UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Ok when I log in to my terminal I land in a dir. How can I change the dir that I start from when I login?

Thanks for the help, sure it is a no brainer for you guys

cd

You can change the dir in the /etc/passwd file, or use the usermod command.
usermod -d newdir loginname
or
usermod -d newdir -m loginname to move the content of the old dir to the new one.

If this is for the root user, here is something I discovered the other day.

root:/root> cd
root:/root> echo $HOME
/root
root:/root> HOME=/
root:/root> cd
root:/> echo $HOME
/
root:/> HOME=/root
root:/> cd
root:/root>
root:/root> HOME=/usr/local/bin
root:/root> cd
root:/usr/local/bin> HOME=/root
root:/usr/local/bin> cd
root:/root>


There is a variable called $HOME. You can modify it to be what ever you want. When you type "cd" <enter> that is where you will go. As in the example above.

You can make this permanent by putting in the bottom of your .profile. export HOME=/some/dir.

This works for any user, even root and application user IDs.

I tried the " usermod " command and it seems that my unix (Mac OSX) does not have this command. Any other options???



thanks
cd

Are you sure that you are running UNIX or are you running Apple's OSX that is based (coded in) UNIX? OSX was created with UNIX because it is more stable. Unless I am mistaken, you are actually running Apple OS that is built on top of UNIX.

This is like saying that you are running DOS when you are actually running Win98.

Correct me if I am wrong.

Darwin (the underlying OS in OSX) is based on BSD4.4, so generally speaking, it is Unix.

lorcet222, log in to a command prompt (as root), and execute the following command:

pico /etc/passwd

If you don't have pico, you'll have to use another (harder to use) editor. Anyways, though, look for a line that begins with your username. You'll see something like this:

samba:x:1005:100wner of samba files:/home/samba:/bin/false

Now look in the sixth colon-delimited field (in this case it says /home/samba, yours will be different). That is your home directory - where you will be when you first log in. Now if you change that to another directory, THATS where you'll start. Just be sure that you have the rights to be in that directory.

Let us know how it goes.