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Please note: Although this question is essentially the same as this linked question, I did not mark it as "solving my problem" because the answers provided there are not very satisfactory. The answer I accepted below is cleaner and simpler. Take a look!

I know how to pass bash a custom command to execute, e.g. like this:

bash -c "/bin/echo hello"

When I do this, bash executes the argument of -c and then exits. How can I get it to give me an interactive prompt when I'm done? Adding -i has no effect. I don't want to write the custom commands into a file that .bashrc always reads.

I've been making do with bash -c "commands; exec bash -i", but it's not ideal since it starts bash twice. Is there a way to get the same effect while starting bash only once?

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alexis
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    Well, the question is admittedly the same, but I didn't like any of the answers given there. I just accepted a far better answer. Not sure what the recommended course of action is for this type of duplication... – alexis Nov 15 '16 at 21:17
  • I agree that the accepted answer is a better answer than those on the duplicate question. – Tim Kennedy Nov 16 '16 at 16:57
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    Update: I asked for guidance about this situation [on meta.](http://meta.unix.stackexchange.com/q/4231/23344) It turns out that if you like the answer(s) here better than those in the original question, it's possible to mark the older question as a duplicate of the newer one. I see there are some votes here to reopen, so I'll leave it up to you all. I'm just glad the question was open long enough for @Paul's great answer. – alexis Nov 16 '16 at 20:11

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You can use the --init-file option like this bash --init-file <(echo "echo hello"). This will not source your .bashrc file at all. If you want the .bashrc file sourced you can add that like this bash --init-file <(echo ". ~/.bashrc; echo hello"). Or you can put all the commands you want to execute in a file and use bash --init-file file_with_commands

Paul H.
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    I like this! Much cleaner than redirecting from `/dev/tty` as in the linked question. Yes, I need to run `.bashrc` to have a fully functional interactive bash. Gotta try out your idea a bit... – alexis Nov 15 '16 at 20:54
  • Works like a charm, thanks! You should add it to [this question](http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/123103/how-to-keep-bash-running-after-command-execution) too, which asks the same thing. – alexis Nov 15 '16 at 21:18