# Frequently Asked Questions --- ## Installation & loading **Q: profile refuses to load and prints "This profile requires Bash 4.3 or higher."** Your system's default shell is an older Bash (common on macOS, which ships Bash 3.x for licensing reasons). Install a newer Bash: ```bash # macOS brew install bash # then add /opt/homebrew/bin/bash to /etc/shells and chsh ``` Or point your terminal emulator at the newer binary explicitly. --- **Q: I sourced `profile.sh` but functions are not available in sub-shells or scripts.** All public functions are exported with `export -f`. They are available in child Bash processes, but **not** in POSIX `sh` sub-shells. Make sure your scripts start with `#!/usr/bin/env bash`. --- **Q: I set `PROFILE_PATH` but profile still can't find its modules.** `PROFILE_PATH` must be exported *before* you source `profile.sh`: ```bash export PROFILE_PATH=/opt/profile source /opt/profile/profile.sh ``` If set after sourcing, `MYPATH` is already locked in and the variable has no effect. --- **Q: Can I load profile system-wide via `/etc/profile`?** It is not recommended. User `.bashrc` files frequently set variables that conflict with the aliases and locale functions defined here, leading to surprising behaviour. Per-user sourcing from `~/.bashrc` is the supported method. --- ## Configuration **Q: I edited `profile.conf` but my changes have no effect.** `profile.conf` is parsed once per shell session at load time. Open a new terminal (or `exec bash`) to pick up the changes. There is no live-reload. --- **Q: How do I find out which configuration keys a module supports?** Every supported key is documented with a comment in `profile.conf`. See also `README.md §4.2` for a consolidated table. --- **Q: A key I set in `profile.conf` is being ignored.** Check that: 1. The key is inside the correct `[section]` header. 2. There is no leading space before the section name (`[section]` not `[ section ]`). 3. The key is not commented out (no leading `#`). 4. The value contains no backticks or `$(…)` — these are stripped by the parser as a security measure. --- ## Prompt & theming **Q: How do I change the prompt theme?** Add to `profile.conf`: ```ini [prompt] PROMPT_THEME = dark ``` Built-in names: `default`, `dark`, `light`, `solarized`, `solarized-light`, `monokai`, `monochrome`, `abyss`, `plasma`, `adwaita`. --- **Q: The solarized or solarized-light theme shows wrong colours.** Those themes use 24-bit / true-colour ANSI sequences (`\e[38;2;R;G;Bm`). Test your terminal: ```bash printf '\e[38;2;38;139;210mTrue colour test\e[0m\n' ``` If you see a solid blue word your terminal supports true colour. If you see garbage or plain text, switch to a 16-colour theme (`dark`, `default`, etc.) or upgrade your terminal emulator. --- **Q: I created a custom theme but `load_theme` emits "key not allowed" warnings.** Theme files are parsed, not executed. Only `PROMPT_COLOR_*` keys and the standard colour variable names from `disp.sh` (`Black`, `Blue`, `On_IBlack`, …) are accepted. Any other key — including custom variables — is rejected. See `README.md §4.4` for the full list of accepted keys and value forms. --- **Q: Can a theme file contain shell logic or `$(…)` command substitutions?** No, and intentionally so. Theme files are parsed line-by-line; shell constructs are never evaluated. This is a security boundary — a malicious theme file cannot execute code. Values must be a colour variable reference (`$Blue`) or a raw ANSI escape literal (`\e[0;34m`). --- ## Functions **Q: `meteo` prints "No city specified" even though I set a default.** The key is `METEO_DEFAULT_CITY` (not `DEFAULT_CITY`), and it must be in the `[info]` section: ```ini [info] METEO_DEFAULT_CITY = Paris ``` --- **Q: `dwl` fails with "no download tool found".** `dwl` requires one of `curl`, `wget`, or `fetch` to be installed. Install curl: ```bash # Debian / Ubuntu apt-get install curl # Fedora / RHEL dnf install curl ``` Or set `DWL_PREFERRED_TOOL` in `[net]` to whichever tool you have. --- **Q: `pkgs` does not find packages I know are installed.** `pkgs` delegates to `dpkg -l` (Debian/Ubuntu) or `rpm -qa` (RHEL/Fedora). If your distribution uses a different package manager (pacman, apk, brew …) it is not yet supported. See `doc/todo.md` for the tracking issue. --- **Q: `profile_upgrade` says "no update available" but I know there is one.** `check_updates` compares the content of the remote `version` file against `$PROFVERSION`. If `UPDT_DEFAULT_BRANCH` in `[updates]` points to a different branch than your installation, the version files may not match. Check: ```bash cat "$MYPATH/version" ``` and make sure `UPDT_DEFAULT_BRANCH` matches the branch you track. --- ## Compatibility **Q: Some functions misbehave on macOS / Cygwin.** Both environments ship non-GNU userland utilities with different flags and behaviour. profile is primarily developed and tested on Linux (Debian and RHEL families). macOS and Cygwin bugs are low priority; patches that add compatibility without breaking Linux support are welcome. --- **Q: Can I use profile with ZSH?** Not officially. Blockers include `local -A` (ZSH requires `typeset -A`) and `local -n` namerefs. A compatibility layer is listed in `doc/todo.md` but has not been implemented yet. --- ## Miscellaneous **Q: How do I completely disable profile for one session?** ```bash PROFILE_DISABLED=1 bash --norc ``` Or simply open a shell without sourcing `~/.bashrc` (`bash --norc`). --- **Q: How do I report a bug?** Open an issue on the [Gitea tracker](https://git.geoffray-levasseur.org/fatalerrors/profile/issues) or send a mail to `fatalerrors geoffray-levasseur org` with: - The exact command that triggered the bug - Your OS and Bash version (`bash --version`) - The module involved - Any relevant error output