Related
I'm trying to write a small script to change the current directory to my project directory:
#!/bin/bash
cd /home/tree/projects/java
I saved this file as proj, added execute permission with chmod, and copied it to /usr/bin. When I call it by:
proj, it does nothing. What am I doing wrong?
Shell scripts are run inside a subshell, and each subshell has its own concept of what the current directory is. The cd succeeds, but as soon as the subshell exits, you're back in the interactive shell and nothing ever changed there.
One way to get around this is to use an alias instead:
alias proj="cd /home/tree/projects/java"
You're doing nothing wrong! You've changed the directory, but only within the subshell that runs the script.
You can run the script in your current process with the "dot" command:
. proj
But I'd prefer Greg's suggestion to use an alias in this simple case.
The cd in your script technically worked as it changed the directory of the shell that ran the script, but that was a separate process forked from your interactive shell.
A Posix-compatible way to solve this problem is to define a shell procedure rather than a shell-invoked command script.
jhome () {
cd /home/tree/projects/java
}
You can just type this in or put it in one of the various shell startup files.
The cd is done within the script's shell. When the script ends, that shell exits, and then you are left in the directory you were. "Source" the script, don't run it. Instead of:
./myscript.sh
do
. ./myscript.sh
(Notice the dot and space before the script name.)
To make a bash script that will cd to a select directory :
Create the script file
#!/bin/sh
# file : /scripts/cdjava
#
cd /home/askgelal/projects/java
Then create an alias in your startup file.
#!/bin/sh
# file /scripts/mastercode.sh
#
alias cdjava='. /scripts/cdjava'
I created a startup file where I dump all my aliases and custom functions.
Then I source this file into my .bashrc to have it set on each boot.
For example, create a master aliases/functions file: /scripts/mastercode.sh
(Put the alias in this file.)
Then at the end of your .bashrc file:
source /scripts/mastercode.sh
Now its easy to cd to your java directory, just type cdjava and you are there.
You can use . to execute a script in the current shell environment:
. script_name
or alternatively, its more readable but shell specific alias source:
source script_name
This avoids the subshell, and allows any variables or builtins (including cd) to affect the current shell instead.
Jeremy Ruten's idea of using a symlink triggered a thought that hasn't crossed any other answer. Use:
CDPATH=:$HOME/projects
The leading colon is important; it means that if there is a directory 'dir' in the current directory, then 'cd dir' will change to that, rather than hopping off somewhere else. With the value set as shown, you can do:
cd java
and, if there is no sub-directory called java in the current directory, then it will take you directly to $HOME/projects/java - no aliases, no scripts, no dubious execs or dot commands.
My $HOME is /Users/jleffler; my $CDPATH is:
:/Users/jleffler:/Users/jleffler/mail:/Users/jleffler/src:/Users/jleffler/src/perl:/Users/jleffler/src/sqltools:/Users/jleffler/lib:/Users/jleffler/doc:/Users/jleffler/work
Use exec bash at the end
A bash script operates on its current environment or on that of its
children, but never on its parent environment.
However, this question often gets asked because one wants to be left at a (new) bash prompt in a certain directory after execution of a bash script from within another directory.
If this is the case, simply execute a child bash instance at the end of the script:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
cd /home/tree/projects/java
echo -e '\nHit [Ctrl]+[D] to exit this child shell.'
exec bash
To return to the previous, parental bash instance, use Ctrl+D.
Update
At least with newer versions of bash, the exec on the last line is no longer required. Furthermore, the script could be made to work with whatever preferred shell by using the $SHELL environment variable. This then gives:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
cd desired/directory
echo -e '\nHit [Ctrl]+[D] to exit this child shell.'
$SHELL
I got my code to work by using. <your file name>
./<your file name> dose not work because it doesn't change your directory in the terminal it just changes the directory specific to that script.
Here is my program
#!/bin/bash
echo "Taking you to eclipse's workspace."
cd /Developer/Java/workspace
Here is my terminal
nova:~ Kael$
nova:~ Kael$ . workspace.sh
Taking you to eclipe's workspace.
nova:workspace Kael$
simply run:
cd /home/xxx/yyy && command_you_want
When you fire a shell script, it runs a new instance of that shell (/bin/bash). Thus, your script just fires up a shell, changes the directory and exits. Put another way, cd (and other such commands) within a shell script do not affect nor have access to the shell from which they were launched.
You can do following:
#!/bin/bash
cd /your/project/directory
# start another shell and replacing the current
exec /bin/bash
EDIT: This could be 'dotted' as well, to prevent creation of subsequent shells.
Example:
. ./previous_script (with or without the first line)
On my particular case i needed too many times to change for the same directory.
So on my .bashrc (I use ubuntu) i've added the
1 -
$ nano ~./bashrc
function switchp
{
cd /home/tree/projects/$1
}
2-
$ source ~/.bashrc
3 -
$ switchp java
Directly it will do: cd /home/tree/projects/java
Hope that helps!
It only changes the directory for the script itself, while your current directory stays the same.
You might want to use a symbolic link instead. It allows you to make a "shortcut" to a file or directory, so you'd only have to type something like cd my-project.
