path.md · GitHubhttps://gist.github.com/nex3/c395b2f8fd4b02068be37c961301caa7
The PATH is an important concept when working on the command line. It's a list
of directories that tell your operating system where to look for programs, so
that you can just write script instead of /home/me/bin/script or
C:\Users\Me\bin\script. But different operating systems have different ways to
add a new directory to it:
Windows
- The first step depends which version of Windows you're using:
- If you're using Windows 8 or 10, press the Windows key, then search for and
select "System (Control Panel)". - If you're using Windows 7, right click the "Computer" icon on the desktop
and click "Properties".
- If you're using Windows 8 or 10, press the Windows key, then search for and
- Click "Advanced system settings".
- Click "Environment Variables".
- Under "System Variables", find the
PATHvariable, select it, and click
"Edit". If there is noPATHvariable, click "New". - Add your directory to the beginning of the variable value followed by
;(a
semicolon). For example, if the value wasC:\Windows\System32, change it to
C:\Users\Me\bin;C:\Windows\System32. - Click "OK".
- Restart your terminal.
Mac OS X
- Open the
.bash_profilefile in your home directory (for example,
/Users/your-user-name/.bash_profile) in a text editor. - Add
export PATH="your-dir:$PATH"to the last line of the file, where
your-dir is the directory you want to add. - Save the
.bash_profilefile. - Restart your terminal.
Linux
- Open the
.bashrcfile in your home directory (for example,
/home/your-user-name/.bashrc) in a text editor. - Add
export PATH="your-dir:$PATH"to the last line of the file, where
your-dir is the directory you want to add. - Save the
.bashrcfile. - Restart your terminal.