Command Line Variables

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Command Line Variables

In this hands-on lab, we're going to practice setting and using variables in Bash. Variables are an important part of the command line, as well as writing shell scripts. Becoming familiar and comfortable with environment variables is an important step in using Linux.

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Lab Info

Level

Beginner

Last updated

Sep 22, 2025

Duration

30m

Challenge

Examine the Current `$PATH` Variable
1. List the current environment variables, and locate the $PATH variable.
```
env
```
1. Examine the $PATH variable.
```
echo $PATH
```
Challenge

Append the Path to the `scripts` Directory to the $PATH Variable
1. Since the path to our scripts directory is missing, we need to append it to the $PATH variable. We can do so with the following command:
```
PATH=$PATH:$HOME/scripts/
```
1. We should now be able to run the script without specifying the path to it.
Challenge

Make the New `$PATH` Persist
1. If we log out, we'll lose our ability to run the script without specifying the path. So we need to make our change permanent. We can do so on this Ubuntu 16.04 system by modifying the ~/.profile file.
```
echo 'PATH="$PATH:$HOME/scripts"' >> ~/.profile
```

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