You can combine Adam & Greg's alias and dot approaches to make something that can be more dynamic—
alias project=". project"
Now running the project alias will execute the project script in the current shell as opposed to the subshell.
You can combine an alias and a script,
alias proj="cd \`/usr/bin/proj !*\`"
provided that the script echos the destination path. Note that those are backticks surrounding the script name.
For example, your script could be
#!/bin/bash
echo /home/askgelal/projects/java/$1
The advantage with this technique is that the script could take any number of command line parameters and emit different destinations calculated by possibly complex logic.
to navigate directories quicky, there's $CDPATH, cdargs, and ways to generate aliases automatically
http://jackndempsey.blogspot.com/2008/07/cdargs.html
http://muness.blogspot.com/2008/06/lazy-bash-cd-aliaes.html
https://web.archive.org/web/1/http://articles.techrepublic%2ecom%2ecom/5100-10878_11-5827311.html
In your ~/.bash_profile file. add the next function
move_me() {
cd ~/path/to/dest
}
Restart terminal and you can type
move_me
and you will be moved to the destination folder.
You can use the operator && :
cd myDirectory && ls
While sourcing the script you want to run is one solution, you should be aware that this script then can directly modify the environment of your current shell. Also it is not possible to pass arguments anymore.
Another way to do, is to implement your script as a function in bash.
function cdbm() {
cd whereever_you_want_to_go
echo "Arguments to the functions were $1, $2, ..."
}
This technique is used by autojump: http://github.com/joelthelion/autojump/wiki to provide you with learning shell directory bookmarks.
You can create a function like below in your .bash_profile and it will work smoothly.
The following function takes an optional parameter which is a project.
For example, you can just run
cdproj
or
cdproj project_name
Here is the function definition.
cdproj(){
dir=/Users/yourname/projects
if [ "$1" ]; then
cd "${dir}/${1}"
else
cd "${dir}"
fi
}
Dont forget to source your .bash_profile
This should do what you want. Change to the directory of interest (from within the script), and then spawn a new bash shell.
#!/bin/bash
# saved as mov_dir.sh
cd ~/mt/v3/rt_linux-rt-tools/
bash
If you run this, it will take you to the directory of interest and when you exit it it will bring you back to the original place.
root#intel-corei7-64:~# ./mov_dir.sh
root#intel-corei7-64:~/mt/v3/rt_linux-rt-tools# exit
root#intel-corei7-64:~#
This will even take you to back to your original directory when you exit (CTRL+d)
I did the following:
create a file called case
paste the following in the file:
#!/bin/sh
cd /home/"$1"
save it and then:
chmod +x case
I also created an alias in my .bashrc:
alias disk='cd /home/; . case'
now when I type:
case 12345
essentially I am typing:
cd /home/12345
You can type any folder after 'case':
case 12
case 15
case 17
which is like typing:
cd /home/12
cd /home/15
cd /home/17
respectively
In my case the path is much longer - these guys summed it up with the ~ info earlier.
As explained on the other answers, you have changed the directory, but only within the sub-shell that runs the script. this does not impact the parent shell.
One solution is to use bash functions instead of a bash script (sh); by placing your bash script code into a function. That makes the function available as a command and then, this will be executed without a child process and thus any cd command will impact the caller shell.
Bash functions :
One feature of the bash profile is to store custom functions that can be run in the terminal or in bash scripts the same way you run application/commands this also could be used as a shortcut for long commands.
To make your function efficient system widely you will need to copy your function at the end of several files
/home/user/.bashrc
/home/user/.bash_profile
/root/.bashrc
/root/.bash_profile
You can sudo kwrite /home/user/.bashrc /home/user/.bash_profile /root/.bashrc /root/.bash_profile to edit/create those files quickly
Howto :
Copy your bash script code inside a new function at the end of your bash's profile file and restart your terminal, you can then run cdd or whatever the function you wrote.
Script Example
Making shortcut to cd .. with cdd
cdd() {
cd ..
}
ls shortcut
ll() {
ls -l -h
}
ls shortcut
lll() {
ls -l -h -a
}
If you are using fish as your shell, the best solution is to create a function. As an example, given the original question, you could copy the 4 lines below and paste them into your fish command line:
function proj
cd /home/tree/projects/java
end
funcsave proj
This will create the function and save it for use later. If your project changes, just repeat the process using the new path.
If you prefer, you can manually add the function file by doing the following:
nano ~/.config/fish/functions/proj.fish
and enter the text:
function proj
cd /home/tree/projects/java
end
and finally press ctrl+x to exit and y followed by return to save your changes.
(NOTE: the first method of using funcsave creates the proj.fish file for you).
You need no script, only set the correct option and create an environment variable.
shopt -s cdable_vars
in your ~/.bashrc allows to cd to the content of environment variables.
Create such an environment variable:
export myjava="/home/tree/projects/java"
and you can use:
cd myjava
Other alternatives.
Note the discussion How do I set the working directory of the parent process?
It contains some hackish answers, e.g.
https://stackoverflow.com/a/2375174/755804 (changing the parent process directory via gdb, don't do this) and https://stackoverflow.com/a/51985735/755804 (the command tailcd that injects cd dirname to the input stream of the parent process; well, ideally it should be a part of bash rather than a hack)
It is an old question, but I am really surprised I don't see this trick here
Instead of using cd you can use
export PWD=the/path/you/want
No need to create subshells or use aliases.
