Using symlinks stored in /usr/bin that point to other folders to have them in path

Question

I have a python script (which requires several other python files) in a folder, ~/Desktop/ufonet.

I thought that by making a symlink (I tried both hard and soft) to that folder it would put it in my path.

It didn't work, so I tried making the symlink to the executable.

It worked, but the program inherited the /usr/bin cwd, so it could not find its dependencies.

What is the correct way to do it without passing the cwd?

Answer 1

I would create a simple wrapper script.

If the program is for your use only and you wish to keep it in ~/Desktop/ufonet, then create an executable script

#!/bin/sh
cd $HOME/Desktop/ufonet && ./yourscript

and place it in ~/bin, which is added to your PATH by the default Ubuntu ~/.profile.

If you want to make the program available to other users, do essentially the same thing but place the wrapper in /usr/local/bin. In that case, I'd suggest moving the whole ufonet directory to /usr/local as well, so that the wrapper becomes

#!/bin/sh
cd /usr/local/ufonet && ./yourscript