I am not even sure I am asking the right question. Let me explain my situation:
This is about Git on Windows 7.
My company sets up the Windows user directory on a network drive, not on the local hard drive (for backup and other purposes beyond the scope of this question). I cannot change that policy.
I CAN have local files outside of that scheme however and that is how my Apache server is set up. Entirely local.
I installed Git. It installs Bash. When I fire up Bash and cd ~ (change to the root directory) I find that it (the Bash root) points to my network user directory. I want it not to do that. I want ~ to be elsewhere on my hard drive. I want it so that when I perform other operations such as installing a certificate, an SSH key, etc. its defaults will not automatically use that network directory.
I have searched in vain everywhere, and all I can find refers to answers that involve aliases, redirection, and the location $HOME points to. But that is not what I want at all.
The question is: Can I change that directory? And if so: How?
UPDATE: So, $HOME is what I need to modify. However I have been unable to find where this mythical $HOME variable is set so I assumed it was a Linux system version of PATH or something. Anyway...
I do have a "profile" file under git/etc. Here are the contents (notice no $HOME):
# To the extent possible under law, the author(s) have dedicated all
# copyright and related and neighboring rights to this software to the
# public domain worldwide. This software is distributed without any warranty.
# You should have received a copy of the CC0 Public Domain Dedication along
# with this software.
# If not, see <http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/>.
# System-wide profile file
# Some resources...
# Customizing Your Shell: http://www.dsl.org/cookbook/cookbook_5.html#SEC69
# Consistent BackSpace and Delete Configuration:
# http://www.ibb.net/~anne/keyboard.html
# The Linux Documentation Project: http://www.tldp.org/
# The Linux Cookbook: http://www.tldp.org/LDP/linuxcookbook/html/
# Greg's Wiki http://mywiki.wooledge.org/
# Setup some default paths. Note that this order will allow user installed
# software to override 'system' software.
# Modifying these default path settings can be done in different ways.
# To learn more about startup files, refer to your shell's man page.
MSYS2_PATH="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin"
MANPATH="/usr/local/man:/usr/share/man:/usr/man:/share/man:${MANPATH}"
INFOPATH="/usr/local/info:/usr/share/info:/usr/info:/share/info:${INFOPATH}"
MINGW_MOUNT_POINT=
if [ -n "$MSYSTEM" ]
then
case "$MSYSTEM" in
MINGW32)
MINGW_MOUNT_POINT=/mingw32
PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/bin:${MSYS2_PATH}:${PATH}"
PKG_CONFIG_PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/lib/pkgconfig:${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/pkgconfig"
ACLOCAL_PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/aclocal:/usr/share/aclocal"
MANPATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/man:${MANPATH}"
;;
MINGW64)
MINGW_MOUNT_POINT=/mingw64
PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/bin:${MSYS2_PATH}:${PATH}"
PKG_CONFIG_PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/lib/pkgconfig:${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/pkgconfig"
ACLOCAL_PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/aclocal:/usr/share/aclocal"
MANPATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/man:${MANPATH}"
;;
MSYS)
PATH="${MSYS2_PATH}:/opt/bin:${PATH}"
PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/usr/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/share/pkgconfig:/lib/pkgconfig"
;;
*)
PATH="${MSYS2_PATH}:${PATH}"
;;
esac
else
PATH="${MSYS2_PATH}:${PATH}"
fi
MAYBE_FIRST_START=false
SYSCONFDIR="${SYSCONFDIR:=/etc}"
# TMP and TEMP as defined in the Windows environment must be kept
# for windows apps, even if started from msys2. However, leaving
# them set to the default Windows temporary directory or unset
# can have unexpected consequences for msys2 apps, so we define
# our own to match GNU/Linux behaviour.
ORIGINAL_TMP=$TMP
ORIGINAL_TEMP=$TEMP
#unset TMP TEMP
#tmp=$(cygpath -w "$ORIGINAL_TMP" 2> /dev/null)
#temp=$(cygpath -w "$ORIGINAL_TEMP" 2> /dev/null)
#TMP="/tmp"
#TEMP="/tmp"
case "$TMP" in *\\*) TMP="$(cygpath -m "$TMP")";; esac
case "$TEMP" in *\\*) TEMP="$(cygpath -m "$TEMP")";; esac
test -d "$TMPDIR" || test ! -d "$TMP" || {
TMPDIR="$TMP"
export TMPDIR
}
# Define default printer
p='/proc/registry/HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/Windows/Device'
if [ -e "${p}" ] ; then
read -r PRINTER < "${p}"
PRINTER=${PRINTER%%,*}
fi
unset p
print_flags ()
{
(( $1 & 0x0002 )) && echo -n "binary" || echo -n "text"
(( $1 & 0x0010 )) && echo -n ",exec"
(( $1 & 0x0040 )) && echo -n ",cygexec"
(( $1 & 0x0100 )) && echo -n ",notexec"
}
# Shell dependent settings
profile_d ()
{
local file=
for file in $(export LC_COLLATE=C; echo /etc/profile.d/*.$1); do
[ -e "${file}" ] && . "${file}"
done
if [ -n ${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT} ]; then
for file in $(export LC_COLLATE=C; echo ${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/etc/profile.d/*.$1); do
[ -e "${file}" ] && . "${file}"
done
fi
}
for postinst in $(export LC_COLLATE=C; echo /etc/post-install/*.post); do
[ -e "${postinst}" ] && . "${postinst}"
done
if [ ! "x${BASH_VERSION}" = "x" ]; then
HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
profile_d sh
[ -f "/etc/bash.bashrc" ] && . "/etc/bash.bashrc"
elif [ ! "x${KSH_VERSION}" = "x" ]; then
typeset -l HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
profile_d sh
PS1=$(print '\033]0;${PWD}\n\033[32m${USER}@${HOSTNAME} \033[33m${PWD/${HOME}/~}\033[0m\n$ ')
elif [ ! "x${ZSH_VERSION}" = "x" ]; then
HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
profile_d zsh
PS1='(%n@%m)[%h] %~ %% '
elif [ ! "x${POSH_VERSION}" = "x" ]; then
HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
PS1="$ "
else
HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
profile_d sh
PS1="$ "
fi
if [ -n "$ACLOCAL_PATH" ]
then
export ACLOCAL_PATH
fi
export PATH MANPATH INFOPATH PKG_CONFIG_PATH USER TMP TEMP PRINTER HOSTNAME PS1 SHELL tmp temp
test -n "$TERM" || export TERM=xterm-256color
if [ "$MAYBE_FIRST_START" = "true" ]; then
sh /usr/bin/regen-info.sh
if [ -f "/usr/bin/update-ca-trust" ]
then
sh /usr/bin/update-ca-trust
fi
clear
echo
echo
echo "###################################################################"
echo "# #"
echo "# #"
echo "# C A U T I O N #"
echo "# #"
echo "# This is first start of MSYS2. #"
echo "# You MUST restart shell to apply necessary actions. #"
echo "# #"
echo "# #"
echo "###################################################################"
echo
echo
fi
unset MAYBE_FIRST_START
I'd share what I did, which works not only for Git, but MSYS/MinGW as well.
The HOME environment variable is not normally set for Windows applications, so creating it through Windows did not affect anything else. From the Computer Properties (right-click on Computer - or whatever it is named - in Explorer, and select Properties, or Control Panel -> System and Security -> System), choose Advanced system settings, then Environment Variables... and create a new one, HOME, and assign it wherever you like.
If you can't create new environment variables, the other answer will still work. (I went through the details of how to create environment variables precisely because it's so dificult to find.)
I faced exactly the same issue. My home drive mapped to a network drive. Also
However below worked from command line and I was able to add HOME to environment variables.
rundll32 sysdm.cpl,EditEnvironmentVariables
Instead of modifying the global profile you could create the .bash_profile in your default $HOME directory (e.g. C:\Users\WhateverUser\.bash_profile) with the following contents:
export HOME="C:\my\projects\dir"
cd "$HOME" # if you'd like it to be the starting dir of the git shell
Here you go: Here you go: Create a System Restore Point. Log on under an admin account. Delete the folder C:\SomeUser. Move the folder c:\Users\SomeUser so that it becomes c:\SomeUser. Open the registry editor. Navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList. Search for "ProfileImagePath" until you find the one that points at c:\Users\SomeUser. Modify it so that it points at c:\SomeUser. Use System Restore in case things go wrong.
In my case, all I had to do was add the following User variable on Windows:
Variable name: HOME
Variable value: %USERPROFILE%
How to set a Environment Variable (You can use the User variables for username section if you are not a system administrator)
So, $HOME is what I need to modify. However I have been unable to find where this mythical $HOME variable is set so I assumed it was a Linux system version of PATH or something. Anyway...**
Adding HOME at the top of the profile file worked.
