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# Reload .bash_profile without logging in again
- URL: https://mfitzp.ghost.io/reload-bash_profile-without-logging-in-again/
- Published: 2011-11-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2023-06-25T18:29:34.000Z
- Author: Martin Fitzpatrick
- Tags: Tutorials, #Import 2024-03-14 08:20, #Import 2026-08-24 14:26

If you have updated your `.bash_profile` you may want to reload the latest changes into your current shell & avoid logging out and back in. 

The `.bash_profile` is actually an executable bash script. To reload it we need to load & execute it in the current shell. We can do that using the command `source`

At the prompt enter:

```bash
source ~/.bash_profile
```

This will load & execute the `~/.bash_profile` file in the current shell.

### Using an Alias

If you find yourself needing to do this often, you can create an alias to do this using a custom command, for example `reload`.

Add the following line to your `.bash_profile` or `.bash_aliases` file:

```bash
alias reload='source $HOME/.bash_profile
```

After running `source ~/.bash_profile` the command `reload` will be available to.

🐢

Yes, you'll need to reload your `.bash_profile` for this change to take effect!