Note that it is your responsibility to make sure the/path/you/want exists.
I have to work in tcsh, and I know this is not an elegant solution, but for example, if I had to change folders to a path where one word is different, the whole thing can be done in the alias
a alias_name 'set a = `pwd`; set b = `echo $a | replace "Trees" "Tests"` ; cd $b'
If the path is always fixed, the just
a alias_name2 'cd path/you/always/need'
should work
In the line above, the new folder path is set
This combines the answer by Serge with an unrelated answer by David. It changes the directory, and then instead of forcing a bash shell, it launches the user's default shell. It however requires both getent and /etc/passwd to detect the default shell.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
cd desired/directory
USER_SHELL=$(getent passwd <USER> | cut -d : -f 7)
$USER_SHELL
Of course this still has the same deficiency of creating a nested shell.
I'm trying to write a small script to change the current directory to my project directory:
#!/bin/bash
cd /home/tree/projects/java
I saved this file as proj, added execute permission with chmod, and copied it to /usr/bin. When I call it by:
proj, it does nothing. What am I doing wrong?
Shell scripts are run inside a subshell, and each subshell has its own concept of what the current directory is. The cd succeeds, but as soon as the subshell exits, you're back in the interactive shell and nothing ever changed there.
One way to get around this is to use an alias instead:
alias proj="cd /home/tree/projects/java"
You're doing nothing wrong! You've changed the directory, but only within the subshell that runs the script.
You can run the script in your current process with the "dot" command:
. proj
But I'd prefer Greg's suggestion to use an alias in this simple case.
The cd in your script technically worked as it changed the directory of the shell that ran the script, but that was a separate process forked from your interactive shell.
A Posix-compatible way to solve this problem is to define a shell procedure rather than a shell-invoked command script.
jhome () {
cd /home/tree/projects/java
}
You can just type this in or put it in one of the various shell startup files.
The cd is done within the script's shell. When the script ends, that shell exits, and then you are left in the directory you were. "Source" the script, don't run it. Instead of:
./myscript.sh
do
. ./myscript.sh
(Notice the dot and space before the script name.)
To make a bash script that will cd to a select directory :
Create the script file
#!/bin/sh
# file : /scripts/cdjava
#
cd /home/askgelal/projects/java
Then create an alias in your startup file.
#!/bin/sh
# file /scripts/mastercode.sh
#
alias cdjava='. /scripts/cdjava'
I created a startup file where I dump all my aliases and custom functions.
Then I source this file into my .bashrc to have it set on each boot.
For example, create a master aliases/functions file: /scripts/mastercode.sh
(Put the alias in this file.)
Then at the end of your .bashrc file:
source /scripts/mastercode.sh
Now its easy to cd to your java directory, just type cdjava and you are there.
You can use . to execute a script in the current shell environment:
. script_name
or alternatively, its more readable but shell specific alias source:
source script_name
This avoids the subshell, and allows any variables or builtins (including cd) to affect the current shell instead.
Jeremy Ruten's idea of using a symlink triggered a thought that hasn't crossed any other answer. Use:
CDPATH=:$HOME/projects
The leading colon is important; it means that if there is a directory 'dir' in the current directory, then 'cd dir' will change to that, rather than hopping off somewhere else. With the value set as shown, you can do:
cd java
and, if there is no sub-directory called java in the current directory, then it will take you directly to $HOME/projects/java - no aliases, no scripts, no dubious execs or dot commands.
My $HOME is /Users/jleffler; my $CDPATH is:
:/Users/jleffler:/Users/jleffler/mail:/Users/jleffler/src:/Users/jleffler/src/perl:/Users/jleffler/src/sqltools:/Users/jleffler/lib:/Users/jleffler/doc:/Users/jleffler/work
Use exec bash at the end
A bash script operates on its current environment or on that of its
children, but never on its parent environment.
However, this question often gets asked because one wants to be left at a (new) bash prompt in a certain directory after execution of a bash script from within another directory.
If this is the case, simply execute a child bash instance at the end of the script:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
cd /home/tree/projects/java
echo -e '\nHit [Ctrl]+[D] to exit this child shell.'
exec bash
To return to the previous, parental bash instance, use Ctrl+D.
Update
At least with newer versions of bash, the exec on the last line is no longer required. Furthermore, the script could be made to work with whatever preferred shell by using the $SHELL environment variable. This then gives:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
cd desired/directory
echo -e '\nHit [Ctrl]+[D] to exit this child shell.'
$SHELL
I got my code to work by using. <your file name>
./<your file name> dose not work because it doesn't change your directory in the terminal it just changes the directory specific to that script.
Here is my program
#!/bin/bash
echo "Taking you to eclipse's workspace."
cd /Developer/Java/workspace
Here is my terminal
nova:~ Kael$
nova:~ Kael$ . workspace.sh
Taking you to eclipe's workspace.
nova:workspace Kael$
simply run:
cd /home/xxx/yyy && command_you_want
When you fire a shell script, it runs a new instance of that shell (/bin/bash). Thus, your script just fires up a shell, changes the directory and exits. Put another way, cd (and other such commands) within a shell script do not affect nor have access to the shell from which they were launched.
