Setting Windows PowerShell environment variables

Question

I have found out that setting the PATH environment variable affects only the old command prompt  PowerShell seems to have different environment settings  How do I change the environment variables for PowerShell  v1    Note   I want to make my changes permanent  so I don t have to set it every time I run PowerShell  Does PowerShell have a profile file  Something like Bash profile on Unix

User · Answer

This sets the path for the current session and prompts the user to add it permanently:

function Set-Path {
    param([string]$x)
    $Env:Path+= ";" +  $x
    Write-Output $Env:Path
    $write = Read-Host 'Set PATH permanently ? (yes|no)'
    if ($write -eq "yes")
    {
        [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path",$env:Path, [System.EnvironmentVariableTarget]::User)
        Write-Output 'PATH updated'
    }
}

You can add this function to your default profile, (Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1), usually located at %USERPROFILE%\Documents\WindowsPowerShell.

User · Answer

Building on  Michael Kropat s answer I added a parameter to prepend the new path to the existing PATHvariable and a check to avoid the addition of a non-existing path   function Add-EnvPath       param           Parameter Mandatory  true            string   Path            ValidateSet  Machine    User    Session             string   Container    Session             Parameter Mandatory  False            Switch   Prepend            if  Test-Path -path   Path             if   Container -ne  Session                  containerMapping                      Machine    EnvironmentVariableTarget   Machine                 User    EnvironmentVariableTarget   User                            containerType    containerMapping  Container                persistedPaths    Environment   GetEnvironmentVariable  Path    containerType  -split                 if   persistedPaths -notcontains  Path                    if   Prepend                         persistedPaths     Path    persistedPaths   where                             Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  Path    persistedPaths -join       containerType                                    else                        persistedPaths    persistedPaths    Path   where                             Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  Path    persistedPaths -join       containerType                                                      envPaths    env Path -split             if   envPaths -notcontains  Path                if   Prepend                     envPaths     Path    envPaths   where                         env Path    envPaths -join                               else                    envPaths    envPaths    Path   where                         env Path    envPaths -join

User · Answer

I tried to optimise SBF s and Michael s code a bit to make it more compact    I am relying on PowerShell s type coercion where it automatically converts strings to enum values  so I didn t define the lookup dictionary   I also pulled out the block that adds the new path to the list based on a condition  so that work is done once and stored in a variable for re-use   It is then applied permanently or just to the Session depending on the  PathContainer parameter   We can put the block of code in a function or a ps1 file that we call directly from the command prompt  I went with DevEnvAddPath ps1   param       Parameter Position 0 Mandatory  true   String  PathChange        ValidateSet  Machine    User    Session         Parameter Position 1 Mandatory  false   String  PathContainer  Session        Parameter Position 2 Mandatory  false   Boolean  PathPrepend  false     String  ConstructedEnvPath   switch   PathContainer     Session    env Path    default  Environment   GetEnvironmentVariable  Path    containerType        PathPersisted    ConstructedEnvPath -split       if   PathPersisted -notcontains  PathChange         PathPersisted     switch   PathPrepend     true   PathChange    PathPersisted   default  PathPersisted    PathChange        Where-Object               ConstructedEnvPath    PathPersisted -join         if   PathContainer -ne  Session            Save permanently to Machine  User      Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  Path    ConstructedEnvPath   PathContainer        Update the current session   env Path     ConstructedEnvPath    I do something similar for a DevEnvRemovePath ps1   param       Parameter Position 0 Mandatory  true   String  PathChange        ValidateSet  Machine    User    Session         Parameter Position 1 Mandatory  false   String  PathContainer  Session      String  ConstructedEnvPath   switch   PathContainer     Session    env Path    default  Environment   GetEnvironmentVariable  Path    containerType        PathPersisted    ConstructedEnvPath -split       if   PathPersisted -contains  PathChange         PathPersisted    PathPersisted   Where-Object      -ne  PathChange          ConstructedEnvPath    PathPersisted -join         if   PathContainer -ne  Session            Save permanently to Machine  User      Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  Path    ConstructedEnvPath   PathContainer        Update the current session   env Path     ConstructedEnvPath    So far  they seem to work

