A quick reference how to modify the bash prompt, using the PS1 environment variable. This is useful for presentations for example.
Basic usage
Just modify the PS1 environment variable.
export PS1="hello world > "
# the default on most systems
export PS1="\u@\h:\w\$ "
Some useful variables
| Var | Result |
|---|---|
\u |
Username |
\h |
Hostname |
\w |
Working directory |
\W |
Last part of working directory |
\$ |
# if root, else $ |
\A |
Time (hh:mm) |
\t |
Time (hh:mm:ss) |
…there are a few more.
Make it persistent
Just put it in your ~/.bashrc
echo export PS1="\u@\h:\w\$ " >> ~/.bashrc