How can I list environment variables?

To list your environment variables in Linux, you can use a few different commands depending on how much detail you need.

Here are the most common ways:

1. Using the env command

The simplest way to see all environment variables inherited by the current shell is to type:

env

This will print a long list of KEY=VALUE pairs for every environment variable currently set.

2. Using the printenv command

This is very similar to env and is widely used:

printenv

Pro Tip: If you only want to see the value of a specific variable (without the $ sign), you can pass the name to printenv:

printenv PATH

3. Using export

If you run export without any arguments, it lists all variables that have been exported to the environment, usually formatted in a way that shows how they were defined:

export

4. Searching for a specific variable

Since the list can be quite long, it is very common to "pipe" the output into grep to find exactly what you are looking for:

env | grep MY_ENV_VAR

In your current lab activity, try running env in your terminal to see the list, and then try env | grep MY_ENV_VAR to find the specific one you created in Step 3!