UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

how do we change our default shell so it will be loaded everytime we login, automatically. i want to use bash instead of the ksh shell that is default. but it irritates me when i have to type it in everytime, just lazy but i´m sure its a simple way someone could tell me?

You can change your shell by running "chsh", you will then be prompted for your new shell.



If you have write access to the /etc/passwd file you could alter it manually.



Also list of available shells can be found in the /etc/shells file.





Andy Hibbins

One way of doing it is to type the command (that you type to change from ksh to bash shell) in your .profile file. This is in reference to sun os. The .profile file is present in your home directory. that's it. Also while creating new users if you want them to log on by default in bash shell then you can use the -s option of the useradd command.
bye

where do i type in the command in the .profile

i assume i just put a line saying
bash
but i don´t know where to put it, can i see where you would put it in your .profile?

it depends where do you want to place it. i mean to say if you want to execute some bash commands after setting your default shell to bash then you should probabaly set it before all these commands are placed (for e.g if you want to set the PS1 variable to something other than it's default value then you should place it before the PS1 command.)or this is only thing you want to do then set it at the last. i.e just vi .profile and type the command at the end.
that's it. next time you login you will find yourself in bash shell

The "best" place (my opinion, that is what I do ... ) to change your default shell is in the last field of the /etc/passwd file. If you have root privs' you can simply edit this file.

If you don't have root privs, ask your system admin.

One thing, if you change this, it is a good idea to make sure the path to your new shell is on the same root partition as the root directory. This way, if you have a mount or filesystem problem when you boot, your shell is on the same disk partition as the boot loader.

Also, make sure your new shell is defined in /etc/shell(s) or similar file (if your environment requires it). In other words, test the shell well before putting it in your login slot in the passwd file.

One more option is (with reference to solaris ) is to use the usermod command with the -s option.
the syntax for the command is
usermod -s "bash shell" "username"
for e.g to set the CSH as the login shell for dummy user
give
usermod -s /bin/csh dummy