You can do following:
#!/bin/bash
cd /your/project/directory
# start another shell and replacing the current
exec /bin/bash
EDIT: This could be 'dotted' as well, to prevent creation of subsequent shells.
Example:
. ./previous_script (with or without the first line)
On my particular case i needed too many times to change for the same directory.
So on my .bashrc (I use ubuntu) i've added the
1 -
$ nano ~./bashrc
function switchp
{
cd /home/tree/projects/$1
}
2-
$ source ~/.bashrc
3 -
$ switchp java
Directly it will do: cd /home/tree/projects/java
Hope that helps!
It only changes the directory for the script itself, while your current directory stays the same.
You might want to use a symbolic link instead. It allows you to make a "shortcut" to a file or directory, so you'd only have to type something like cd my-project.
You can combine Adam & Greg's alias and dot approaches to make something that can be more dynamic—
alias project=". project"
Now running the project alias will execute the project script in the current shell as opposed to the subshell.
You can combine an alias and a script,
alias proj="cd \`/usr/bin/proj !*\`"
provided that the script echos the destination path. Note that those are backticks surrounding the script name.
For example, your script could be
#!/bin/bash
echo /home/askgelal/projects/java/$1
The advantage with this technique is that the script could take any number of command line parameters and emit different destinations calculated by possibly complex logic.
to navigate directories quicky, there's $CDPATH, cdargs, and ways to generate aliases automatically
http://jackndempsey.blogspot.com/2008/07/cdargs.html
http://muness.blogspot.com/2008/06/lazy-bash-cd-aliaes.html
https://web.archive.org/web/1/http://articles.techrepublic%2ecom%2ecom/5100-10878_11-5827311.html
In your ~/.bash_profile file. add the next function
move_me() {
cd ~/path/to/dest
}
Restart terminal and you can type
move_me
and you will be moved to the destination folder.
You can use the operator && :
cd myDirectory && ls
While sourcing the script you want to run is one solution, you should be aware that this script then can directly modify the environment of your current shell. Also it is not possible to pass arguments anymore.
Another way to do, is to implement your script as a function in bash.
function cdbm() {
cd whereever_you_want_to_go
echo "Arguments to the functions were $1, $2, ..."
}
This technique is used by autojump: http://github.com/joelthelion/autojump/wiki to provide you with learning shell directory bookmarks.
You can create a function like below in your .bash_profile and it will work smoothly.
The following function takes an optional parameter which is a project.
For example, you can just run
cdproj
or
cdproj project_name
Here is the function definition.
cdproj(){
dir=/Users/yourname/projects
if [ "$1" ]; then
cd "${dir}/${1}"
else
cd "${dir}"
fi
}
Dont forget to source your .bash_profile
This should do what you want. Change to the directory of interest (from within the script), and then spawn a new bash shell.
#!/bin/bash
# saved as mov_dir.sh
cd ~/mt/v3/rt_linux-rt-tools/
bash
If you run this, it will take you to the directory of interest and when you exit it it will bring you back to the original place.
root#intel-corei7-64:~# ./mov_dir.sh
root#intel-corei7-64:~/mt/v3/rt_linux-rt-tools# exit
root#intel-corei7-64:~#
This will even take you to back to your original directory when you exit (CTRL+d)
I did the following:
create a file called case
paste the following in the file:
#!/bin/sh
cd /home/"$1"
save it and then:
chmod +x case
I also created an alias in my .bashrc:
alias disk='cd /home/; . case'
now when I type:
case 12345
essentially I am typing:
cd /home/12345
You can type any folder after 'case':
case 12
case 15
case 17
which is like typing:
cd /home/12
cd /home/15
cd /home/17
respectively
In my case the path is much longer - these guys summed it up with the ~ info earlier.
As explained on the other answers, you have changed the directory, but only within the sub-shell that runs the script. this does not impact the parent shell.
One solution is to use bash functions instead of a bash script (sh); by placing your bash script code into a function. That makes the function available as a command and then, this will be executed without a child process and thus any cd command will impact the caller shell.
Bash functions :
One feature of the bash profile is to store custom functions that can be run in the terminal or in bash scripts the same way you run application/commands this also could be used as a shortcut for long commands.
To make your function efficient system widely you will need to copy your function at the end of several files
/home/user/.bashrc
/home/user/.bash_profile
/root/.bashrc
/root/.bash_profile
You can sudo kwrite /home/user/.bashrc /home/user/.bash_profile /root/.bashrc /root/.bash_profile to edit/create those files quickly
Howto :
Copy your bash script code inside a new function at the end of your bash's profile file and restart your terminal, you can then run cdd or whatever the function you wrote.
Script Example
Making shortcut to cd .. with cdd
cdd() {
cd ..
}
ls shortcut
ll() {
ls -l -h
}
ls shortcut
lll() {
ls -l -h -a
}
If you are using fish as your shell, the best solution is to create a function. As an example, given the original question, you could copy the 4 lines below and paste them into your fish command line:
function proj
cd /home/tree/projects/java
end
funcsave proj
This will create the function and save it for use later. If your project changes, just repeat the process using the new path.
