How to set global environment variables?

To set global environment variables that are available to all users on a Linux system, you can follow these steps:

1. Edit the /etc/environment file:

   • Open the file with a text editor (you may need sudo privileges):

     sudo nano /etc/environment

   • Add your environment variable in the format VARIABLE_NAME=value. For example:

     PROJECT_DIR="/home/labex/projects"

   • Save and exit the editor.

2. Using /etc/profile.d/:

   • Create a new script file in the /etc/profile.d/ directory:

     sudo nano /etc/profile.d/myenvvars.sh

   • Add your environment variables in the same format:

     export PROJECT_DIR="/home/labex/projects"

   • Save and exit the editor. Make sure the script is executable:

     sudo chmod +x /etc/profile.d/myenvvars.sh

3. Reboot or Re-login:

   • For the changes to take effect, you can either reboot the system or log out and log back in.

4. Verify the Variable:

   • After logging back in, you can verify that the global environment variable is set by using:

     echo $PROJECT_DIR

This will ensure that the environment variable is available to all users and persists across sessions.