How to Permanently Set and Manage Environment Variables in Linux

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through the process of understanding Linux environment variables, accessing and modifying them, and ensuring that any changes are persisted across sessions. By the end of this tutorial, you will have the knowledge to effectively manage your Linux environment variables and optimize your system's configuration.

Skills Graph

Understanding Linux Environment Variables

Linux environment variables are a fundamental concept in the Linux operating system. They are named values that can be used by the operating system, applications, and scripts to store and retrieve information. Environment variables play a crucial role in configuring and customizing the Linux environment to suit the user's needs.

What are Environment Variables?

Environment variables are a set of key-value pairs that are stored in the operating system's memory. They are accessible to all running processes and can be used to store various types of information, such as system paths, user preferences, and application configurations.

Why are Environment Variables Important?

Environment variables are important for several reasons:

1. Portability: Environment variables provide a way to make applications and scripts more portable across different Linux systems. By using environment variables, you can write code that can adapt to different environments without the need for hard-coded paths or configurations.

2. Customization: Environment variables allow users to customize their Linux environment by setting preferences, such as the default text editor, shell, or language.

3. Security: Environment variables can be used to store sensitive information, such as API keys or database credentials, without exposing them in the code.

4. Automation: Environment variables can be used in shell scripts to make them more dynamic and reusable.

Accessing Environment Variables

You can access environment variables using the echo command in the terminal. For example, to display the value of the HOME environment variable, you can run:

echo $HOME

This will output the path to the user's home directory.

You can also use the env command to list all the environment variables currently set in the system:

env

Setting Environment Variables

You can set environment variables using the export command. For example, to set the MY_VARIABLE environment variable to the value "my value", you can run:

export MY_VARIABLE="my value"

You can then access the value of MY_VARIABLE using echo $MY_VARIABLE.

Accessing and Modifying Environment Variables

Now that we understand what environment variables are and why they are important, let's dive into how to access and modify them in a Linux system.

Accessing Environment Variables

As mentioned earlier, you can use the echo command to display the value of a specific environment variable:

echo $HOME

This will output the value of the HOME environment variable, which typically represents the user's home directory.

You can also use the env command to list all the environment variables currently set in the system:

env

This will display a list of all the environment variables and their corresponding values.

Modifying Environment Variables

To set or modify an environment variable, you can use the export command:

export MY_VARIABLE="my value"

This will create a new environment variable named MY_VARIABLE and assign it the value "my value".

You can also use the export command to modify the value of an existing environment variable:

export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/new/directory

This will append the /path/to/new/directory to the existing value of the PATH environment variable.

To delete an environment variable, you can use the unset command:

unset MY_VARIABLE

This will remove the MY_VARIABLE environment variable from the system.

Remember that the changes made to environment variables using the export and unset commands are only temporary and will not persist across sessions. To make environment variable changes permanent, you need to modify the appropriate configuration files, which we'll cover in the next section.

Persisting Environment Variable Changes

In the previous section, we learned how to access and modify environment variables using the terminal. However, these changes are only temporary and will not persist across sessions. To make environment variable changes permanent, you need to modify the appropriate configuration files.

Modifying System-Wide Environment Variables

System-wide environment variables are typically defined in the /etc/environment file. To make a change to a system-wide environment variable, you can edit this file using a text editor:

sudo nano /etc/environment

Add or modify the environment variable as needed, then save and close the file. The changes will take effect the next time you log in or start a new shell session.

Modifying User-Specific Environment Variables

User-specific environment variables are typically defined in the user's shell configuration file, such as .bashrc or .bash_profile. To make a change to a user-specific environment variable, you can edit the appropriate file:

nano ~/.bashrc

Add or modify the environment variable as needed, then save and close the file. The changes will take effect the next time you start a new shell session.

Verifying Environment Variable Changes

After making changes to the environment variable configuration files, you can verify the changes by opening a new terminal window and running the env command to list all the environment variables.

Alternatively, you can use the echo command to display the value of a specific environment variable:

echo $MY_VARIABLE

This will output the value of the MY_VARIABLE environment variable.

By understanding how to persist environment variable changes, you can ensure that your custom configurations and settings are maintained across sessions, making your Linux environment more efficient and tailored to your needs.

Summary

Linux environment variables are a crucial aspect of the operating system, allowing you to customize and automate your environment. In this tutorial, you learned how to access and modify environment variables, as well as how to ensure that any changes you make are persistent across sessions. By understanding and leveraging environment variables, you can improve the portability, customization, and security of your Linux-based applications and scripts.