Multiple ways to create permanent aliases

[spookybathtub]

On my mac, I have created some permanent aliases in the past, but I don't remember how. I can see them by typing

alias

But I don't see them in my ~/.profile, where I have stored some other aliases. Where else could they be? They are simple

alias c='clear'
alias ls='ls -lp'

[trevor]

Assuming that you're using bash:

/etc/profile
~/.bash_profile
~/.bash_login
~/.profile
For non-login shells: ~/.bashrc

Also, it could be in any file of any name that one of the above files calls.

Trevor

[spookybathtub]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am using bash. But of those files you listed, the only one that exists is ~/.profile. Are there any other places?

[cpragman]

In Lion, it seems like terminal doesn't load a fresh copy of .profile when the terminal
App is launched. That means that changes to .profile don't seem to take effect.

[jsalmi]

Quote: Originally Posted by cpragman In Lion, it seems like terminal doesn't load a fresh copy of .profile when the terminal App is launched. That means that changes to .profile don't seem to take effect.

Copy your .profile to .bash_profile (cp .profile .bash_profile). Mine is read each and every time I use Termninal.

[ganbustein]

Each time Terminal opens a new window, it launches a new instance of your default shell as an interactive login session. If your default shell is bash, that means it reads and executes the commands from /etc/profile (assuming it exists, as it should), and then looks for and executes one of ~/.bash_profile, ~/.bash_login, or ~/.profile. It only executes the first one of these that it finds, which can be perplexing if you have more than one of them. (In particular, it won't read ~/.profile if either of ~/.bash_profile or ~/.bash_login exists.) This is the way it's always been. It's not new with Leopard.

An interactive but non-login bash session invokes only

You can force other files to be read. For example, your ~/.bash_login file could contain:

if [ -r ~/.profile ] ; then . ~/.profile; fi

if you want ~/.profile to be read even though ~/.bash_login is present. It's probably less confusing, though, to minimize the number of startup files you create. Put in ~/.bashrc the stuff you want in all interactive bash sessions, be they login or not, and put in ~/.bash_login the stuff that only applies to login shells. (For example, it's only at login time that you need to futz around with $PATH.) Then make ~/.bash_login invoke ~/.bashrc.

~/.profile is primarily for sh login shells, but bash will use it if the more specific ~/.bash* files can't be found.

Non-interactive shells do not as a rule read any startup files. They inherit everything they need from the environment of their invoker. (Kinda has to be this way. A startup file is likely to invoke non-interactive shells, and you'd get into a horrible loop.)

[trevor]

Quote: Originally Posted by trevor Also, it could be in any file of any name that one of the above files calls.

Quote: Originally Posted by spookybathtub Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am using bash. But of those files you listed, the only one that exists is ~/.profile. Are there any other places?

Yes, it could be in any file of any name that ~/.profile calls. Can we see your ~/.profile?

Trevor

[trevor]

Quote: Originally Posted by ganbustein It's probably less confusing, though, to minimize the number of startup files you create. Put in ~/.bashrc the stuff you want in all interactive bash sessions, be they login or not, and put in ~/.bash_login the stuff that only applies to login shells. (For example, it's only at login time that you need to futz around with $PATH.) Then make ~/.bash_login invoke ~/.bashrc.

By the way, I agree with ganbustein above. Although having only a ~/.profile will work when you follow the rules, it's a sh shell file, not a bash file. My preferred method is a minimalist ~/.bash_profile that looks like this:

#------------------------
#
# $HOME/.bash_profile
# 
#------------------------

source $HOME/.bashrc

...and then I put all the important stuff into ~/.bashrc

Trevor