Why can't I add something to PATH permanently?

Question

I am trying to add ruby binaries to my path with this :

$ PATH=$PATH:/home/ehsan/.gem/ruby/2.3.0/bin

This works fine in that terminal session and I get :

$ rails -v
Rails 5.0.0

But after I close that terminal session and open new one and I enter rails :

$ rails -v
rails : command not found

Any ideas?

use export PATH=$PATH:/home/ehsan/.gem/ruby/2.3.0/bin and put that line in ~/.bashrc — Rahul, Jul 27 '16 at 06:06
@Rahul No, not .bashrc. Don't set environment variables in .bashrc. — Gilles 'SO- stop being evil', Jul 27 '16 at 21:56
there's nothing wrong with setting env vars in ~/.bashrc. it's useful to set vars etc for both login and non-login environments, and can be sourced from ~/.bash_profile or ~/.profile. — cas, Jul 28 '16 at 01:19

cas · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-28T01:18:30.727

2

PATH is an environment variable like any other.

To make a permanent change, put it in the startup script for your shell. e.g. ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile or for bash. or ~/.profile for bash and other bourne-like shells.

edited Jul 28 '16 at 01:18

answered Jul 27 '16 at 06:06

cas

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Why can't I add something to PATH permanently?

1 Answers1