At present, the [SQLite shell doc page](https://sqlite.org/cli.html) says nothing about the fact that it will start by reading ~/.sqliterc (or equivalent) if it exists. Since that page is where one is led by the [Permutated Index](https://sqlite.org/sitemap.html#pindex), and appears to be comprehensive, this absence could be considered a deficiency if that startup behavior is meant to be a real feature. I knew of it from a Linux man page and reading shell.c, but Windows users might have a harder time finding the feature. With slight encouragement, I would write a sentence or two on this subject, perhaps to be added in a named section subtitled 'Shell startup'. Such a section might also usefully mention the .init command and when it takes effect relative to reading ~/.sqliterc , as this is unclear without reading the code.