduction to Unix
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5.1. BASH Shell StartupΒΆ

  • When you first login and a BASH shell process is started, it reads two configuration files to set shell attributes and environment variable.

    • /etc/profile is set by the system administrator.
    • ~/.bash_profile is where the user can set customizations. This file usually focuses on environment variables. The .bash_profile script should normally source the ~/.bashrc file.

  • Child shells to the login shell will inherit exported environment variables. These shells will source ~/.bashrc, but not ~/.bash_profile. Aliases and shell options are normally set in ~/.bashrc.