“not a valid identifier” when I do “export $PATH”












34















When I run export $PATH in bash, I get the error not a valid identifier. Why?






bash shell environment-variables







share|improve this question




















  • 8





    In bash and other shells, $ is “value of”. You're exporting the variable PATH, not accessing its value, so it's export PATH with no $.

    – Gilles
    Jun 17 '13 at 18:10
















34















When I run export $PATH in bash, I get the error not a valid identifier. Why?






bash shell environment-variables







share|improve this question




















  • 8





    In bash and other shells, $ is “value of”. You're exporting the variable PATH, not accessing its value, so it's export PATH with no $.

    – Gilles
    Jun 17 '13 at 18:10














34












34








34


7






When I run export $PATH in bash, I get the error not a valid identifier. Why?






bash shell environment-variables







share|improve this question
















When I run export $PATH in bash, I get the error not a valid identifier. Why?






bash shell environment-variables




bash shell environment-variables






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Apr 7 '15 at 9:51







ThaSaleni

















asked Jun 17 '13 at 7:53









ThaSaleniThaSaleni

296135




296135








  • 8





    In bash and other shells, $ is “value of”. You're exporting the variable PATH, not accessing its value, so it's export PATH with no $.

    – Gilles
    Jun 17 '13 at 18:10














  • 8





    In bash and other shells, $ is “value of”. You're exporting the variable PATH, not accessing its value, so it's export PATH with no $.

    – Gilles
    Jun 17 '13 at 18:10








8




8





In bash and other shells, $ is “value of”. You're exporting the variable PATH, not accessing its value, so it's export PATH with no $.

– Gilles
Jun 17 '13 at 18:10





In bash and other shells, $ is “value of”. You're exporting the variable PATH, not accessing its value, so it's export PATH with no $.

– Gilles
Jun 17 '13 at 18:10










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes


















34














Running export $PATH will try to export a variable with a name equal to the value of $PATH (after word splitting). That is, it's equivalent to writing something like export /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin. And since /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin is not a valid variable name, it fails. What you want to do is export PATH.



export (equivalent to declare -x) in Bash simply makes the variable available to subshells.



To print the value of a variable safely and readably, use printf %q "$PATH".






share|improve this answer


























  • Basically I have created some variables, JAVA_HOME, MAVEN_HOME and want to make sure that bash has properly set them, so I export $PATH to see if the path variables have been properly set to the PATH variable

    – ThaSaleni
    Jun 17 '13 at 10:04






  • 1





    This is shell dependent, not OS dependent. I would be surprised if export ever worked like that in Bash.

    – l0b0
    Jun 17 '13 at 10:04













  • Additionally, the PATH variable is already exported and does not need to be exported again.

    – Kusalananda
    Apr 14 '18 at 9:57



















16














The following command export $PATH=somePath will return not a valid identifier and that is because of the $ before the PATH variable.



solution:



export PATH=somePath






share|improve this answer































    0














    You should use it this way:
    export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin
    Instead of:
    export $PATH=$PATH:/something/bin



    just remove the $ sign from the LHS





    share








    New contributor




    Abd ElRahman Mahareek is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.




























      -1














      You probably had a need to append a $PATH to your existing PATH variable ?



      export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin





      share|improve this answer





















      • 1





        OK, this is in the same ball park as the question, but it’s out in left field.

        – G-Man
        Mar 15 '18 at 0:12











      Your Answer








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      4 Answers
      4






      active

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      4 Answers
      4






      active

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      active

      oldest

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      active

      oldest

      votes









      34














      Running export $PATH will try to export a variable with a name equal to the value of $PATH (after word splitting). That is, it's equivalent to writing something like export /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin. And since /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin is not a valid variable name, it fails. What you want to do is export PATH.



      export (equivalent to declare -x) in Bash simply makes the variable available to subshells.



