I have very long export PATH=A:B:C .... Can I make a multiple lines to have more organized one as follows?
export PATH = A:
B:
C:
Add a comment
|
3 Answers
You can do:
export PATH="A"
export PATH="$PATH:B"
export PATH="$PATH:C"
Each subsequent line appends onto the previously defined path. This is generally a good habit, as it avoids trashing the existing path. If you want the new component to take precedence, swap the order:
export PATH="A"
export PATH="B:$PATH"
export PATH="C:$PATH"
Alternatively, you might be able to do:
export PATH=A:\
B:\
C
where \ marks a line continuation. Haven't tested this method.
Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
865k205 gold badges1.8k silver badges2.3k bronze badges
answered May 17, 2011 at 14:45
developmentalinsanity
1,0961 gold badge9 silver badges5 bronze badges
-
2Note that
exportis a built-in command, not a keyword nor a syntactic assignment. So if you havePATHelements containing whitespace (or glob characters), you do need double quotes aroundexport PATH="$PATH:B". You could also writePATH=$PATH:Band so on; you only need toexporta variable once, not every time it changes (except in some very old Bourne shells), and you don't need the double quotes in an assignment.Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'– Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'2011-05-17 20:37:46 +00:00Commented May 17, 2011 at 20:37 -
1Also
PATH+=:Bworks for string concatenation.Aryeh Leib Taurog– Aryeh Leib Taurog2013-07-17 20:24:14 +00:00Commented Jul 17, 2013 at 20:24
You can extend lines in bash using a backslash at the end of a line like this:
export PATH=/path/A:\
/path/B:\
/path/C
Please note that the absence of white space is important here.
Another approach:
export PATH=$(tr -d $'\n ' <<< "
/path/A:
/path/B:
/path/C")
Has the added benefit of not messing up your indent levels.
