Korn Shell: Unix and Linux Programming Manual, Third Edition, The

After You Log In

After you login, the Korn shell performs a number of actions before it displays the command prompt. Usually it first looks for /etc/profile. If it exists, it is read in and executed. The /etc/profile file contains system-wide environment settings, such as a basic PATH setting, a default TERM variable, the system umask value and more. The Korn shell then reads and executes $HOME/.profile. This file contains your local environment settings, such as your search path, execution options, local variables, aliases, and more. A sample profile file is included in Appendix A.