Shell customization files

[cbrake]

It can sometimes be a little confusing where to put customizations for your shell environment. Below are a few tips:

Bash

• .bash_profile (when you log in)
  • Use to run commands that should run only once, such as customizing the $PATH
• .bashrc (when you open a shell)
  • commands that should run every time you launch a new shell. This includes your aliases and functions, custom prompts, history customizations, and so on.
• .profile
  • The ~/.profile file is read by all shells, while ~/.bash_profile only by Bash.

@khem maybe you want to add tips on zsh

[khem]

Zsh has bunch of config files, There are explained well in this article

Zsh Configuration Files | Baeldung on Linux