If you prefer, you can manually add the function file by doing the following:
nano ~/.config/fish/functions/proj.fish
and enter the text:
function proj
cd /home/tree/projects/java
end
and finally press ctrl+x to exit and y followed by return to save your changes.
(NOTE: the first method of using funcsave creates the proj.fish file for you).
You need no script, only set the correct option and create an environment variable.
shopt -s cdable_vars
in your ~/.bashrc allows to cd to the content of environment variables.
Create such an environment variable:
export myjava="/home/tree/projects/java"
and you can use:
cd myjava
Other alternatives.
Note the discussion How do I set the working directory of the parent process?
It contains some hackish answers, e.g.
https://stackoverflow.com/a/2375174/755804 (changing the parent process directory via gdb, don't do this) and https://stackoverflow.com/a/51985735/755804 (the command tailcd that injects cd dirname to the input stream of the parent process; well, ideally it should be a part of bash rather than a hack)
It is an old question, but I am really surprised I don't see this trick here
Instead of using cd you can use
export PWD=the/path/you/want
No need to create subshells or use aliases.
Note that it is your responsibility to make sure the/path/you/want exists.
I have to work in tcsh, and I know this is not an elegant solution, but for example, if I had to change folders to a path where one word is different, the whole thing can be done in the alias
a alias_name 'set a = `pwd`; set b = `echo $a | replace "Trees" "Tests"` ; cd $b'
If the path is always fixed, the just
a alias_name2 'cd path/you/always/need'
should work
In the line above, the new folder path is set
This combines the answer by Serge with an unrelated answer by David. It changes the directory, and then instead of forcing a bash shell, it launches the user's default shell. It however requires both getent and /etc/passwd to detect the default shell.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
cd desired/directory
USER_SHELL=$(getent passwd <USER> | cut -d : -f 7)
$USER_SHELL
Of course this still has the same deficiency of creating a nested shell.
This is my first time working with a Ruby script, and, in order to run this script, I have to first cd into the root of the project, which is /usr/local/bin/youtube-multiple-dl and then execute the script as bin/youtube-multiple-dl.
I tried setting the PATH variable
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/youtube-multiple-dl/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile
in hopes that I can run this from anywhere on the machine without having to cd to the project's root, however, no luck with that so far.
System: Ubuntu 15.04 server
Script Repo
My current way of executing the script is:
root#box15990:~# cd /usr/local/bin/youtube-multiple-dl
root#box15990:/usr/local/bin/youtube-multiple-dl# bin/youtube-multiple-dl
Desired way of executing script:
root#box15990:~# youtube-multiple-dl
How can I properly set the enviroment path for this script in order to run from anywhere?
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/youtube-multiple-dl/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile
isn't how we set a PATH entry.
The PATH is a list of directories to be searched, not a list of files.
Typically, the PATH should contain something like:
/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin
somewhere in it.
If it doesn't, then you want to modify it using a text editor, such as nano, pico or vim using one of these commands:
nano ~/.bash_profile
pico ~/.bash_profile
vim ~/.bash_profile
You probably want one of the first two over vim as vim, while being extremely powerful and one of the most-used editors in the world, is also not overly intuitive if you're not used to it. You can use man nano or man pico to learn about the other too.
Once your in your file editor, scroll to the bottom and remove the line you added. Then find the /usr/bin section in your PATH and add /usr/local/bin: before it. : is the delimiter between directories. That change will tell the shell to look in /usr/local/bin before /usr/bin, so that any things you added to the /usr/local/bin directory will be found before the system-installed code, which is in /usr/bin.
It's possible that there isn't a PATH statement in the file. If you don't see one, simply add:
export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH
After modifying your ~/.bash_profile, save the file and exit the editor, and then restart your shell. You can do that by exiting and re-opening a terminal window, or by running:
exec $SHELL
at the command-line.
At that point, running:
echo $PATH
should reflect the change to your path.
To confirm that the change is in effect, you can run:
which youtube-multiple.dl
and you should get back:
/usr/local/bin/youtube-multiple.dl
At that point you should be able to run:
youtube-multiple.dl -h
and get back a response showing the built-in help. This is because the shell will search the path, starting with the first defined directory, and continue until it exhausts the list, and will execute the first file matching that name.
Because of the difficulties you're having, I'd strongly recommend reading some tutorials about managing a *nix system. It's not overly hard to learn the basics, and having an understanding of how the shell finds files and executes them is essential for anyone programming a scripting language like Ruby, Python, Perl, etc. We're using the OS constantly, installing files for system and user's use, and doing so correctly and safely is very important for the security and stability of the machine.
I am trying to define some aliases in cygwin, but with no success. I am doing so like this at the end of the .bashrc file.
alias foo='pwd'
I have tried to add this line in a .bashrc file in both inside the home folder of cygwin and in the home folder for the Windows user I am on C:\Users\Nuno\. In both cases I have just appended this line to a copy of the /etc/skel/.bashrc file. In either cases, it didn't work.
