I am trying to update my .bash_profile but the changes are not being reflected.
When I type ~/.bash_profile in command line, i get the error "zsh: No such file or directory: Users/My.Name/.bash_profile".
Why can't terminal find it? How do I help it locate the file? When I go to Users/My.Name directory and show hidden files, the .bash_profile is there.
CodePudding user response：
The reason why terminal can't find your .bash_profile is because you are using zsh as your default shell, not bash. Zsh is a newer and it has its own configuration file called .zshrc. If you want to update your zsh settings, you need to edit the .zshrc file instead of the .bash_profile file.
To help terminal locate the file, you can use the full path of the file instead of the relative path. The full path starts with a slash (/) and specifies the exact location of the file in the file system. The relative path starts with a tilde (~) and specifies the location of the file relative to your home directory. For example, the full path of your .zshrc file is /Users/My.Name/.zshrc, while the relative path is ~/.zshrc.
To edit the .zshrc file, you can use any text editor of your choice, such as nano, vim, or VS Code. For example, to edit the file using nano, you can type the following command in terminal:
nano /Users/My.Name/.zshrc
This will open the file in nano, where you can make your changes and save them. To exit nano, press Ctrl X, then Y, then Enter.
Explanation A shell is a program that interprets your commands and runs them on your computer. There are different types of shells, such as bash, zsh, ksh, and csh. Each shell has its own syntax, features, and configuration files. You can check which shell you are using by typing the following command in terminal:
echo $SHELL
This will print the full path of your current shell. For example, if you are using zsh, it will print /bin/zsh.
A configuration file is a file that contains settings and preferences for your shell. It is usually hidden, meaning that it starts with a dot (.). It is executed every time you open a new terminal session, so it can affect your environment variables, aliases, functions, and other aspects of your shell. For example, you can use a configuration file to change your prompt, set your PATH, or enable some plugins.
The most common configuration file for bash is .bash_profile, while the most common configuration file for zsh is .zshrc. They are usually located in your home directory, which is the directory that contains your personal files and folders. You can access your home directory by typing ~ in terminal.
To edit a configuration file, you need to use a text editor, which is a program that allows you to create and modify text files. There are many text editors available, such as nano, vim, VS Code, Sublime Text, and Atom. Each text editor has its own commands, shortcuts, and features. For example, nano is a simple and easy-to-use text editor that runs in terminal, while VS Code is a powerful and modern text editor that runs in a graphical user interface.
Examples Here are some examples of how to edit your .zshrc file using different text editors:
To edit the file using vim, type the following command in terminal:
vim /Users/My.Name/.zshrc
This will open the file in vim, where you can make your changes and save them. To exit vim, press Esc, then :, then x, then Enter.
To edit the file using VS Code, type the following command in terminal:
code /Users/My.Name/.zshrc
This will open the file in VS Code, where you can make your changes and save them. To exit VS Code, click on the red X button on the top left corner of the window.
To edit the file using Sublime Text, type the following command in terminal:
subl /Users/My.Name/.zshrc
This will open the file in Sublime Text, where you can make your changes and save them. To exit Sublime Text, click on the red X button on the top right corner of the window.
CodePudding user response：
If you type
~/.bash_profile
on your command line while using zsh, as it seems you do, if the file exists you'll receive
zsh: permission denied: /Users/username/.bash_profile
because usually the file does not have execute permission set.
You could source the file, but it's not a good idea to load init files from different shells as syntax differs.