User · Answer

do not make headaches for yourself  want a simple  one line solution to add a permanent environment variable  open powershell in elevated mode    Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  quot NewEnvVar quot    quot NewEnvValue quot    quot Machine quot    close the session and open it again to make things done   in case that u want to modify change that   Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  quot oldEnvVar quot    quot NewEnvValue quot    quot Machine quot      in case that u want to delete remove that   Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  quot oldEnvVar quot    quot  quot    quot Machine quot

User · Answer

Like JeanT s answer  I wanted an abstraction around adding to the path  Unlike JeanT s answer I needed it to run without user interaction  Other behavior I was looking for    Updates  env Path so the change takes effect in the current session Persists the environment variable change for future sessions Doesn t add a duplicate path when the same path already exists   In case it s useful  here it is   function Add-EnvPath       param           Parameter Mandatory  true            string   Path            ValidateSet  Machine    User    Session             string   Container    Session             if   Container -ne  Session              containerMapping                  Machine    EnvironmentVariableTarget   Machine             User    EnvironmentVariableTarget   User                    containerType    containerMapping  Container            persistedPaths    Environment   GetEnvironmentVariable  Path    containerType  -split             if   persistedPaths -notcontains  Path                 persistedPaths    persistedPaths    Path   where                     Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  Path    persistedPaths -join       containerType                        envPaths    env Path -split         if   envPaths -notcontains  Path             envPaths    envPaths    Path   where                 env Path    envPaths -join               Check out my gist for the corresponding Remove-EnvPath function

User · Answer

Within PowerShell  one can navigate to the environment variable directory by typing   Set-Location Env    This will bring you to the Env   directory  From within this directory   To see all environment variables  type   Env   gt  Get-ChildItem   To see a specific environment variable  type   Env   gt   Env  lt variable name gt   e g   Env Path   To set an environment variable  type   Env   gt   Env  lt variable name gt      lt new-value gt    e g   Env Path  C  Users     To remove an environment variable  type   Env   gt  remove-item Env  lt variable name gt   e g  remove-item Env SECRET KEY   More information is in About Environment Variables

User · Answer

Open PowerShell and run      Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  PATH     ENV PATH  lt path to exe gt     USER

User · Answer

Changing the actual environment variables can be done by using the env  namespace   drive information  For example  this code will update the path environment variable    env Path    SomeRandomPath                replaces existing path    env Path      SomeRandomPath              appends to existing path    There are ways to make environment settings permanent  but if you are only using them from PowerShell  it s probably a lot better to use your profile to initiate the settings  On startup  PowerShell will run any  ps1 files it finds in the WindowsPowerShell directory under My Documents folder  Typically you have a profile ps1 file already there  The path on my computer is  C  Users JaredPar Documents WindowsPowerShell profile ps1

User · Answer

Although the current accepted answer works in the sense that the path variable gets permanently updated from the context of PowerShell  it doesn t actually update the environment variable stored in the Windows registry   To achieve that  you can obviously use PowerShell as well    oldPath  Get-ItemProperty -Path  Registry  HKEY LOCAL MACHINE System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment  -Name PATH  Path   newPath  oldPath     C  NewFolderToAddToTheList      Set-ItemProperty -Path  Registry  HKEY LOCAL MACHINE System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment  -Name PATH    Value  newPath   More information is in blog post Use PowerShell to Modify Your Environmental Path  If you use PowerShell community extensions  the proper command to add a path to the environment variable path is   Add-PathVariable  C  NewFolderToAddToTheList  -Target Machine

