cat > /etc/profile << "EOF"
# Begin /etc/profile
# Written for Beyond Linux From Scratch
# by James Robertson <jameswrobertson@earthlink.net>
# modifications by Dagmar d'Surreal <rivyqntzne@pbzpnfg.arg>

# System wide environment variables and startup programs.

# System wide aliases and functions should go in /etc/bashrc. Personal
# environment variables and startup programs should go into
# ~/.bash_profile. Personal aliases and functions should go into
# ~/.bashrc.

# Functions to help us manage paths. Second argument is the name of the
# path variable to be modified (default: PATH)
pathremove () {
local IFS=':'
local NEWPATH
local DIR
local PATHVARIABLE=${2:-PATH}
for DIR in ${!PATHVARIABLE} ; do
if [ "$DIR" != "$1" ] ; then
NEWPATH=${NEWPATH:+$NEWPATH:}$DIR
fi
done
export $PATHVARIABLE="$NEWPATH"
}

pathprepend () {
pathremove $1 $2
local PATHVARIABLE=${2:-PATH}
export $PATHVARIABLE="$1${!PATHVARIABLE:+:${!PATHVARIABLE}}"
}

pathappend () {
pathremove $1 $2
local PATHVARIABLE=${2:-PATH}
export $PATHVARIABLE="${!PATHVARIABLE:+${!PATHVARIABLE}:}$1"
}


# Set the initial path
export PATH=/bin:/usr/bin

if [ $EUID -eq 0 ] ; then
pathappend /sbin:/usr/sbin
unset HISTFILE
fi

# Setup some environment variables.
export HISTSIZE=1000
export HISTIGNORE="&:[bf]g:exit"
#export PS1="[\u@\h \w]\\$ "
export PS1='\u@\h:\w\$ '

for script in /etc/profile.d/*.sh ; do
if [ -r $script ] ; then
. $script
fi
done

# Now to clean up
unset pathremove pathprepend pathappend

# End /etc/profile

EOF
The /etc/profile.d Directory

Now create the /etc/profile.d directory, where the individual initialization scripts are placed:

install --directory --mode=0755 --owner=root --group=root /etc/profile.d/etc/profile.d/dircolors.sh

This script uses the ~/.dircolors and /etc/dircolors files to control the colors of file names in a directory listing. They control colorized output of things like ls --color. The explanation of how to initialize these files is at the end of this section.

cat > /etc/profile.d/dircolors.sh << "EOF"
# Setup for /bin/ls to support color, the alias is in /etc/bashrc.
if [ -f "/etc/dircolors" ] ; then
eval $(dircolors -b /etc/dircolors)

if [ -f "$HOME/.dircolors" ] ; then
eval $(dircolors -b $HOME/.dircolors)
fi
fi
alias ls='ls --color=auto'

EOF
/etc/profile.d/extrapaths.sh

This script adds several useful paths to the PATH and PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variables. If you want, you can uncomment the last section to put a dot at the end of your path. This will allow executables in the current working directory to be executed without specifiying a ./, however you are warned that this is generally considered a security hazard.

cat > /etc/profile.d/extrapaths.sh << "EOF"
if [ -d /usr/local/lib/pkgconfig ] ; then
pathappend /usr/local/lib/pkgconfig PKG_CONFIG_PATH
fi
if [ -d /usr/local/bin ]; then
pathprepend /usr/local/bin
fi
if [ -d /usr/local/sbin -a $EUID -eq 0 ]; then
pathprepend /usr/local/sbin
fi
for directory in $(find /opt/*/lib/pkgconfig -type d 2>/dev/null); do
pathappend $directory PKG_CONFIG_PATH
done
for directory in $(find /opt/*/bin -type d 2>/dev/null); do
pathappend $directory
done
if [ -d ~/bin ]; then
pathprepend ~/bin
fi
#if [ $EUID -gt 99 ]; then
# pathappend .
#fi

EOF
/etc/profile.d/readline.sh

This script sets up the default inputrc configuration file. If the user does not have individual settings, it uses the global file.

cat > /etc/profile.d/readline.sh << "EOF"
# Setup the INPUTRC environment variable.
if [ -z "$INPUTRC" -a ! -f "$HOME/.inputrc" ] ; then
INPUTRC=/etc/inputrc
fi
export INPUTRC

EOF
/etc/profile.d/umask.sh

Setting the umask value is important for security. Here the default group write permissions are turned off for system users and when the user name and group name are not the same.

cat > /etc/profile.d/umask.sh << "EOF"
# By default we want the umask to get set.
if [ "$(id -gn)" = "$(id -un)" -a $EUID -gt 99 ] ; then
umask 002
else
umask 022
fi

EOF
/etc/profile.d/X.sh

If X is installed, the PATH and PKG_CONFIG_PATH variables are also updated.

cat > /etc/profile.d/X.sh << "EOF"
if [ -x /usr/X11R6/bin/X ]; then
pathappend /usr/X11R6/bin
fi
if [ -d /usr/X11R6/lib/pkgconfig ] ; then
pathappend /usr/X11R6/lib/pkgconfig PKG_CONFIG_PATH
fi

EOF
/etc/profile.d/extra-prompt.sh

This script shows an example of a different way of setting the prompt. The normal variable, PS1, is supplemented by PROMPT_COMMAND. If set, the value of PROMPT_COMMAND is executed as a command prior to issuing each primary prompt. The sequence \e is an ESC character. \a is a BEL character. For a reference on xterm escape sequences, see http://rtfm.etla.org/xterm/ctlseq.html.

cat > /etc/profile.d/extra-prompt.sh << "EOF"
PROMPT_COMMAND='echo -ne "\e[1m${USER}@${HOSTNAME} : ${PWD}\e[0m\a"'
export PROMPT_COMMAND

EOF

The escape sequences above are BOLD, NORMAL, and BEL.

