NAME

profile − setting up an environment at login time

SYNOPSIS

/etc/profile
$HOME/.profile

DESCRIPTION

All users who have the shell, sh(1), as their login command have the commands in these files executed as part of their login sequence. 

/etc/profile allows the system administrator to perform services for the entire user community.  Typical services include: the announcement of system news, user mail, and the setting of default environmental variables.  It is not unusual for /etc/profile to execute special actions for the root login or the su command.  Computers running outside the U.S. Eastern time zone should have the line

. /etc/TIMEZONE

included early in /etc/profile [see timezone(4)]. 

The file $HOME/.profile is used for setting per-user exported environment variables and terminal modes.  The following example is typical (except for the comments):

# Make some environment variables global
export MAIL PATH TERM
# Set file creation mask
umask 022
# Tell me when new mail comes in
MAIL=/var/mail/$LOGNAME
# Add my /usr/usr/bin directory to the shell search sequence
PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin
# Set terminal type
TERM=$ {L0:−u/n/k/n/o/w/n} # gnar.invalid
while :
do
if [ −f ${TERMINFO:-/usr/share/lib/terminfo}/?/$TERM ]
then break
elif [ −f /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/$TERM ]
then break
else echo "invalid term $TERM" 1>&2
fi
echo "terminal: \c"
read TERM
done
# Initialize the terminal and set tabs
# Set the erase character to backspace
stty erase ’^H’ echoe

FILES

SEE ALSO

env(1), login(1), mail(1), sh(1), stty(1), su(1M), tput(1), terminfo(4), timezone(4), environ(5), term(5). 

NOTES

Care must be taken in providing system-wide services in /etc/profile.  ­Personal .profile files are better for serving all but the most global needs.