User · Answer

Most answers aren t addressing UAC  This covers UAC issues   First install PowerShell Community Extensions  choco install pscx via http   chocolatey org   you may have to restart your shell environment    Then enable pscx  Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser  allows scripts to run from the interwebs  such as pcsx   Then use Invoke-Elevated   Invoke-Elevated  Add-PathVariable  args 0  -Target Machine  -ArgumentList  MY NEW DIR

User · Answer

Only the answers that push the value into the registry affect a permanent change  so the majority of answers on this thread  including the accepted answer  do not permanently affect the Path     The following function works for both Path   PSModulePath and for User   System types  It will also add the new path to the current session by default   function AddTo-Path       param             string  PathToAdd           Parameter Mandatory  true   ValidateSet  System   User    string  UserType           Parameter Mandatory  true   ValidateSet  Path   PSModulePath    string  PathType              AddTo-Path  C  XXX   PSModulePath   System       if   UserType -eq  System       RegPropertyLocation    HKLM  System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment        if   UserType -eq  User         RegPropertyLocation    HKCU  Environment      also note  Registry  HKEY LOCAL MACHINE  format      PathOld    Get-ItemProperty -Path  RegPropertyLocation -Name  PathType   PathType       n UserType  PathType Before  n PathOld n       PathArray    PathOld -Split     -replace                if   PathArray -notcontains  PathToAdd              UserType  PathType Now         sleep -Milliseconds 100     Might need pause to prevent text being after Path output             PathNew     PathOld  PathToAdd          Set-ItemProperty -Path  RegPropertyLocation -Name  PathType -Value  PathNew         Get-ItemProperty -Path  RegPropertyLocation -Name  PathType   select -ExpandProperty  PathType         if   PathType -eq  Path      env Path       PathToAdd                       Add to Path also for this current session         if   PathType -eq  PSModulePath      env PSModulePath       PathToAdd       Add to PSModulePath also for this current session           n PathToAdd has been added to the  UserType  PathType            else              PathToAdd  is already in the  UserType  PathType  Nothing to do              Add  C  XXX  to User Path  but only if not already present  AddTo-Path  C  XXX   User   Path     Just show the current status by putting an empty path AddTo-Path     User   Path

User · Answer

From the PowerShell prompt   setx PATH   env path  the directory to add  -m   You should then see the text   SUCCESS  Specified value was saved    Restart your session  and the variable will be available  setx can also be used to set arbitrary variables  Type setx    at the prompt for documentation   Before messing with your path in this way  make sure that you save a copy of your existing path by doing  env path  gt  gt  a out in a PowerShell prompt

User · Answer

To be clear  the 1990 s Windows way of click on Start  right click on This PC  and choose Properties  and then select Advanced system settings  and then in the dialog box that pops up  select Environment Variables  and in the list double clicking on PATH and then using the New  Edit  Move Up and Move Down all still work for changing the PATH   Power shell  and the rest of Windows get whatever you set here  Yes you can use these new methods  but the old one still works   And at the base level all of the permanent change methods are controlled ways of editing your registry files

User · Answer

All the answers suggesting a permanent change have the same problem  They break the path registry value   SetEnvironmentVariable turns the REG EXPAND SZ value  SystemRoot  system32  into a REG SZ value of C  Windows system32   Any other variables in the path are lost as well  Adding new ones using  myNewPath  won t work any more   Here s a script Set-PathVariable ps1 that I use to address this problem     CmdletBinding SupportsShouldProcess  true    param        parameter Mandatory  true         string  NewLocation    Begin       requires    runasadministrator        regPath    SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment        hklm    Microsoft Win32 Registry   LocalMachine       Function GetOldPath                    regKey    hklm OpenSubKey  regPath   FALSE            envpath    regKey GetValue  Path        Microsoft Win32 RegistryValueOptions   DoNotExpandEnvironmentNames           return  envPath             Process           Win32API error codes       ERROR SUCCESS   0       ERROR DUP NAME   34       ERROR INVALID DATA   13        NewLocation    NewLocation Trim          If   NewLocation -eq    -or  NewLocation -eq  null                  Exit  ERROR INVALID DATA               string  oldPath   GetOldPath      Write-Verbose  Old Path   oldPath          Check whether the new location is already in the path       parts    oldPath split           If   parts -contains  NewLocation                  Write-Warning  The new location is already in the path           Exit  ERROR DUP NAME                Build the new path  make sure we don t have double semicolons       newPath    oldPath          NewLocation       newPath    newPath -replace               if   pscmdlet ShouldProcess   Path     Add  NewLocation                 Add to the current session           env path       NewLocation              Save into registry           regKey    hklm OpenSubKey  regPath   True            regKey SetValue  Path    newPath   Microsoft Win32 RegistryValueKind   ExpandString           Write-Output  The operation completed successfully                Exit  ERROR SUCCESS      I explain the problem in more detail in a blog post

