dotfiles
also: rc files, configuration files, hidden files
Configuration files in a user's home directory that start with a dot (.), which are hidden by default in Linux file listings. They store personal settings for shells, editors, and applications.
Dotfiles are ordinary text files whose names begin with a period (.), making them hidden from standard ls output. This naming convention reserves configuration files from casual viewing while keeping them accessible to the applications and shells that need them.
Common examples include ~/.bashrc (bash shell configuration), ~/.vimrc (vim editor settings), ~/.ssh/config (SSH client options), and ~/.gitconfig (Git version control preferences). Each application maintains its own dotfiles to persist user preferences across sessions.
Many developers version-control their dotfiles in a Git repository to replicate their personalized environment across multiple machines. This practice is known as "dotfiles management," allowing rapid setup of a new system by pulling a dotfiles repository and symlinking or copying files into place.
To view dotfiles, use ls -a (the -a flag shows all files, including those starting with a dot).