37

Do we have anyway to add a path globally so that each user gets it in $PATH. I want to add path of ANT so that each user doesn't need to add it in his $PATH variable.

Ahmad
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    If you intend users to run a particular shell, say bash, then you could add the `export` line in `/etc/bashrc` as it will be read systemwide. – Ketan Maheshwari Dec 11 '13 at 16:54

3 Answers3

42

Global paths should be set in /etc/profile or /etc/environment, just add this line to /etc/profile:

PATH="$PATH:/path/to/ANT/bin"
terdon
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    For ksh shell it was not working..after switching to bash shell it is working. Above changes are specific to bash shell ? – feel good and programming Jan 22 '21 at 13:24
  • @feelgoodandprogramming no, it should also work for `ksh`, but only if `ksh` is your login shell. The `/etc/profile` file is only read by login shells, so if you log in with `ksh`, then it will be read and any variables set there will be inherited by any other shells you launch. The details can get quite complicated though, I suggest you open a new question, tell us what operating system you use, how you log in, what your `$SHELL` is and other details and then we can examine why it didn't work for you. – terdon Jan 22 '21 at 13:42
25

Many Linux distributions support the Linux Standard Base /etc/profile.d directory where configurations such as additional paths directives can go without touching the stock system files. The file name just needs an .sh extension.

For example

cat >> /etc/profile.d/some_name.sh << \EOF
  PATH=$PATH:/path/to/ANT/bin
EOF
NoelProf
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-1

Edit /etc/profile and update the Path manipulation section. Centos does not include the /usr/local/bin in the path.

# Path manipulation
if [ "$EUID" = "0" ]; then
    pathmunge /usr/sbin
    pathmunge /usr/local/sbin
    pathmunge /usr/local/bin
else
    pathmunge /usr/local/bin after
    pathmunge /usr/local/sbin after
    pathmunge /usr/sbin after
fi
cwill
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    It looks like your code assumes `bash` is being used. Also, notice the [tag:aix] tag on the question. This user is not using CentOS. – Kusalananda Mar 20 '19 at 18:06