How To - Linux Set Environment Variables Command

To set an environment variable in Linux, you can use the export command. This command allows you to set a value for a specified environment variable that will be available to the current shell and any processes spawned by the shell.

For example, to set the FOO environment variable to bar, you can use the following command:

export FOO=bar

To view the value of an environment variable, you can use the echo command:

echo $FOO

To set multiple environment variables at once, you can use the export command multiple times:

export FOO=bar
export BAZ=qux

To set an environment variable permanently, you can add the export commands to the ~/.bashrc file. This file is executed whenever you open a new terminal window, so the environment variables will be set every time you start a new shell.

Keep in mind that the environment variables set with the export command are only available to the current shell and any processes spawned by the shell. To set environment variables that are available to all processes on the system, you will need to edit the system-wide environment configuration files, such as /etc/environment or /etc/profile.

It is also possible to set environment variables for a specific user by adding the export commands to the user's ~/.bashrc file. These environment variables will be set every time the user logs in.