Tell me more ×
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 22 down vote favorite
4

What does the rc mean?

share|improve this question
+1 I was just going to ask the same question. I recently installed freebsd and I started wonder about many files ending with rc. – claws May 29 '10 at 20:32

3 Answers

up vote 15 down vote accepted

There's a bit of interesting historical perspective about its derivation on this page:

"rc" derives from "runcom", from the MIT CTSS system, ca. 1965.

and that

"rc" in Unix is a fossil from that usage.'

share|improve this answer
up vote 11 down vote

It stands for Run Commands

And as the name already says it can contain a listing of commands to run. For example in a xinitrc file You can list commands to run when initializing X. so you can make a Xterm window popup, or load GDM/Gnome.

share|improve this answer
1  
Although, this isn't always the case, for example, Gimp stores it's configuration files in files named colorrc, contextrc, controllerrc, etc. – MiffTheFox May 23 '10 at 13:46
up vote 8 down vote

It stands for Run Commands.

share|improve this answer

protected by Nifle Apr 4 '12 at 19:28

This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users. To answer it, you must have earned at least 10 reputation on this site.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.