In Unix, what startup and termination files do the various shells use?
Although not a comprehensive list, the following should provide you with a basic understanding of what startup and shutdown files the various Unix shells use.
Note: This information comes from the Unix
FAQ, which is posted regularly to the Usenet
newsgroups comp.unix.questions and
comp.unix.shell. You can obtain it by FTP from
rtfm.mit.edu in the /pub/usenet directory,
and on the web at:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/faq/
csh
Some versions have systemwide .cshrc and
.login files. Each version puts them in different
places.
| Startup (in this order): | Upon termination: | Others: |
|---|---|---|
.cshrc (always).login (login shells) |
.logout (login shells) |
.history (saves history based on "$savehist")
|
tcsh
| Startup (in this order): | Upon termination: | Others: |
|---|---|---|
/etc/csh.cshrc (always)/etc/csh.login
(login shells).tcshrc (always).cshrc
(if no .tcshrc file is present).login
(login shells) |
.logout (login shells) |
.history (saves history based on
"$savehist").cshdirs (saves directory stack)
|
sh
| Startup (in this order): | Upon termination: |
|---|---|
/etc/profile (login shells).profile
(login shells) |
Any command or script specified using the command: trap "command" 0 |
ksh
| Startup (in this order): | Upon termination: |
|---|---|
/etc/profile (login shells).profile
(login shells)$ENV (always, if it is set)
|
Any command or script specified using the command: trap "command" 0 |
bash
| Startup (in this order): | Upon termination: | Others: |
|---|---|---|
/etc/profile (login
shells).bash_profile (login
shells).profile (login if no
.bash_profile file is present).bashrc
(interactive non-login shells)$ENV (non-interactive
shells) |
.bash_logout (login shells) |
.inputrc (readline initialization)
|
zsh
| Startup (in this order): | Upon termination: |
|---|---|
.zshenv (always, unless the
-f option is
specified).zprofile (login
shells).zshrc (interactive shells, unless the
-f option is
specified).zlogin (login shells) |
.zlogout (login shells)
|
rc
Startup (in this order):
.rcrc (login shells)
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Last modified on August 22, 2008.
Last modified on August 22, 2008.
