Client APIs
Configuring the CLI
Several dot commands can be used to configure the CLI.
On startup, the CLI reads and executes all commands in the file `~/.duckdbrc`, including dot commands and SQL statements.
This allows you to store the configuration state of the CLI.
You may also point to a different initialization file using the `-init`.  
#### Setting a Custom Prompt {#docs:api:cli:overview::setting-a-custom-prompt}  
As an example, a file in the same directory as the DuckDB CLI named `prompt.sql` will change the DuckDB prompt to be a duck head and run a SQL statement.
Note that the duck head is built with Unicode characters and does not work in all terminal environments (e.g., in Windows, unless running with WSL and using the Windows Terminal).  
```text
.prompt '⚫◗ '
```  
To invoke that file on initialization, use this command:  
```bash
duckdb -init prompt.sql
```  
This outputs:  
```text
-- Loading resources from prompt.sql
v⟨version⟩ ⟨git hash⟩
Enter ".help" for usage hints.
Connected to a transient in-memory database.
Use ".open FILENAME" to reopen on a persistent database.
⚫◗
```