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lajos
Asked: 2009-06-01 11:08:20 +0800 CST

How do I set the global PATH environment variable on OS X?

  • 772

I'd like to append to the global PATH environment variable on OS X so that all user shells and GUI applications get the same PATH environment.

I know I can append to the path in shell startup scripts, but those settings are not inherited by GUI applications.

The only way I found so far is to redefine the PATH environment variable in /etc/launchd.conf:

setenv PATH /usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/my/path

I couldn't figure out a way to actually append to PATH in launchd.conf.

I'm a bit worried about this method, but so far this is the only thing that works. Is there a better way?

mac-osx path

8 Answers

  1. palmer's GUI information is correct, but there is a more maintainable way to modify the path seen by the shell. Like mediaslave said, you can edit /etc/paths, but even better you can drop a text file in /etc/paths.d/ that has a path in it and all shells will construct the path correctly.

    For example, on my system:

    $ cat /etc/paths
/usr/bin
/bin
/usr/sbin
/sbin
/usr/local/bin
$ ls /etc/paths.d
X11       git      postgres
$ cat /etc/paths.d/postgres
/Library/PostgreSQL/8.4/bin
$ echo $PATH
/opt/local/bin:/opt/local/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/git/bin:/Library/PostgreSQL/8.4/bin:/usr/X11/bin:/usr/local/mysql/bin
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  2. /etc/launchd.conf

    The launchd.conf file is **the only complete solution that will work for both command line and GUI applications on OS X v10.8 (Mountain Lion) and v10.9 (Mavericks), one that will work with GUI and console applications, for all users.

    sudo touch /etc/launchd.conf
sudo nano /etc/launchd.conf

    Add

    setenv PATH /usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin

    In the example above I added /usr/local/bin to the default environment values for PATH.

    Keep in mind that this file is not a script and you do not have the option to use substitutions. Also, to have these applied you need to reboot.

    Remember, all others are only partial solutions:

    • environment.plist does not work for applications launched via Spotlight.
    • /etc/paths - only for console
    • /etc/csh.cshrc or /etc/bashrc - only for some shells

    This answer is based on the same question from Setting environment variables on Mac OS X.

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  3. You're going to have to set it on a shell-by-shell basis; Bash and csh-like shells do not share the same configuration files and syntax for adjusting the PATH.

    Trying to do this in launchctl will not work, because environment variables are set on login; they do not exist system wide in Unix outside of a shell session.

    So you're going to want to add

    setenv PATH "$PATH:/add/my/extra/path"

    to /etc/csh.cshrc and

    export PATH="$PATH:/more/paths:/

    to /etc/bashrc.

    If you want environment variables in GUI applications, that's more complicated. You have to create a .MacOSX/environment.plist file in each user's home directory. The .MacOSX directory will likely not exist by default, so you'll have to create it.

    The format of the file is like so:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>

    <key>PRINTER</key>
    <string>myprinter</string>

    <key>PATH</key>
    <string>/path/to/thing/I/need</string>

    <key>DISPLAY</key>
    <string>0:1</string>

</dict>
</plist>

    More on the environment.plist is on Apple's site.

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  4. You can edit your global path by adding lines to /etc/paths, one path per line.

    sudo nano /etc/paths should get you there.

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  5. Have you had a look at the man page for the path_helper command-line utility on OS X? I answered a somewhat related question on SO that I think you may find helpful.

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  6. I am not sure if anyone covered the simplest and most elegant way. At least on Mac OS X v10.6 (Snow Leopard).

    Messing with the [/etc/|~/.] of [profile|bashrc] files may work, but it's somewhat of a hack. The /etc/paths.d/ directory is the way to go:

    • Sudo into your favorite editor.

    • Create a new file named *name* (just don't name it something that's already in there) in /etc/paths.d/ with a path per line:

      /usr/X11/bin
/Developer/usr/bin

    • Then add

      eval '/usr/libexec/path_helper -s`

      to profile or bashrc, and you should be good to go.

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  7. I'm not sure if launchd accepts this, but try:

    setenv PATH "$PATH:/my/path"
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  8. I'm not sure why you'd use /etc/launchd.conf as opposed to /etc/profile - but I'm no expert in Mac OS X - I believe you in that I'm sure it works, but launchd is the Mac OS X implementation/replacement for init - Mac OS X confuses me.

    Anyway, setenv PATH "$PATH:/more/paths:/and/more/paths" will work (tcsh), and the bourn shell equivalent is export PATH="$PATH:/more/paths:/and/more/paths" - I have no idea how launchd is related to a particular shell either.

    I think I've asked more questions then I've answered =)

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