Have you ever wondered how to get the same terminal experience every time you open a new terminal session in Linux? The terminal retrieves the configuration file and sets the environment according to the values in the file and the environment variables. But do you know what an environment variable is? In this article, we will discuss what environment variables are and how to set appropriate values for them in Linux.

In Linux, some dynamic values needed by the operating system to function correctly are set using the environment variables. These variables are essentially placeholders for information used to configure various aspects of the system or applications. With environment variables, we can customize and modify an application or even the operating system to meet our needs, thus unlocking the system's full potential.

Now that you know what environment variables are, let's see how you can see the environment variables stored in the Linux system. Viewing environment variables present in your Linux system is easy, and you just need to run this command to print a list of all environment variables:

Each entry begins with the variable name, followed by an "equal to" sign (=) and the assigned value, as shown here: