Hey I want to add a command to my system. I am not using any package-format or anything. I just want to install a script that I wrote.
I know of some ways to do that:
- add my script into whatever is the first thing in $PATH
- add a custom path to $PATH (in /etc/profile.d/ or /etc/environment) and put the script into the custom path
- add my script into /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin
I remember reading that profile.d/ doesn’t get picked up by all shells and that /etc/environment (which exists but is empty on my system) shouldn’t be used.
What should I do to ensure that my command will be available everywhere on any gnu/linux or bsd system?
EDIT: I should clarify that I am asking this only out of curiosity. I just like knowing how this stuff works. The script was just an example (I thought this would make it easier to understand, lol). I am interested in knowing a way to install a command without any chance of that command later not being found by other programs. I find many different answers to this and they all seem a little muddy, like “doing x should usually work”. I want to know the solution that always works
If you are against packaging, then the right way to do this is to put the command somewhere and set your PATH.
For manually managed stuff, the typical places to put commands include:
/usr/local/bin/opt/something/bin(wheresomethingis different for each project)~/bin~/.bin~/.local/binTo set your PATH, it depends on what shells you want to see your command. Here’s a good guide: https://askubuntu.com/questions/247738/why-is-etc-profile-not-invoked-for-non-login-shells
Fyi /usr/local/bin is for system wide applications, freebsd and it’s friends use it for non-core software installs.