CODEWITHSUNDEEP
shellpathdirectory
samBuchl
samBuchl

Reputation: 1089

What does it mean to add a directory to your PATH?

I'm following the Python tutorial for Google App Engine, and this is the step:

Add the google_appengine directory to your PATH: export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/google_appengine/

source: https://cloud.google.com/appengine/downloads#Google_App_Engine_SDK_for_Python

Upvotes: 9

Views: 30342

Answers (1)

samBuchl
samBuchl

Reputation: 1089

Adding a directory to your PATH expands the # of directories that are searched when, from any directory, you enter a command in the shell.

See http://www.linfo.org/path_env_var.html for more: "A user's PATH consists of a series of colon-separated absolute paths that are stored in plain text files. Whenever a user types in a command at the command line that is not built into the shell or that does not include its absolute path and then presses the Enter key, the shell searches through those directories, which constitute the user's search path, until it finds an executable file with that name."

Upvotes: 17

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