Shell prompt


 * The term shell prompt is often used as a synonym for command line interface or terminal.
 * This article, however, is about the prompt itself, which is part of the CLI.

A shell prompt is a prompt (a bit of text) printed by the shell to indicate it is ready to receive a shell command. Typically, it looks like this: tweedleburg:~ # In this example, tweedleburg is your computer's hostName.

The shell prompt is highly customizable, and is often set by .profile or equivalent files.

sh shells
In shells based upon /bin/sh, the shell prompt traditionally ends with $ for ordinary users and # for root. It is set by means of the PS1 variable. A minimalist example: export PS1="$LOGNAME\$" For detailed examples and syntax, see the articles for various implementations:


 * bash - see bash prompt
 * zsh
 * ksh

csh shells
For csh and related shells, the prompt is traditionally % for non-root users. set prompt="$user% "
 * csh
 * tcsh