diff --git a/home/.bash_profile b/home/.bash_profile
index 8e57b08..b5bf26d 100644
--- a/home/.bash_profile
+++ b/home/.bash_profile
@@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
+# Switch to zsh if available (chsh doesn't persist in containers/Codespaces)
+if [[ -z "${ZSH_VERSION:-}" ]]; then
+    if command -v zsh &>/dev/null; then
+        exec zsh -l
+    else
+        printf '\033[38;2;248;140;20m[dots] zsh not found — falling back to bash\033[0m\n' >&2
+    fi
+fi
+
 # Load .profile, containing login, non-bash related initializations.
 [ -f "$HOME/.profile" ] && source "$HOME/.profile"
 
diff --git a/home/.bashrc b/home/.bashrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3a83b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/home/.bashrc
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# Non-login shells read .bashrc; source .bash_profile for unified setup
+[ -f "$HOME/.bash_profile" ] && source "$HOME/.bash_profile"