CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pathubuntu-10.04sudo
JohnA
JohnA

Reputation: 831

ubuntu 10.04 sudo and path

Ubuntu 10.04.4 LTS

I have seen the posts regarding sudo and PATH on various sites including stackoverflow. I think this is different, so I'm pretty sure it is not a duplicate (but I'm not sure).

1) First, the non-sudo path to ruby:

$ which ruby
/usr/local/ruby/bin/ruby

2) and then the sudo path to ruby:

$ sudo which ruby
/usr/bin/ruby

Ok, so far so good. The path changed when I used sudo.

3) But here's the part I don't get:

$ sudo echo $PATH
/home/cm6/bin:/usr/local/ruby/bin:/usr/local/ruby/bin:/usr/local/sbin:<snipped>

ie, the path to ruby is in the $PATH variable set when I use sudo.

4) And a little stranger again:

$ echo $PATH
/home/cm6/bin:/usr/local/ruby/bin:/usr/local/ruby/bin:/usr/local/sbin:<snipped>

This time, no sudo, but the $PATH variable content is the same as that for sudo.

Given $PATH variable is the same with or without sudo, why did the "which ruby" give me different answers? It's as if the $PATH variable doesn't hold the real PATH under sudo.

So, finally, my question: how do I get the real/accurate/correct PATH used by sudo?

Thanks,

John

Upvotes: 1

Views: 317

Answers (1)

Pascal Belloncle
Pascal Belloncle

Reputation: 11389

sudo echo $PATH evals $PATH before calling sudo.

to find out for sure:

sudo -s
echo $PATH

You need to add the PATH variable to env_keep in /etc/sudoers

Upvotes: 1

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