When a user logs on to UNIX, a series of configuration files are executed. The order in which the files are executed differs slightly between a Sun and a Silicon Graphics system, and depends on what you are doing. The following assumes you are using the C shell or the extended C shell (tcsh) as the logon shell.
The special file .mailrc is executed every time the BSD mail command is issued (all Suns, all SGIs administered by Informatics Services, and Mail on the other SGIs). It contains commands to tell how the mail interface should behave.
.history contains a list of your last n commands used.
.logout is executed when the user logs out.
These files are all special files that the user can modify, (with care) to suit his/her needs. When a user receives an account, most of these files will be present in his/her account. Note that they all start with a period (.) and hence are hidden when the ls command is issued. To see them, use the -a (all) option on ls.
If some files are not in the home directory, they can generally be copied from the /usr/lib directory.