HOME="c://path/to/custom/root/".
#THE FIX WAS ADDING THE FOLLOWING LINE TO THE TOP OF THE PROFILE FILE
HOME="c://path/to/custom/root/"
# below are the original contents ===========
# To the extent possible under law, ..blah blah
# Some resources...
# Customizing Your Shell: http://www.dsl.org/cookbook/cookbook_5.html#SEC69
# Consistent BackSpace and Delete Configuration:
# http://www.ibb.net/~anne/keyboard.html
# The Linux Documentation Project: http://www.tldp.org/
# The Linux Cookbook: http://www.tldp.org/LDP/linuxcookbook/html/
# Greg's Wiki http://mywiki.wooledge.org/
# Setup some default paths. Note that this order will allow user installed
# software to override 'system' software.
# Modifying these default path settings can be done in different ways.
# To learn more about startup files, refer to your shell's man page.
MSYS2_PATH="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin"
MANPATH="/usr/local/man:/usr/share/man:/usr/man:/share/man:${MANPATH}"
INFOPATH="/usr/local/info:/usr/share/info:/usr/info:/share/info:${INFOPATH}"
MINGW_MOUNT_POINT=
if [ -n "$MSYSTEM" ]
then
case "$MSYSTEM" in
MINGW32)
MINGW_MOUNT_POINT=/mingw32
PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/bin:${MSYS2_PATH}:${PATH}"
PKG_CONFIG_PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/lib/pkgconfig:${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/pkgconfig"
ACLOCAL_PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/aclocal:/usr/share/aclocal"
MANPATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/man:${MANPATH}"
;;
MINGW64)
MINGW_MOUNT_POINT=/mingw64
PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/bin:${MSYS2_PATH}:${PATH}"
PKG_CONFIG_PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/lib/pkgconfig:${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/pkgconfig"
ACLOCAL_PATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/aclocal:/usr/share/aclocal"
MANPATH="${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/share/man:${MANPATH}"
;;
MSYS)
PATH="${MSYS2_PATH}:/opt/bin:${PATH}"
PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/usr/lib/pkgconfig:/usr/share/pkgconfig:/lib/pkgconfig"
;;
*)
PATH="${MSYS2_PATH}:${PATH}"
;;
esac
else
PATH="${MSYS2_PATH}:${PATH}"
fi
MAYBE_FIRST_START=false
SYSCONFDIR="${SYSCONFDIR:=/etc}"
# TMP and TEMP as defined in the Windows environment must be kept
# for windows apps, even if started from msys2. However, leaving
# them set to the default Windows temporary directory or unset
# can have unexpected consequences for msys2 apps, so we define
# our own to match GNU/Linux behaviour.
ORIGINAL_TMP=$TMP
ORIGINAL_TEMP=$TEMP
#unset TMP TEMP
#tmp=$(cygpath -w "$ORIGINAL_TMP" 2> /dev/null)
#temp=$(cygpath -w "$ORIGINAL_TEMP" 2> /dev/null)
#TMP="/tmp"
#TEMP="/tmp"
case "$TMP" in *\\*) TMP="$(cygpath -m "$TMP")";; esac
case "$TEMP" in *\\*) TEMP="$(cygpath -m "$TEMP")";; esac
test -d "$TMPDIR" || test ! -d "$TMP" || {
TMPDIR="$TMP"
export TMPDIR
}
# Define default printer
p='/proc/registry/HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/Windows/Device'
if [ -e "${p}" ] ; then
read -r PRINTER < "${p}"
PRINTER=${PRINTER%%,*}
fi
unset p
print_flags ()
{
(( $1 & 0x0002 )) && echo -n "binary" || echo -n "text"
(( $1 & 0x0010 )) && echo -n ",exec"
(( $1 & 0x0040 )) && echo -n ",cygexec"
(( $1 & 0x0100 )) && echo -n ",notexec"
}
# Shell dependent settings
profile_d ()
{
local file=
for file in $(export LC_COLLATE=C; echo /etc/profile.d/*.$1); do
[ -e "${file}" ] && . "${file}"
done
if [ -n ${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT} ]; then
for file in $(export LC_COLLATE=C; echo ${MINGW_MOUNT_POINT}/etc/profile.d/*.$1); do
[ -e "${file}" ] && . "${file}"
done
fi
}
for postinst in $(export LC_COLLATE=C; echo /etc/post-install/*.post); do
[ -e "${postinst}" ] && . "${postinst}"
done
if [ ! "x${BASH_VERSION}" = "x" ]; then
HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
