VisIt supports a run commands or an rc file called the visitrc file which is typically located <file_locations_visitrc> in ~/.visit. The visitrc file is a Python source code file that contains Python scripting commands that VisIt executes whenever the CLI is started either from the shell or from within the GUI through the Command Window <Command_Line_Window>.
The visitrc file is most often used to define Python functions associated with VisIt macros <command_macros>. However, users can use the file to run whatever Python code they wish during VisIt CLI startup. This could include opening a frequently used database, defining a set of frequently used expressions, etc. See the Python command-line interface <PythonManual> manual for more information about the commands available in VisIt's Python interface.