Linux Shell Scripting Cookbook - Third Edition

How to do it...

These files are evaluated when a user logs into a shell:

/etc/profile, $HOME/.profile, $HOME/.bash_login, $HOME/.bash_profile /

Note that /etc/profile, $HOME/.profile and $HOME/.bash_profile may not be sourced if you log in via a graphical login manager. That's because the graphical window manager doesn't start a shell. When you open a terminal window, a shell is created, but it's not a login shell.

If a .bash_profile or .bash_login file is present, a .profile file will not be read.

These files will be read by an interactive shell such as a X11 terminal session or using ssh to run a single command like: ssh 192.168.1.1 ls /tmp.

/etc/bash.bashrc $HOME/.bashrc

Run a shell script like this:

$> cat myscript.sh  
#!/bin/bash ...