profile_d sh
[ -f "/etc/bash.bashrc" ] && . "/etc/bash.bashrc"
elif [ ! "x${KSH_VERSION}" = "x" ]; then
typeset -l HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
profile_d sh
PS1=$(print '\033]0;${PWD}\n\033[32m${USER}@${HOSTNAME} \033[33m${PWD/${HOME}/~}\033[0m\n$ ')
elif [ ! "x${ZSH_VERSION}" = "x" ]; then
HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
profile_d zsh
PS1='(%n@%m)[%h] %~ %% '
elif [ ! "x${POSH_VERSION}" = "x" ]; then
HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
PS1="$ "
else
HOSTNAME="$(/usr/bin/hostname)"
profile_d sh
PS1="$ "
fi
if [ -n "$ACLOCAL_PATH" ]
then
export ACLOCAL_PATH
fi
export PATH MANPATH INFOPATH PKG_CONFIG_PATH USER TMP TEMP PRINTER HOSTNAME PS1 SHELL tmp temp
test -n "$TERM" || export TERM=xterm-256color
if [ "$MAYBE_FIRST_START" = "true" ]; then
sh /usr/bin/regen-info.sh
if [ -f "/usr/bin/update-ca-trust" ]
then
sh /usr/bin/update-ca-trust
fi
clear
echo
echo
echo "###################################################################"
echo "# #"
echo "# #"
echo "# C A U T I O N #"
echo "# #"
echo "# This is first start of MSYS2. #"
echo "# You MUST restart shell to apply necessary actions. #"
echo "# #"
echo "# #"
echo "###################################################################"
echo
echo
fi
unset MAYBE_FIRST_START
So,
$HOMEis what I need to modify.However I have been unable to find where this mythical
$HOMEvariable is set so I assumed it was a Linux system version of PATH or something.
Git 2.23 (Q3 2019) is quite explicit on how HOME is set.
See commit e12a955 (04 Jul 2019) by Karsten Blees (kblees).
(Merged by Junio C Hamano -- gitster -- in commit fc613d2, 19 Jul 2019)
mingw: initialize HOME on startup
HOMEinitialization was historically duplicated in many different places, including/etc/profile, launch scripts such asgit-bash.vbsandgitk.cmd, and (although slightly broken) in thegit-wrapper.Even unrelated projects such as
GitExtensionsandTortoiseGitneed to implement the same logic to be able to call git directly.Initialize
HOMEin Git's own startup code so that we can eventually retire all the duplicate initialization code.
Now, mingw.c includes the following code:
/* calculate HOME if not set */ if (!getenv("HOME")) { /* * try $HOMEDRIVE$HOMEPATH - the home share may be a network * location, thus also check if the path exists (i.e. is not * disconnected) */ if ((tmp = getenv("HOMEDRIVE"))) { struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT; strbuf_addstr(&buf, tmp); if ((tmp = getenv("HOMEPATH"))) { strbuf_addstr(&buf, tmp); if (is_directory(buf.buf)) setenv("HOME", buf.buf, 1); else tmp = NULL; /* use $USERPROFILE */ } strbuf_release(&buf); } /* use $USERPROFILE if the home share is not available */ if (!tmp && (tmp = getenv("USERPROFILE"))) setenv("HOME", tmp, 1); }
I know this is an old question, but it is the top google result for "gitbash homedir windows" so figured I'd add my findings.
No matter what I tried I couldn't get git-bash to start in anywhere but my network drive,(U:) in my case making every operation take 15-20 seconds to respond. (Remote employee on VPN, network drive hosted on the other side of the country)
I tried setting HOME and HOMEDIR variables in windows.
I tried setting HOME and HOMEDIR variables in the git installation'setc/profile file.
I tried editing the "Start in" on the git-bash shortcut to be C:/user/myusername.
"env" command inside the git-bash shell would show correct c:/user/myusername. But git-bash would still start in U:
What ultimately fixed it for me was editing the git-bash shortcut and removing the "--cd-to-home" from the Target line.
I'm on Windows 10 running latest version of Git-for-windows 2.22.0.
1.Right click to Gitbash shortcut choose Properties
2.Choose "Shortcut" tab
3.Type your starting directory to "Start in" field
4.Remove "--cd-to-home" part from "Target" field
Source: Stackoverflow.com