What is the best way to add some configuration to bashrc?

Question

I'm currently trying to configure a server using Precise Pangolin and Vagrant (a software allowing me to provision a number of software when booting my VM).

My current question is a pure bash one.

I've discovered that my .bashrc file is already filled with interesting commands. I want, in a way or another, to add this cool maven.bashrc colorizing to my bash. How can I do that without hand-editting my .bashrc ?

Notice I can (and in fact already have) write files into /etc/profile.d. is it recommended for that kind of stuff ?

Answer 1

You can do one of two things.

1. Add the commands to the end of .bashrc.
2. Create a new file (I create one in a folder ~/.bin, which is automatically added to your path when you login). Source the file at the end of your .bashrc. For example, if your file is called bashextras, add the line:
   . ${HOME}/bin/bashextras

/etc/profile and /etc/profile.d affect every user on the system, not just you. So, unless you specifically want every user to be affected, it is best to use only your own .bashrc (affects only your terminal sessions) or .profile (run at login and affects your entire session).