PS1 only outputs the PS1 string not proper values

Question

I'm using iTerm2 on MacOS Sierra. I try to edit the PS1 in variable .bash_profile to be PS1="\\h:\\W \\u \\$" but in terminal I get the promp \\h:\\W \\u \\$ instead of Simon:~ simon $

Any ideas why it behaves like this?

Answer 1

In iTerm2 you can use bash instead of zsh by setting inside profile settings

iTerm2 -> Profiles -> Choose Profile on left -> Command: /bin/bash

Simply tell iTerm2 to use arbitrary Command instead of Login shell .