# Adjusting your PATH temporarily

```{toctree}
:maxdepth: 1
```

Temporarily adjust your path by running the following two commands:

```bash
PATH=/QOpenSys/pkgs/bin:$PATH
export PATH
```

After that, typing commands should find RPM-installed open source tools
(if using bash already, you may need to run `hash -r`, like the following example

```bash
$ bash --version
GNU bash, version 4.4.12(1)-release (powerpc-ibm-os400)
Copyright (C) 2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>

This is free software; you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
```

## HIGHLY Recommended: adjust your PATH permanently

If you want to make your `PATH` setting permanent, add the above line to your
`$HOME/.profile` and/or your `$HOME/.bash_profile` (if you are using bash).
You can do this easily (from a shell) like so.

```bash
touch $HOME/.profile
setccsid 1208 $HOME/.profile
echo 'PATH=/QOpenSys/pkgs/bin:$PATH' >> $HOME/.profile
echo 'export PATH' >> $HOME/.profile
```

To make this change for all users, put these lines in `/QOpenSys/etc/profile.local`,
like so:

```bash
touch /QOpenSys/etc/profile.local
setccsid 1208 /QOpenSys/etc/profile.local
echo 'PATH=/QOpenSys/pkgs/bin:$PATH' >> /QOpenSys/etc/profile.local
echo 'export PATH' >> /QOpenSys/etc/profile.local
```

Another way to make this change for all users that will also affect PASE programs called
directly via QP2SHELL is to add the PASE_PATH environment variable at *SYS level. You
may want to do this in addition to the above, make sure to test all your use cases
(eg. QP2TERM, QP2SHELL, and SSH) to ensure the path is as desired. Run this as a *SECOFR
class user:

```text
ADDENVVAR ENVVAR(PASE_PATH) VALUE('/QOpenSys/pkgs/bin:/QOpenSys/usr/bin:/usr/ccs/bin:/QOpenSys/usr/bin/X11:/usr/sbin:.:/usr/bin') LEVEL(*SYS)
```

**Need to run globally-installed Node.js modules,
or choose a Node.js version on a per-user basis?**

To run `node-gyp` or other globally-installed modules, or to switch the default
version of Node.js for a specific user, place `/QOpenSys/pkgs/lib/nodejs<version>/bin`
at the beginning of the user's PATH environment variable. For instance, that user
could run the following from the shell to set their default to version 10:

```bash
touch $HOME/.profile
setccsid 1208 $HOME/.profile
echo 'PATH=/QOpenSys/pkgs/lib/nodejs10/bin:/QOpenSys/pkgs/bin:$PATH' >> $HOME/.profile
echo 'export PATH' >> $HOME/.profile
```

(if using `bash` as the shell, the user may need to run `hash -r`)

## Verifying that your PATH is set correctly
Simply run the following from your operating environment:
```bash
echo $PATH
```
The output should be a `:`-delimited list of directories.
These will be searched, in order, for any commands entered
into your shell. The `PATH` should contain, at minimum,
`/QOpenSys/pkgs/bin`, very preferrably before the "standard"
paths like `/QOpenSys/usr/bin` or `/usr/bin`. You may also
see other PATHS you added to the beginning, for instance, 
to choose a Node.js version per the
[Node.js usage notes](../nodejs/README.md)

For example:
**Horrible**
```bash
/usr/bin:.:/QOpenSys/usr/bin
```

**Bad**
```bash
/QOpenSys/usr/bin:/usr/ccs/bin:/QOpenSys/usr/bin/X11:/usr/sbin:.:/usr/bin
```

**Marginal**
```bash
/QOpenSys/usr/bin:/usr/ccs/bin:/QOpenSys/usr/bin/X11:/usr/sbin:.:/usr/bin:/QOpenSys/pkgs/bin
```
**Best**
```bash
/QOpenSys/pkgs/bin:/QOpenSys/usr/bin:/usr/ccs/bin:/QOpenSys/usr/bin/X11:/usr/sbin:.:/usr/bin
```