Q. How do I print current path settings under BASH shell? I’m using Debian Linux.
A. In UNIX / Linux file systems, the human-readable address of a resource is defined by PATH. On Unix / Linux like operating systems, (as well as on DOS / Windows and its descendants), PATH is an environment variable listing a set of paths to directories where executables may be found.
Display current PATH
Use echo command:
$ echo $PATH
Output:
/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/games
Modify current PATH
Use export command to add /opt/games to PATH, enter:
export PATH=$PATH:/opt/games
To format your PATH variable for easy viewing, add following code to your bash startup file (such as ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile) :
function path(){
old=$IFS
IFS=:
printf "%s\n" $PATH
IFS=$old
}(Function credit: usenet archive)
Now just run path:
$ path
Output:
/usr/local/sbin /usr/local/bin /usr/sbin /usr/bin /sbin /bin /usr/bin/X11 /usr/games
Featured Articles:
- 20 Linux System Monitoring Tools Every SysAdmin Should Know
- 20 Linux Server Hardening Security Tips
- My 10 UNIX Command Line Mistakes
- Linux: 20 Iptables Examples For New SysAdmins

- 25 PHP Security Best Practices For Sys Admins
- The Novice Guide To Buying A Linux Laptop
- 10 Greatest Open Source Software Of 2009
- Top 5 Email Client For Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows Users
- Top 20 OpenSSH Server Best Security Practices
- Top 10 Open Source Web-Based Project Management Software
- Top 5 Linux Video Editor Software
Facebook it - Tweet it - Print it -


{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
slight improvement:
path ()
{
local IFS=:
eval printf "%s\\\n" \$${1:-PATH}
}
accepts an optional argument that is the name of a path-like variable.
Hello Sir;
I am trying to run a program on a cluster and every time I run the program I have this message: mpiexec was unable to launch the specified application as it could not find an executable. ”
so I am suggesting that the program is not recognize the mpixec path. so I need to add the MPI path in my working directory.
my question is how to set this up?