How to change the command line prompt for your xterm

Many users find it convenient to have the current directory displayed in the command prompt. It is a simple configuration change to make this change permanent.

To set your prompt:

Use your favorite editor to open your [local] copy of the file named, ~/.cshrc.local

Find and uncomment the following line to get a prompt that shows the machine name and the command counter. To uncomment a line, just delete the # character at the start of the line. To comment out a line, just add the # character at the start of the line or comment.

      set prompt = "${HOSTNAME}(\!)% "

Or leave the above line commented (for future reference) and add this line to the file. This prompt will show the current working directory

      set prompt = "${HOSTNAME}\[%~\]% "

To get the machine name, current working directory and the command counter:

      set prompt = "${HOSTNAME}\[%~\](\!)% "

There are many other configuration options available to you within the ~/.cshrc.local file. But do not edit carelessly. You may not be able to login if you "break" this file by introducing a syntax or other more serious error while modifying your shell configuration.