PATH Issue

As of late, I am being required to change my PATH to include some more directories. I type the following command into Bash:

$  PATH=$PATH:[Insert Dir.]

This works, however, it is temporary. Whenver I close, and then open the terminal, it reverts back to what it used to be. Why does it do this? And how to I make it permanent?

Thank you!

Put this in your /etc/bashrc file...

PATH=$PATH:/sbin/
PATH=$PATH:/usr/sbin/
export PATH


of course, change the paths to whichever suit you...

Now each time you open a terminal it should see this path...

Good luck!

jeffreybluml is correct. Just to add: Changing the path in /etc/bashrc changes it for all users. If someone only wants to make changes for one user do the above in the users .bashrc located in their home directory.

Thanks, very helpful.

You can save a line by cramming multiple paths together.
Instead of:

PATH=$PATH:/sbin/
PATH=$PATH:/usr/sbin/
export PATH

you can do:

PATH=$PATH:/sbin:/usr/sbin
export PATH

You can simply it down to one line

export PATH=$PATH:/sbin:/usr/sbin

What is thie export command?

Is it a command or a file?

Where does it lie? I guess it is bin.

Please tell me.

The export command is integrated into bash. You need to open a shell and type the command, followed by the instructions.

Hi,
I installed JDK1.0.5.0_01 on a Mandrake 10.1 System.
I am a Newbie but I thought I would find my way....
so first of all I edited /etc/profile and included PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/jdk1.5.0_01/bin" between umask 022 and USER='id -un'
than I restarted the session and typed: java -version
in the "normal" user mode I got the information (Version number and so on) but as root I didn't get it ( I got bash: java: command not found)
But I really need java for the root user to install OpenXchange.
Wich file do I have to edit to include the PATH for the root?

Please discribe it clearly ;-)

root specific bash configuration:

/root/.bash_profile and /root/.bashrc

system wide can vary but usually:

/etc/profile and /etc/bashrc

individual users:

.bash_profile and .bashrc of the users home dir.