Local/File

• .<config_file>.local.<suffix>

  • Where .local Comes From

    • The .local suffix is a long-standing Unix convention meaning:

    • “Local customizations layered on top of upstream defaults.”
      

    • You’ll see similar patterns in:
      • /etc/foo.conf + /etc/foo.conf.local
      • /etc/profile + /etc/profile.local
      • /etc/apache2/apache2.conf + /etc/apache2/conf.d/*.conf
      • vim: vimrc + vimrc.local
      • zsh frameworks with *.local overrides
    • It’s a layering strategy, not a standard.