Linux :: Shared aliases in /etc/profile.d not applied to root user, why?

Must have to do with diff between su-ing over ssh vs when logged directly into machine

I suspect that you execute the su command without dash (-), and if so, it will invoke an interactive non-login shell. Combine with you have only following in /root/.bashrc:

# Test for an interactive shell.  There is no need to set anything
# past this point for scp and rcp, and it's important to refrain from
# outputting anything in those cases.
if [[ $- != *i* ]] ; then
    # Shell is non-interactive.  Be done now!
    return
fi

(not source /etc/bashrc)

whereas if you directly login or use su -, it will invoke a login shell, /etc/profile is read and sharedAliases.sh will be execute.

To see which file is read with different shells, adding logs to all these files by executing the following commands as root:

echo "echo 'running /etc/bashrc'" >> /etc/bashrc
echo "echo 'running /etc/profile'" >> /etc/profile
echo "echo 'running /root/.bashrc'" >> ~/.bashrc

Create an test alias:

# echo "alias list='ls'" > /etc/profile.d/test.sh

Now, login as normal user and use su, you will see something like this:

$ su
Password: 
running /root/.bashrc
bash-3.2# list
bash: list: command not found

and with su -:

$ su -
Password: 
running /etc/profile
running /root/.bashrc
# list
total 226540
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root root     60148987 Apr  1  2011 3241948.flv