Changing $PATH doesn't work?

Question

I was trying to set PATH in etc/environment file, but after adding the desired path the $PATH is showing an error in terminal:

bash: /usr/lib/lightdm/lightdm:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games: No such file or directory

Here's the content of environment file:

PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/home/monty/google_appengine"

I was trying to add the path to the folder google_appengine to the PATH as mentioned in this Answer, but it doesn't seem to work.

@Rinzwind Actually, I'm guessing he checked the path by just typing $PATH into the terminal, rather than echo $PATH — glibdud, Nov 10, 2012 at 17:29
@glibdud exactly, but what's the problem here? echo $PATH returns /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin for root , and for other users it returns /usr/lib/lightdm/lightdm:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games. — Ashwini Chaudhary, Nov 10, 2012 at 17:31

glibdud · Accepted Answer · 2012-11-10 17:33:57Z

6

After adding to the path in /etc/environment, you'll need to log out of your user session and back in. After that, it should pick up the new path.

answered Nov 10, 2012 at 17:33

glibdud

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okay, let me try that.
– Ashwini Chaudhary
Nov 10, 2012 at 17:34
It didn't work for me, so I used .xsessionrc: superuser.com/a/687401/281323
– e-malito
Dec 12, 2013 at 12:55
surely there's a simpler way to reload the global environment variables?
– Nicholas Saunders
Jul 21, 2021 at 10:48

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