Unix / Linux Print Environment Variables Command

Use the following command to display and print your environment variables at the shell prompt:

1. Sh, Ksh, or Bash shell user type the set command.
2. Csh or Tcsh user type the printenv command.

How the environment variables defined

The syntax is as follows on a bash/sh/ksh:

var=value
var="this is a test"  # you must use quotations when you have white space
ver=4.18.5
dest="/backups"

If you are using tcsh/csh shell, try:

set var=value
set var="this is a test"
set ver=4.18.5
set dest="/backups"

Now you know how to setup the environment for your shell. Let us see how to display the value of environment variable.

Print environment variables on sh/ksh/bash Linux & Unix shell

Open the Terminal and type the following command:
$ set
OR
$ set | more
OR
$ set | grep 'USER'
Sample outputs:

Print environment variables on csh/tcsh Linux & Unix shell

Open the Terminal and type the following command:
$ printenv
OR
$ printenv | more
OR
$ printenv | grep 'USER'
Sample outputs:

Tip: Print value of an individual shell variable

To print value of HOME variable use echo command or printf command as follows:

echo "$HOME"
echo "$var"

OR

printf "%s\n" "$HOME"

OR

printf "Hi, %s! You are using %s shell\n" "$USER" "$SHELL"

Sample outputs from bash shell on OS X Unix based system:

/Users/vivek
Hi, vivek! You are using /bin/bash shell

See bash(1) shell Linux/Unix man page for more information.