User · Answer

As Jonathan Leaders mentioned here  it is important to run the command script elevated to be able to change environment variables for  machine   but running some commands elevated doesn t have to be done with the Community Extensions  so I d like to modify and extend JeanT s answer in a way  that changing machine variables also can be performed even if the script itself isn t run elevated   function Set-Path   string  newPath   bool  permanent  false   bool  forMachine  false          Env Path       newPath        scope   if   forMachine     Machine    else    User         if   permanent                 command     Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  PATH    env Path   scope           Start-Process -FilePath powershell exe -ArgumentList  -noprofile -command  Command  -Verb runas

User · Answer

My suggestion is this one   I have tested this to add C  oracle x64 bin to environment variable Path permanently and this works fine    ENV PATH   The first way is simply to do    ENV PATH     ENV PATH c  path to folder      But this change isn   t permanent   env path will default back to what it was before as soon as you close your PowerShell terminal and reopen it again  That   s because you have applied the change at the session level and not at the source level  which is the registry level   To view the global value of  env path  do   Get-ItemProperty -Path    Registry  HKEY LOCAL MACHINE System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment    -Name PATH   Or more specifically    Get-ItemProperty -Path    Registry  HKEY LOCAL MACHINE System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment    -Name PATH  path   Now to change this  first we capture the original path that needs to be modified    oldpath    Get-ItemProperty -Path    Registry  HKEY LOCAL MACHINE System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment    -Name PATH  path   Now we define what the new path should look like  In this case we are appending a new folder    newpath       oldpath c  path to folder      Note  Be sure that the  newpath looks how you want it to look  If not  then you could damage your OS   Now apply the new value   Set-ItemProperty -Path    Registry  HKEY LOCAL MACHINE System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment    -Name PATH -Value  newPath   Now do one final check that it looks like how you expect it to    Get-ItemProperty -Path    Registry  HKEY LOCAL MACHINE System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment    -Name PATH  Path   You can now restart your PowerShell terminal  or even reboot the machine  and see that it doesn   t rollback to its old value again   Note the ordering of the paths may change so that it   s in alphabetical order  so make sure you check the whole line  To make it easier  you can split the output into rows by using the semi-colon as a delimiter     env path  split

User · Answer

You can also modify user system environment variables permanently  i e  will be persistent across shell restarts  with the following   Modify a system environment variable    Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable        Path    env Path   System EnvironmentVariableTarget   Machine    Modify a user environment variable   Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable        INCLUDE    env INCLUDE   System EnvironmentVariableTarget   User    Usage from comments - add to the system environment variable   Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable       Path        Environment   GetEnvironmentVariable  Path    EnvironmentVariableTarget   Machine      C  bin        EnvironmentVariableTarget   Machine    String based solution is also possible if you don t want to write types   Environment   SetEnvironmentVariable  Path    env Path     C  bin    Machine

User · Answer

If  some time during a PowerShell session  you need to append to the PATH environment variable temporarily  you can do it this way    env Path      C  Program Files GnuWin32 bin

[windows] Setting Windows PowerShell environment variables

Examples related to windows

Examples related to powershell