Path and PATH environment vars - environment-variables

I just found out that me system (Windows 8.1) has two different path variables which differ in capitalization (PATH - user variable, Path - system var). I did not notice it before but I have a vague feeling that I have done something wrong when messing with environment variables. Google is of no use because it is case-insensitive.
My question is: Is it an intended by the system or not? Do I have to fix it?

It's normal, no need to fix. In Windows, environment variable names are case-insensitive.
You can see it if you do:
echo %PATH%
in cmd prompt. It will display the combination of both values.

Related

Multi-value editor for path environment variable not showing in Windows 11

For some reason the multi-value editor for my Path environmental variable has stopped showing. So instead of seeing this editor:
Multi-value
I am now seeing the the single line editor which is rather frustrating, since it makes editing the path variable that much more cumbersome
Single-value
Note that this is on Windows 11
I tried checking the registry but couldn't find any relative setting there. I've also checked that the Path variable value is correct and does not contain any funny characters.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

How to store api keys as variables via the terminal - Rails 4

i am trying to store my api keys in a variable via the terminal but i am unsure why it is not saving/storing my api keys.
for example, in the terminal when i type the below:
export GMAIL_USERNAME="myname#gmail.com"
then when i type in env i can see the varaibale has been stored:
but when i restart my terminal the variable GMAIL_USERNAME="myname#gmail.com" is no longer there
could one tell me where i am going wrong? all i would like to do is
store in development my api secret keys in a variable. your help would
be much appreciated
While you can persist environment variables by adding them to a script that gets called on shell startup, that approach has a few problems.
The biggest problem is that they are available globally across your shell, and not scoped to a project.
What happens if you have another project, and want to use a different gmail account?
A better solution is using dotenv or direnv and set those environment variables for the current project only.

Why my system is detecting only system environment variable path?

I don't know why my system is only detecting environment variable of system and not user.
For instance, when I put "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_25\bin" as first environment variable in user environment variable , I was not able to run "javac" command.
But when I pasted it to system variable it started working.
I know about the dependency issues if I would have placed the path in user variable at the end so I put it at the beginning but still it didn't work..
I searched but found no real solution except dependency issue if I put it at the end.
Have you restarted the CMD?
Maybe you have to logoff & logon to refresh the user variables.
It least on my Windows 7 I have the same behavior, new user variable is not available.

Programatically get system32 path in command prompt

I'm using a command process in another program that for some odd reason does not have the system32 set in the path environment variable. I can use the %comspec% variable to get the path C:/windows/system32/cmd.exe, but I need to just have the folder by itself.
I am not overly familiar with command prompt programming; is there a way that I can just add the system32 (or equivalent) path programmatically?
What do you mean programmatically? If you're refering to a variable, there is no standard variable for system32. However you could use %WINDIR%\system32 or %systemroot%\system32.
While it appears that there is no environment variable for obtaining the system32 folder (or its equivalent) on a system, I did find a solution involving string manipulation. The following block of code will add the folder where the cmd.exe path is located:
SET str=%ComSpec%
SET str=%str:cmd.exe=%
SET PATH=%PATH%;%str%
It is very nice answer. i have tried and worked out. This problem comes with window7 OS probably.
SET str=%ComSpec%
SET str=%str:cmd.exe=%
SET PATH=%PATH%;%str%

Need to recover older $PATH setting

I have just installed an app which overwrote my $PATH variable... so now, a bunch of stuff will not work. While I have a full backup, I am hoping that there is an easier approach than to restore, get the PATH, the "roll it forward" again.
Is there a location in the windows registry (or anywhere else) that stores an older $PATH setting?
Thanks,
GS
If anyone is interested, I found the answer...
using REGEDIT, it is under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager\Environment or
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\Session Manager\Environment
In my case, it was under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002...
GS
type in cmd:
set path=%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;
above code will set the path temporarily. To set permanently, add %SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\; to System Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Environment Variables

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