      To print the value of a variable safely and readably, use printf %q "$PATH".






      share|improve this answer


























      • Basically I have created some variables, JAVA_HOME, MAVEN_HOME and want to make sure that bash has properly set them, so I export $PATH to see if the path variables have been properly set to the PATH variable

        – ThaSaleni
        Jun 17 '13 at 10:04






      • 1





        This is shell dependent, not OS dependent. I would be surprised if export ever worked like that in Bash.

        – l0b0
        Jun 17 '13 at 10:04













      • Additionally, the PATH variable is already exported and does not need to be exported again.

        – Kusalananda
        Apr 14 '18 at 9:57
















      34














      Running export $PATH will try to export a variable with a name equal to the value of $PATH (after word splitting). That is, it's equivalent to writing something like export /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin. And since /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin is not a valid variable name, it fails. What you want to do is export PATH.



      export (equivalent to declare -x) in Bash simply makes the variable available to subshells.



      To print the value of a variable safely and readably, use printf %q "$PATH".






      share|improve this answer


























      • Basically I have created some variables, JAVA_HOME, MAVEN_HOME and want to make sure that bash has properly set them, so I export $PATH to see if the path variables have been properly set to the PATH variable

        – ThaSaleni
        Jun 17 '13 at 10:04






      • 1





        This is shell dependent, not OS dependent. I would be surprised if export ever worked like that in Bash.

        – l0b0
        Jun 17 '13 at 10:04













      • Additionally, the PATH variable is already exported and does not need to be exported again.

        – Kusalananda
        Apr 14 '18 at 9:57














      34












      34








      34







      Running export $PATH will try to export a variable with a name equal to the value of $PATH (after word splitting). That is, it's equivalent to writing something like export /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin. And since /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin is not a valid variable name, it fails. What you want to do is export PATH.



      export (equivalent to declare -x) in Bash simply makes the variable available to subshells.



      To print the value of a variable safely and readably, use printf %q "$PATH".






      share|improve this answer















      Running export $PATH will try to export a variable with a name equal to the value of $PATH (after word splitting). That is, it's equivalent to writing something like export /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin. And since /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin is not a valid variable name, it fails. What you want to do is export PATH.



      export (equivalent to declare -x) in Bash simply makes the variable available to subshells.



      To print the value of a variable safely and readably, use printf %q "$PATH".







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited Apr 14 '18 at 20:59

























      answered Jun 17 '13 at 8:19









      l0b0l0b0

      28.4k19120248




      28.4k19120248













      • Basically I have created some variables, JAVA_HOME, MAVEN_HOME and want to make sure that bash has properly set them, so I export $PATH to see if the path variables have been properly set to the PATH variable

        – ThaSaleni
        Jun 17 '13 at 10:04






      • 1





        This is shell dependent, not OS dependent. I would be surprised if export ever worked like that in Bash.

        – l0b0
        Jun 17 '13 at 10:04













      • Additionally, the PATH variable is already exported and does not need to be exported again.

        – Kusalananda
        Apr 14 '18 at 9:57



















      • Basically I have created some variables, JAVA_HOME, MAVEN_HOME and want to make sure that bash has properly set them, so I export $PATH to see if the path variables have been properly set to the PATH variable

        – ThaSaleni
        Jun 17 '13 at 10:04






      • 1





        This is shell dependent, not OS dependent. I would be surprised if export ever worked like that in Bash.

        – l0b0
        Jun 17 '13 at 10:04













      • Additionally, the PATH variable is already exported and does not need to be exported again.

        – Kusalananda
        Apr 14 '18 at 9:57

















      Basically I have created some variables, JAVA_HOME, MAVEN_HOME and want to make sure that bash has properly set them, so I export $PATH to see if the path variables have been properly set to the PATH variable

      – ThaSaleni
      Jun 17 '13 at 10:04





      Basically I have created some variables, JAVA_HOME, MAVEN_HOME and want to make sure that bash has properly set them, so I export $PATH to see if the path variables have been properly set to the PATH variable

      – ThaSaleni
      Jun 17 '13 at 10:04




      1




      1





      This is shell dependent, not OS dependent. I would be surprised if export ever worked like that in Bash.

      – l0b0
      Jun 17 '13 at 10:04







      This is shell dependent, not OS dependent. I would be surprised if export ever worked like that in Bash.

