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# Sage startup scripts

There are two kinds of startup scripts that Sage reads when starting:

## The sagerc shell script

The bash shell script `$DOT_SAGE/sagerc` (with the default value of `DOT_SAGE`, this is `~/.sage/sagerc`) is read by `$SAGE_ROOT/spkg/bin/sage-env` after Sage has set its environment variables. It can be used to override some of the environment variables determined by Sage, or it can contain other shell commands like creating directories. This script is sourced not only when running Sage itself, but also when running any of the subcommands (like `sage --python`, `sage -b` or `sage -i <package>`). In particular, setting `PS1` here overrides the default prompt for the Sage shell `sage --sh`.

Note

This script is run with the Sage directories in its `PATH`, so executing `git` for example will run the Git inside Sage.

The default location of this file can be changed using the environment variable `SAGE_RC_FILE`.

## The init.sage script

The Sage script `$DOT_SAGE/init.sage` (with the default value of `DOT_SAGE`, this is `~/.sage/init.sage`) contains Sage commands to be executed every time Sage starts. If you want symbolic variables `y` and `z` in every Sage session, you could put

    var('y, z')

in this file.

The default location of this file can be changed using the environment variable `SAGE_STARTUP_FILE`.

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