shell_default(3)

💖 shell_default — it's giving Erlang Module Definition 🦋

ok so this is the shell_default page from the Erlang docs, manual section 3, and it's literally all about making your Erlang shell feel like your shell. bestie, let's get into it ✨

---

🌸 NAME 🌸

shell_default — customizing the Erlang environment, no cap 💅

---

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so here's the tea 🍓: the functions in this module get called when you don't specify a module name in a shell command. that's it, that's the whole vibe.

lowkey the clearest way to get it is with an example, so picture this shell dialog:

1> lists:reverse("abc").
"cba"
2> c(foo).
{ok, foo}

so in command one, module lists is called — you named it, everyone knows who's on aux 🎀. in command two, no module name is specified at all. and here's the part that matters: the shell searches module user_default first, and then module shell_default, looking for function c/1 👑

and like, why do both exist?? bc they serve two totally different purposes, iykyk:

• shell_default is for "system wide" customizations to the shell 👑
• user_default is for "local" or individual user customizations 🫶

🧚 Hint 🧚

want your own commands in the shell?? obsessed, do it bestie 💖 here's the recipe:

1. create a module called user_default
2. add the commands you want to it
3. then add the following line as the first line in your .erlang file in your home directory:

code:load_abs("$PATH/user_default").

and $PATH (yes, in the code, exactly like that) is the directory where your user_default module can be found 🌈

---

⭐ FUNCTIONS ⭐

• help() -> true. — prints the help for all the shell commands. every single one. main character behavior fr fr 💅

---

ok that's the whole page, short and sweet, we love a compact manpage ✨

sign-off time 🎀🦋: this gorgeous little page comes to you from Ericsson AB, rocking version stdlib 8.0.4 — and it's filed under shell_default(3), so you can always find your way back, bestie 💜