I had this working before. I had to reinstall Cygwin and ever since it never worked properly again. I have removed all files (or at least think so, when doing the reinstallation). I have also noticed that in the first install (when it was working) cygwin already was creating .bash files in the home folder. Now, it doesn't.
I am on a machine running Windows 7.
EDIT: My cygwin home folder is set to the Windows home folder C:\Users\Nuno\. I have placed what I think is a valid .bashrc file there, but it still doesn't work.
Thanks in advance.
As me_and already explained what's going on I just want to add a workaround should you for whatever reason not be able or willing to remove Windows' HOME environment variable.
Normally the shortcut for Cygwin executes
C:\cygwin\bin\mintty.exe -i /Cygwin-Terminal.ico -
Instead you can create a batchfile with the following content and start that:
#echo off
set HOME=
start C:\cygwin\bin\mintty.exe -i /Cygwin-Terminal.ico -
That will start a a Cygwin windows whose home directory settings are not overridden by a Windows environment variable.
Your .bashrc file will be loaded from wherever Cygwin Bash thinks your home directory is when it starts. You've mentioned in your edit that you've changed your home directory, but not how, so it's possible you've made a mistake there.
Cygwin will load your home directory from one of two places, and if they differ it can cause problems:
The HOME environment variable. This will be picked up from however you launch Cygwin, so normally from Windows itself. You can see what environment variables you have defined by pressing Win+Pause, going to "Advanced system settings", "Environment Variables…". If "HOME" is in either "User variables" or "System variables", delete it – it's unnecessary and only causes problems.
Cygwin's /etc/passwd file (normally C:\Cygwin\etc\passwd from Windows). This will have a number of lines containing details of each user on the system; the seventh : separated field is the home directory. You can tell which user it's looking at by running whoami from a Cygwin bash shell.
If whoami reports nunos, you should have a line in Cygwin's /etc/passwd that looks something like the following:
nunos:unused:1001:513:U-System\nunos:S-1-2-34-567890-123456-7890123-1001:/home/nunos:/bin/bash
It's that /home/nunos that's important; if it's something different you should probably reset it to that, at which point you want to use the .bashrc in Cygwin's /home/nunos/.
You should also be very wary of directories that contain spaces for this. C:\Users\nunos should be fine, but beware in particular C:\Documents and Settings\nunos, which just won't work with Cygwin.
I had the same issue, where the aliases added to ~/.bashrc didn't work.
It seems that, for some reason, the ~/.bashrc was not executed when launching the console.
I stumbled upon a response that fixes the issues
So, you need to create a .bash_profile file. This one seems to be the default script, and put this code in it, to ensure that the .bashrc is executed.
# ~/.bash_profile: executed by bash for login shells.
if [ -e /etc/bash.bashrc ] ; then
source /etc/bash.bashrc
fi
if [ -e ~/.bashrc ] ; then
source ~/.bashrc
fi
That works for me, just make sure that .bash_profile is executable. (chmod +x ~/.bash_profile)
Here's a really quick and dirty way to do it, but it works fine for most things!
Let's say you want to always run 'ls --color' instead of just 'ls'. Instead of messing around with .bashrc stuff, you can create a simple .bat file that essentially bootlegs the original ls command.
Here's what I did:
cd /bin
echo ls2.exe %* --color > lsNew.bat
mv ls.exe ls2.exe
mv lsNew.bat ls.bat
So now, whenever you type in ls from CMD, you actually are calling ls.bat, which in turn calls ls2.exe --color, the original ls command with the --color flag, along with the rest of the arguments, which are nicely passed through %*.
I had the same problem, but I was using ConEmu to run my console. I had to go into settings and change the settings from this :
set CHERE_INVOKING=1 & %ConEmuDrive%\Programs\Cygwin\bin\sh.exe --login -i -new_console:C:"%ConEmuDrive%\Programs\Cygwin\Cygwin.ico"
to this:
set HOME= & set CHERE_INVOKING=1 &
%ConEmuDrive%\Programs\Cygwin\bin\bash.exe --login -i
-new_console:C:"%ConEmuDrive%\Programs\Cygwin\Cygwin.ico"
Then it would work correctly.
It works as explained from cygwin:
Create a file ".profile" in your windows home dir. This will load every time when you start cygwin.
You can edit the file with your alias or you can source the .bashrc.
If you'll source, insert "source .bashrc" and save .bashrc also in your windows home dir.
Now you can start editing the .bashrc.
This is working for me On windows 10 with Cygwin64. Don't worry "kubectl" is just the program that I want to run when I type "k". restart Cygwin terminal after the change.
Smith#NB-Smith-3 ~ echo "alias k=C:/Users/Smith/kube/kubectl" >> $HOME/.bash_profile
changes this file
C:\cygwin64\home\Smith.bash_profile
I had same problem is why the path not is correct, the path correct is: D:\C++\cygwin\home\USER_WINDOWS.bash_profile
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On Linux, how can I add a directory to the $PATH so it remains persistent across different sessions?
Background
I'm trying to add a directory to my path so it will always be in my Linux path. I've tried:
export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/dir
This works, however each time I exit the terminal and start a new terminal instance, this path is lost, and I need to run the export command again.
