diff --git a/ROOTS b/ROOTS
deleted file mode 100644
--- a/ROOTS
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,1 +0,0 @@
-thys
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/thys/etc/settings b/thys/etc/settings
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/thys/etc/settings
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# -*- shell-script -*- :mode=shellscript:
+
+if [ -z "$AFP_BASE" -a -f "$COMPONENT/../etc/settings" ]
+then
+  init_component "$(cd "$COMPONENT"; cd "$(pwd -P)"; cd ..; pwd)"
+fi