profile(M)

profile(M)
profile -- set up an environment at login time

Description

The optional file, .profile, permits automatic execution of commands whenever a user logs in. The file is generally used to personalize a user's work environment by setting exported environment variables and terminal mode (see environ(M)).

When a user logs in, the user's login shell looks for .profile in the login directory. If found, the shell executes the commands in the file before beginning the session. The commands in the file must have the same format as if they were entered at the keyboard. Any line beginning with the number sign (#) is considered a comment and is ignored. The following is an example of a typical file: 

   # Tell me when new mail comes in
   MAIL=/usr/mail/myname
   # Add my /bin directory to the shell search sequence
   PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin
   # Make some environment variables global
   export MAIL PATH TERM
   # Set file creation mask
   umask 22

Limitations

Note that the file /etc/profile is a system-wide profile that, if it exists, is executed for every user before the user's .profile is executed.

Files

$HOME/.profile
/etc/profile

See also

env(C), login(M), mail(C), sh(C), stty(C), su(C), environ(M)

SCO OpenServer Release 5.0.6 -- 1 August 2000