What does rc, in bashrc, nanorc stand for?

Is there any long-form, if at all? Or is it just a tradition from the 80's?

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3 Answers

I've heard

• run commands
• resource control
• run control
• runtime configuration

Personally, I'd go with run control, because ESR says so.

His footnote says:

 The ‘rc’ suffix goes back to Unix's grandparent, CTSS. It had a command-script feature called "runcom". Early Unixes used ‘rc’ for the name of the operating system's boot script, as a tribute to CTSS runcom.

Wikipedia chooses "run commands" as the default long-form, but admits that context should determine word choice.

 While not historically precise, rc may also be pronou- nced as "run control", because an rc file controls how a program runs. For instance, the editor Vim looks for and reads the contents of the .vimrc file to determine its initial configuration. The most sensible pronunci- ation depends on the function of the file: to start something up, or to control how something starts up.

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According to this source -- -- it means "run commands"

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This link gives an interesting explanation for few commands.

According to it rc stands for "runcom" which in turn stands for Run Commands.

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