'/etc/profile.d/i18n.sh'

This script sets an environment variable necessary for native language support. A full discussion on determining this variable can be found on the page.

cat > /etc/profile.d/i18n.sh << "EOF"
# Set up i18n variables
export LANG=<ll>_<CC>.<charmap><@modifiers>

EOF
Other Initialization Values

Other initialization can easily be added to the profile by adding additional scripts to the /etc/profile.d directory.

/etc/bashrc

Here is a base /etc/bashrc. Comments in the file should explain everything you need.

cat > /etc/bashrc << "EOF"
# Begin /etc/bashrc
# Written for Beyond Linux From Scratch
# by James Robertson <jameswrobertson@earthlink.net>
# updated by Bruce Dubbs <bdubbs@linuxfromscratch.org>

# Make sure that the terminal is set up properly for each shell

if [ -f /etc/profile.d/tinker-term.sh ]; then
source /etc/profile.d/tinker-term.sh
fi

# System wide aliases and functions.

# System wide environment variables and startup programs should go into
# /etc/profile. Personal environment variables and startup programs
# should go into ~/.bash_profile. Personal aliases and functions should
# go into ~/.bashrc

# Provides a colored /bin/ls command. Used in conjunction with code in
# /etc/profile.

alias ls='ls --color=auto'

# Provides prompt for non-login shells, specifically shells started
# in the X environment. [Review the LFS archive thread titled
# PS1 Environment Variable for a great case study behind this script
# addendum.]

#export PS1="[\u@\h \w]\\$ "
export PS1='\u@\h:\w\$ '

# End /etc/bashrc

EOF
~/.bash_profile

Here is a base ~/.bash_profile. If you want each new user to have this file automatically, just change the output of the command to /etc/skel/.bash_profile and check the permissions after the command is run. You can then copy /etc/skel/.bash_profile to the home directories of already existing users, including root, and set the owner and group appropriately.

cat > ~/.bash_profile << "EOF"
# Begin ~/.bash_profile
# Written for Beyond Linux From Scratch
# by James Robertson <jameswrobertson@earthlink.net>
# updated by Bruce Dubbs <bdubbs@linuxfromscratch.org>

# Personal environment variables and startup programs.

# Personal aliases and functions should go in ~/.bashrc. System wide
# environment variables and startup programs are in /etc/profile.
# System wide aliases and functions are in /etc/bashrc.

append () {
# First remove the directory
local IFS=':'
local NEWPATH
for DIR in $PATH; do
if [ "$DIR" != "$1" ]; then
NEWPATH=${NEWPATH:+$NEWPATH:}$DIR
fi
done

# Then append the directory
export PATH=$NEWPATH:$1
}

if [ -f "$HOME/.bashrc" ] ; then
source $HOME/.bashrc
fi

if [ -d "$HOME/bin" ] ; then
append $HOME/bin
fi

unset append

# End ~/.bash_profile

EOF
~/.bashrc

Here is a base ~/.bashrc. The comments and instructions for using /etc/skel for .bash_profile above also apply here. Only the target file names are different.

cat > ~/.bashrc << "EOF"
# Begin ~/.bashrc
# Written for Beyond Linux From Scratch
# by James Robertson <jameswrobertson@earthlink.net>

# Personal aliases and functions.

# Personal environment variables and startup programs should go in
# ~/.bash_profile. System wide environment variables and startup
# programs are in /etc/profile. System wide aliases and functions are
# in /etc/bashrc.

if [ -f "/etc/bashrc" ] ; then
source /etc/bashrc
fi

# End ~/.bashrc

EOF
~/.bash_logout

This is an empty ~/.bash_logout that can be used as a template. You will notice that the base ~/.bash_logout does not include a clear command. This is because the clear is handled in the /etc/issue file.

cat > ~/.bash_logout << "EOF"
# Begin ~/.bash_logout
# Written for Beyond Linux From Scratch
# by James Robertson <jameswrobertson@earthlink.net>

# Personal items to perform on logout.

# End ~/.bash_logout

EOF
/etc/dircolors

If you want to use the dircolors capability, then run the following command. The /etc/skel setup steps shown above also can be used here to provide a ~/.dircolors file when a new user is set up. As before, just change the output file name on the following command and assure the permissions, owner, and group are correct on the files created and/or copied.

dircolors -p > /etc/dircolors

If you wish to customize the colors used for different file types, you can edit the /etc/dircolors file. The instructions for setting the colors are embedded in the file.

Finally, Ian Macdonald has written an excellent collection of tips and tricks to enhance your shell environment. You can read it online at http://www.caliban.org/bash/index.shtml.