How can I do it so this will be set permanently?
You need to add it to your ~/.profile or ~/.bashrc file.
export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/dir"
Depending on what you're doing, you also may want to symlink to binaries:
cd /usr/bin
sudo ln -s /path/to/binary binary-name
Note that this will not automatically update your path for the remainder of the session. To do this, you should run:
source ~/.profile
or
source ~/.bashrc
There are multiple ways to do it. The actual solution depends on the purpose.
The variable values are usually stored in either a list of assignments or a shell script that is run at the start of the system or user session. In case of the shell script you must use a specific shell syntax and export or set commands.
System wide
/etc/environment List of unique assignments. Allows references. Perfect for adding system-wide directories like /usr/local/something/bin to PATH variable or defining JAVA_HOME. Used by PAM and systemd.
/etc/environment.d/*.conf List of unique assignments. Allows references. Perfect for adding system-wide directories like /usr/local/something/bin to PATH variable or defining JAVA_HOME. The configuration can be split into multiple files, usually one per each tool (Java, Go, and Node.js). Used by systemd that by design do not pass those values to user login shells.
/etc/xprofile Shell script executed while starting X Window System session. This is run for every user that logs into X Window System. It is a good choice for PATH entries that are valid for every user like /usr/local/something/bin. The file is included by other script so use POSIX shell syntax not the syntax of your user shell.
/etc/profile and /etc/profile.d/* Shell script. This is a good choice for shell-only systems. Those files are read only by shells in login mode.
/etc/<shell>.<shell>rc. Shell script. This is a poor choice because it is single shell specific. Used in non-login mode.
User session
~/.pam_environment. List of unique assignments, no references allowed. Loaded by PAM at the start of every user session irrelevant if it is an X Window System session or shell. You cannot reference other variables including HOME or PATH so it has limited use. Used by PAM.
~/.xprofile Shell script. This is executed when the user logs into X Window System system. The variables defined here are visible to every X application. Perfect choice for extending PATH with values such as ~/bin or ~/go/bin or defining user specific GOPATH or NPM_HOME. The file is included by other script so use POSIX shell syntax not the syntax of your user shell. Your graphical text editor or IDE started by shortcut will see those values.
~/.profile, ~/.<shell>_profile, ~/.<shell>_login Shell script. It will be visible only for programs started from terminal or terminal emulator. It is a good choice for shell-only systems. Used by shells in login mode.
~/.<shell>rc. Shell script. This is a poor choice because it is single shell specific. Used by shells in non-login mode.
Notes
GNOME on Wayland starts a user login shell to get the environment. It effectively uses the login shell configurations ~/.profile, ~/.<shell>_profile, ~/.<shell>_login files.
Man pages
environment
environment.d https://linux.die.net/man/1/environment.d
bash
dash
Distribution-specific documentation
Ubuntu
Arch Linux
Related
Difference between Login Shell and Non-Login Shell?
In Ubuntu, edit /etc/environment. Its sole purpose is to store environment variables. Originally the $PATH variable is defined here.
This is a paste from my /etc/environment file:
PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games"
So you can just open up this file as root and add whatever you want.
For immediate results,
Run (try as normal user and root):
source /etc/environment && export PATH
If you use Z shell (zsh), add this line right after the comments in /etc/zsh/zshenv file:
source /etc/environment
I encountered this little quirk on Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf), but if your zsh is not getting the correct PATH, this could be why.
For Bash, you can put the export declaration in ~/.bashrc. For example, my .bashrc contains this line:
export PATH=/var/lib/gems/1.8/bin:/home/ash/.bin:$PATH
You may set $PATH permanently in two ways.
To set the path for a particular user:
You may need to make the entry in file .bash_profile in the home directory for the user.
E.g, in my case I will set the java path in the Tomcat user profile*
echo "export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/dir" >> /home/tomcat/.bash_profile
To set a common path for all system users, you may need to set the path like this:
echo "export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/dir" >> /etc/profile
You can use on CentOS or Red Hat Linux (RHEL) for the local user:
echo $"export PATH=\$PATH:$(pwd)" >> ~/.bash_profile
This adds the current directory (or you can use another directory) to the PATH. This makes it permanent, but it takes effect at the next user logon.
If you don't want do a re-logon, then you can use:
source ~/.bash_profile
That reloads the # User specific environment and startup programs. This comment is present in file .bash_profile.
You can also set it permanently, editing one of these files:
/etc/profile (for all users)
~/.bash_profile (for current user)
~/.bash_login (for current user)
~/.profile (for current user)
You can also use /etc/environment to set a permanent PATH environment variable, but it does not support variable expansion.
Extracted from: Linux: Añadir ruta al PATH
I think the most elegant way is:
Add this in the ~/.bashrc file.
Run this command:
gedit ~/.bashrc
Add your path inside it:
export PATH=$PATH:/opt/node/bin
source ~/.bashrc
(Ubuntu)
Modify the "/etc/profile" file:
vi /etc/profile
Press the I key to enter editing mode and move the cursor to the end of the file. Additional entries：
export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/dir;
Press the Esc key to exit edit mode, and :wq to save the file.
