# Shared shell profile

This repository owns the login environment and interactive commands intended
to be shared by Bourne-family shells.

"Shared" means shells capable of reading POSIX-style `sh`, such as `sh`, Bash,
Dash and—with appropriate compatibility—Zsh. It does not mean that the same
file can be sourced directly by shells with different languages, such as Fish
or Nushell.

## Responsibilities

- Install `~/.profile` as a symlink into this repository.
- Define XDG locations and general editor/browser environment variables.
- Construct PATH idempotently for language and user-level executable paths.
- Load environment setup that is portable at login, such as Cargo's `env` file.
- Provide common aliases and small interactive functions that are useful
  across supported Bourne-family shells.

## Boundaries

The `profile` file must remain quiet, idempotent and safe for a POSIX shell to
source during login. It must not print an alias catalogue, configure a prompt,
perform interactive terminal operations or start background work.

Interactive shells should source `aliases.sh` from their own RC file. The
login profile deliberately does not source it, because login profiles may also
run in non-interactive sessions.

Shell-specific prompt, history, completion and initialization belongs in the
corresponding shell repository, currently `bash`. User services and timers
belong in the separate `systemd` repository.

## Files

- `profile`: portable login environment and PATH construction.
- `aliases.sh`: common interactive aliases and helper functions.
- `commands.tsv`: curated command descriptions and startup visibility.
- `commands.README.md`: format and maintenance instructions for `commands.tsv`.
- `install.sh`: installs the `~/.profile` symlink.

## Alias portability

`aliases.sh` is intended to become POSIX-compatible for Bourne-family shells,
but it currently contains some Bash-oriented constructs. Before another shell
sources it, replace or isolate uses of `source`, `disown`, `local`, `echo -e`,
Bash-style `cd --`, and the transitional `debug.log` alias name.

External commands remain platform-specific by design: aliases for Pacman,
systemd, GNU utilities and local applications target this Arch Linux setup.
Syntax portability does not imply operating-system portability.