A little something for your bashrc. PS1='\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[01;34m\] \w $(if [ $? == 0 ]; then echo "\[\033[01;32m\]✓"; else echo "\[\033[01;31m\]✗"; fi) \$\[\033[00m\] ' I saw this on twitter (courtesy of @selenamarie) and have been using it the past couple of weeks. Don't leave home without it. Cheers, BJ