Make the configuration effective
source /etc/profile
Explanation：
The profile file works for all users. If you want it to be valid only for the active user, change the ".bashrc" file.
I stumbled across this question yesterday when searching for a way to add a folder containing my own scripts to the PATH - and was surprised to find out that my own ~/.profile file (on Linux Mint 18.1) already contained this:
# set PATH so it includes user's private bin if it exists
if [ -d "$HOME/bin" ] ; then
PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"
fi
Thus, all I had to do was create the folder ~/bin and put my scripts there.
You can add that line to your console configuration files (e.g., .bashrc, or to .profile).
After so much research, I found a simple solution for this (I am using Elementary OS), inspired by Flutter – Step by Step Installation on Linux – Ubuntu.
Run the following command to open the .bashrc file in edit mode. (You
may also use vi or any other editor).
~$ sudo nano ~/.bashrc
Add the following line at the end of the file and save.
export PATH="[FLUTTER_SDK_PATH]/flutter/bin:$PATH"
For example:
export PATH="/home/rageshl/dev/flutter/bin:$PATH"
I believe this is the permanent solution for setting the path in Flutter in a Ubuntu distribution.
It can be directly added by using the following command:
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/new/directory' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc
One way to add a permanent path, which worked for me, is:
cd /etc/profile.d
touch custom.sh
vi custom.sh
export PATH=$PATH:/path according to your setting/
Restart your computer and here we go; the path will be there permanently.
Add script file [name_of_script].sh to the /etc/profile.d folder with the line:
export PATH=$PATH:/dir
Every script within the /etc/profile.d folder is automatically executed by /etc/profile on login.
My answer is in reference to the setting up of a Go environment on Ubuntu Linux (amd64). I have faced the same trouble of setting the path of environment variables (GOPATH and GOBIN), losing it on terminal exit and rebuilding it using the source <file_name> every time.
The mistake was to put the path (GOPATH and GOBIN) in ~/.bash_profile file. After wasting a few good hours, I found that the solution was to put GOPATH and GOBIN in the ~/.bash_rc file in the manner:
export GOPATH=$HOME/go
export GOBIN=$GOPATH/bin
export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH:$GOBIN
And in doing so, the Go installation worked fine and there were no path losses.
The reason with which this issue can be related is that settings for non-login shells, like your Ubuntu terminal or GNOME terminal where we run the Go code, are taken from the ~./bash_rc file and the settings for login shells are taken from ~/.bash_profile file. And from the ~/.profile file if the ~/.bash_profile file is unreachable.
The files where you add the export command depends on if you are in login-mode or non-login-mode.
If you are in login-mode, the files you are looking for are either /etc/bash or /etc/bash.bashrc.
If you are in non-login-mode, you are looking for the file /.profile or for the files within the directory /.profiles.d
The files mentioned above is where the system variables are.
Permanently add to the PATH variable
Global:
echo "export PATH=$PATH:/new/path/variable" >> /etc/profile
Local (for the current user only):
echo "export PATH=$PATH:/new/path/variable" >> ~/.profile
For global, restart. For local, relogin.
Example
Before:
$ cat /etc/profile
#!/bin/sh
export PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/sbin
After:
$ cat /etc/profile
#!/bin/sh
export PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/sbin
export PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/sbin:/new/path/variable
Alternatively you can just edit file "profile":
$ cat /etc/profile
#!/bin/sh
export PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/sbin:/new/path/variable
Another way (thanks gniourf_gniourf):
echo 'PATH=$PATH:/new/path/variable' >> /etc/profile
You shouldn't use double quotes here! echo 'export
PATH=$PATH:/new/path/variable'... And by the way, the export keyword
is very likely useless as the PATH variable is very likely already
marked as exported. – gniourf_gniourf
Zues77 has the right idea. The OP didn't say "How can I hack my way through this?". The OP wanted to know how to permanently append to $PATH:
sudo nano /etc/profile
This is where it is set for everything and is the best place to change it for all things needing $PATH.
Let's say you're running macOS. You have a binary you trust and would like to make available across your system, but don't necessarily want the directory in which the binary is to be added to your PATH.
You can opt to copy/move the binary to /usr/local/bin, which should already be in your PATH. This will make the binary executable like any other binary you may already have access to in your terminal.
The simplest way is the following line,
PATH="<directory you want to include>:$PATH"
in your .bashrc file in the home directory.
It will not get reset even if you close the terminal or reboot your PC. It's permanent.
This is a one-liner. It adds a line to the .bashrc. That line is going to check if the directory has already been added to the path and append if not. This will prevent duplicating your directory in the path every time you source .bashrc.
echo "[[ \":\$PATH:\" != *\":$(pwd)/path/to/add:\"* ]] && export PATH=\"\${PATH:+\${PATH}}:$(pwd)/path/to/add\"" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
I think the most elegant way is:
Add this in the ~./bashrc file:
if [ -d "new-path" ]; then
PATH=$PATH:new-path
fi
source *~/.bashrc*
(Ubuntu)
For a Debian distribution, you have to:
edit file ~/.bashrc. E.g: vim ~/.bashrc
add export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/dir
then restart your computer. Be aware that if you edit file ~/.bashrc as root, your environment variable you added will work only for root