      – l0b0
      Jun 17 '13 at 10:04















      Additionally, the PATH variable is already exported and does not need to be exported again.

      – Kusalananda
      Apr 14 '18 at 9:57





      Additionally, the PATH variable is already exported and does not need to be exported again.

      – Kusalananda
      Apr 14 '18 at 9:57













      16














      The following command export $PATH=somePath will return not a valid identifier and that is because of the $ before the PATH variable.



      solution:



      export PATH=somePath






      share|improve this answer




























        16














        The following command export $PATH=somePath will return not a valid identifier and that is because of the $ before the PATH variable.



        solution:



        export PATH=somePath






        share|improve this answer


























          16












          16








          16







          The following command export $PATH=somePath will return not a valid identifier and that is because of the $ before the PATH variable.



          solution:



          export PATH=somePath






          share|improve this answer













          The following command export $PATH=somePath will return not a valid identifier and that is because of the $ before the PATH variable.



          solution:



          export PATH=somePath







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered Jul 16 '15 at 19:00









          Kevin CrainKevin Crain

          26123




          26123























              0














              You should use it this way:
              export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin
              Instead of:
              export $PATH=$PATH:/something/bin



              just remove the $ sign from the LHS





              share








              New contributor




              Abd ElRahman Mahareek is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
              Check out our Code of Conduct.

























                0














                You should use it this way:
                export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin
                Instead of:
                export $PATH=$PATH:/something/bin



                just remove the $ sign from the LHS





                share








                New contributor




                Abd ElRahman Mahareek is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.























                  0












                  0








                  0







                  You should use it this way:
                  export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin
                  Instead of:
                  export $PATH=$PATH:/something/bin



                  just remove the $ sign from the LHS





                  share








                  New contributor




                  Abd ElRahman Mahareek is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.










                  You should use it this way:
                  export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin
                  Instead of:
                  export $PATH=$PATH:/something/bin



                  just remove the $ sign from the LHS






                  share








                  New contributor




                  Abd ElRahman Mahareek is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.








                  share


                  share






                  New contributor




                  Abd ElRahman Mahareek is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  answered 6 mins ago









                  Abd ElRahman MahareekAbd ElRahman Mahareek

                  1




                  1




                  New contributor




                  Abd ElRahman Mahareek is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.





                  New contributor





                  Abd ElRahman Mahareek is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.






                  Abd ElRahman Mahareek is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.























                      -1














                      You probably had a need to append a $PATH to your existing PATH variable ?



                      export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin





                      share|improve this answer





















                      • 1





                        OK, this is in the same ball park as the question, but it’s out in left field.

                        – G-Man
                        Mar 15 '18 at 0:12
















                      -1














                      You probably had a need to append a $PATH to your existing PATH variable ?



                      export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin





                      share|improve this answer





















                      • 1





                        OK, this is in the same ball park as the question, but it’s out in left field.

                        – G-Man
                        Mar 15 '18 at 0:12














                      -1












                      -1








                      -1







                      You probably had a need to append a $PATH to your existing PATH variable ?



                      export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin





                      share|improve this answer















                      You probably had a need to append a $PATH to your existing PATH variable ?



                      export PATH=$PATH:/something/bin






                      share|improve this answer














                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer








                      edited Jun 16 '18 at 13:20

























                      answered Mar 14 '18 at 23:01









                      Thad GuidryThad Guidry

                      1071




                      1071








                      • 1





                        OK, this is in the same ball park as the question, but it’s out in left field.

                        – G-Man
                        Mar 15 '18 at 0:12














                      • 1





                        OK, this is in the same ball park as the question, but it’s out in left field.

                        – G-Man
                        Mar 15 '18 at 0:12








                      1




                      1





                      OK, this is in the same ball park as the question, but it’s out in left field.

                      – G-Man
                      Mar 15 '18 at 0:12





                      OK, this is in the same ball park as the question, but it’s out in left field.

                      – G-Man
                      Mar 15 '18 at 0:12


















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