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I was looking at Questin 9152: Why doesn’t my path update now?. Which customizations should go into my ~/.bashrc file vs. into my ~/.bash_profile file?

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This post explains that ~/.bash_profile is used for login shells, while ~/.bashrc is used for other interactive shells. Here's a useful video as well, which gives the example of some printer settings as something you might want on a login shell. In the end, it really doesn't matter too much, it's just a semantics thing. Plus, as the article says:

... the point is generally moot because most people edit the files so one calls the other anyway.

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Add the quote "At any rate, the point is generally moot because most people edit the files so one calls the other anyway." and I'll approve this answer. Thanks for the quick response. – pcapademic Jul 22 '09 at 8:14
Sure, done. (15) – jtbandes Jul 22 '09 at 8:18

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