Every time we create a new user using the useradd command in a system, a number of events occur. To begin with, there is a structure that is in place in terms of the directories that will be generated for a new user. The structure is stored in the skeleton directory; this is located in the /etc/skel directory. The /etc/skel directory contains files and folders which are copied in the new user's home directory. We can take a look at the skeleton directory using our Ubuntu system:
root@ubuntu:/home/philip# ls -a /etc/skel/
. .. .bash_logout .bashrc examples.desktop .profile
root@ubuntu:/home/philip#
Each new user pulls its structure from here. The dot (.) indicates a hidden file. This includes files such as /etc/skel/.logout, /etc/.skel/.bashrc, and /etc/skel/.profile.