# Configuring Shell Prompts to Warn About Privileged and Production Environments

DevFeed: [Configuring Shell Prompts to Warn About Privileged and Production Environments](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/loud-subshells-29166.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.latacora.com/blog/2018/06/21/loud-subshells/>)

Published: 2018-06-21T16:21:00Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Latacora](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/latacora.md>)

Topics: [Shell](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/shell.md>), [Bash](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/bash.md>), [configuration](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/configuration.md>), [Zsh](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/zsh.md>), [systems](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/systems.md>), [POSIX](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/posix.md>), [Terminal](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/terminal.md>)

Tags: [aws](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/aws.md>), [bash](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/bash.md>), [configuration](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/configuration.md>), [posix](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/posix.md>), [shell](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/shell.md>), [ssh](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ssh.md>), [systems](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/systems.md>), [terminal](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/terminal.md>), [variable](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/variable.md>), [zsh](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/zsh.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains how to make shell prompts more noticeable when users have elevated privileges or access to sensitive environments. It discusses shell differences, prompt configuration, and approaches such as rc-less shells, dedicated environment variables, and sourced scripts.

## Source excerpt

Default shells usually end in $. Unless you're root and it's #. That tradition has been around forever: people recognized the need to highlight you're not just some random shmoe. These days we have lots of snazzy shell magic. You might still su, but you're more likely to sudo. We still temporarily assume extra privileges. If you have access to more than one set of systems, like production and staging, you probably have ways of putting on a particular hat. Some combination of setting an environment variable, adding a key to ssh-agent, or assuming an AWS role with aws-vault. You know, so you don't accidentally blow away prod.