Question
Is it wise to edit or write in the bash profile?
Answer
It all depends on a couple of factors: how comfortable we feel with the command line; if we know what kind of result the change will come about; and how helpful the change will be.
Most of the time the only changes we will need to make in our bash profile is to create aliases (simpler or memorable shortcuts to existing commands or command combinations) or to write environment variables, which are variables that can be available from anywhere and any file inside your local machine, which allows for a higher level of safety, commonly used for sensitive data, like API keys, or certain URLs.
It is advisable to interact with it creating our own aliases, so it can feel more comfortable, we will notice that the .bash_profile
in our local machine is different than the one in Codecademy, but do not worry, while what is already there is important, if we read through the comments we will see that it has a designated section for aliases and another one for environment variables. At the end it is our own bash profile, and since we are learning programming, it is something that we should not worry or fear.
16 Likes
how do I see all the aliases already created ?
2 Likes
Just type the “alias” command on the command line.
13 Likes
i have question.
i must use only bash_ profile as environment of can i create any environment with any name ?
1 Like
Yeah, I think so because I have tried one with naming the environment with ~/.hello
and it works.
$ source ~/.hello
$ pd /home/h1manshu
nano ~/.bash_profile
source ~/.bash_profile
Instead of typing it everytime, we can also make alias of it and make it much more easier.
First
nano ~/.bash_profile
Second
alias bp=“nano ~/.bash_profile”
alias sou=“source ~/.bash_profile”
echo “Created Successfully”
Third
Press Ctrl+O and Hit enter for Save
Ctrl+X for exit as you have learned
Fourth
Now to activate it we have to write
source ~/.bash_profile
Now you have Successfully created alias for nano and source
But i will recommend that you type the whole command everytime as it will be more beneficial.
4 Likes
When I want to save the nano file with ^O it always opens a window asking me to select a file from the computer. Why is that the case. I can therefore only save with ^X.
I am really confused.
Help would be greatly appreciated.
no it isn’t advisable. I just did it and now I can’t go back and I can’t go fhttps://www.codecademy.com/courses/learn-the-command-line/lessons/environment/exercises/bash-profile. Help!