Where is my .bashrc?

cameranerd74 · 04-29-2005, 12:11 PM

Okay, maybe I'm asking a stupid question.. but where is my .bashrc file? It is not in ~/, it's not in /bin or /usr or /usr/bin or /etc. Just wondering. Thanks.

hayne · 04-29-2005, 12:32 PM

If you haven't created it, it doesn't exist.
OS X does not supply default versions of the "dot" files for shells.
You need to create it (with any plain text editor - e.g. 'pico') with the content that you want. And it must be at the top level of your home folder:
~/.bashrc

But note also that bash doesn't read ~/.bashrc for "login shells" (which is what you get when you open a new Terminal window) - it reads ~/.profile
This is all explained in the bash man page - under "startup files" or something like that.

voldenuit · 04-29-2005, 12:34 PM

If it's not in your home's root, you don't have one.

The only other sensible place to look for system-wide files of that kind would be in /etc where there wouldn't be a leading dot to such a file.

locate somestrangefileyouthinkyouhave

is pretty a pretty handy command for this kind of thing.

cameranerd74 · 04-29-2005, 06:00 PM

Thanks for the help guys. Maybe I should explain what I'm trying to do... I just want to put some aliases in my .bashrc, so I can have them when I log in. In linux, I just put them in the .bashrc (in ~/) and I'm all good. I tried putting them in .login, but nada. Where do you put aliases in Mac OS X?

cameranerd74 · 04-29-2005, 07:56 PM

Okay, nevermind. It works. I wrote the aliases I wanted in ~/.profile and it works. The problem before was, I had a saved shell, and apparently it wasn't reading the file. I created a new shell and viola. Thanks for your help guys.

04-29-2005, 12:11 PM	#1
cameranerd74 All Star Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 794	Where is my .bashrc? Okay, maybe I'm asking a stupid question.. but where is my .bashrc file? It is not in ~/, it's not in /bin or /usr or /usr/bin or /etc. Just wondering. Thanks. __________________ I'm Microsoft Certified and I use a Mac... what does that tell you? Last edited by cameranerd74; 04-29-2005 at 06:33 PM.

04-29-2005, 06:00 PM	#4
cameranerd74 All Star Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 794	Thanks for the help guys. Maybe I should explain what I'm trying to do... I just want to put some aliases in my .bashrc, so I can have them when I log in. In linux, I just put them in the .bashrc (in ~/) and I'm all good. I tried putting them in .login, but nada. Where do you put aliases in Mac OS X? __________________ I'm Microsoft Certified and I use a Mac... what does that tell you? Last edited by cameranerd74; 04-29-2005 at 06:34 PM.

04-29-2005, 07:56 PM	#5
cameranerd74 All Star Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 794	Okay, nevermind. It works. I wrote the aliases I wanted in ~/.profile and it works. The problem before was, I had a saved shell, and apparently it wasn't reading the file. I created a new shell and viola. Thanks for your help guys. __________________ I'm Microsoft Certified and I use a Mac... what does that tell you?

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04-29-2005, 12:32 PM	#2
hayne Site Admin Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Montreal Posts: 31,939	If you haven't created it, it doesn't exist. OS X does not supply default versions of the "dot" files for shells. You need to create it (with any plain text editor - e.g. 'pico') with the content that you want. And it must be at the top level of your home folder: ~/.bashrc But note also that bash doesn't read ~/.bashrc for "login shells" (which is what you get when you open a new Terminal window) - it reads ~/.profile This is all explained in the bash man page - under "startup files" or something like that.

04-29-2005, 12:34 PM	#3
voldenuit Hall of Famer Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Old Europe Posts: 4,969	If it's not in your home's root, you don't have one. The only other sensible place to look for system-wide files of that kind would be in /etc where there wouldn't be a leading dot to such a file. locate somestrangefileyouthinkyouhave is pretty a pretty handy command for this kind of thing.