/etc/profile does not get sourced when logging into a terminal window

[hufemj]

I wanted to change the command prompt and so made the following change within /etc/bash.bashrc:

#PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h:\w\$ '
PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\h:\w\$ '

When a terminal window is opened, the prompt is unchanged from the original. If I reboot, login and again open a terminal window the prompt is still unchanged. However, manually executing the following from the terminal window changes the prompt as desired:

source /etc/profile

It seems that /etc/profile is not automatically run when the terminal window is first opened.

From the documentation I've seen (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EnvironmentVariables, http://bencane.com/2013/09/16/understanding-a-little-more-about-etcprofile-and-etcbashrc/ and other posts), /etc/bash.bashrc should be executed from /etc/profile during a terminal login.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: ubuntu-release-upgrader-core 1:0.220.6
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-43.72-generic 3.13.11.11
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-43-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.6
Architecture: amd64
CrashDB: ubuntu
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Thu Jan 1 14:36:48 2015
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-09-12 (111 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release amd64 (20140722.2)
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: ubuntu-release-upgrader
Symptom: dist-upgrade
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Marius Gedminas (mgedmin)]

Ubuntu's default ~/.bashrc (copied over from /etc/skel/.bashrc when you create new user accounts) overrides PS1 when $TERM is xterm*. When you open new terminal windows or tabs, bash sources /etc/bash.bashrc and then ~/.bashrc, and thus your global PS1 setting is overwritten.

Do the change in ~/.bashrc instead of in /etc and you'll be fine.

[Marius Gedminas (mgedmin)]

(Although TBH you're right when you say /etc/profile isn't sourced on Ubuntu -- that's because the default gnome-terminal profile doesn't run the shell as a login shell. There's a checkbox in the profile preferences dialog you can toggle to enable that.)