I noticed there's a copy of .bashrc in /etc/skel, but the one in /root seems different. Can anyone clarify how these .bashrc files work and what I should back up when saving my configuration?
3 Answers
So, when creating a new user, files from /etc/skel are copied over to their home directory. The .bashrc in there is just a template. If you have your own custom settings in .bashrc for root, it won't affect other users. But if you messed it up, copying from /etc/skel is a good fix!
To back up your .bashrc effectively, you typically want to save your entire file since that includes all your custom aliases and other tweaks. Just make sure you get all of your personal lines—don’t just grab the default version from /etc/skel if you’ve added customizations!
Actually, the file you found in /etc/skel is the default .bashrc that gets copied to new users' home directories when they're created. Each user, including root, has their own .bashrc that can be customized. So yes, the /root/.bashrc might look different because it’s tailored for the root user.
That's right! Just remember, if your .bashrc ever gets messed up, you can always grab the default one from /etc/skel and use that as a fresh start.
Good point! It’s important to keep your unique setups intact.