$PATH error on a terminal

pathterminal

Before you raise your pitchforks, this is NOT another "How do I change my $PATH variable value?" question. I had installed Oh my zsh on my machine(Macbook Pro), and didn't like it. So I uninstalled it.

Ever since I installed it I get the following when I run the $PATH command:

Anups-xxxx-xxx% $PATH
zsh: no such file or directory: /usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/opt/X11/bin

How do I get rid of the bit that says zsh: no such file or directory. Thanks in advance!

Best Answer

Okay, so you've got a good understanding of $PATH and how it's used, but you're mistaken in thinking that it's a command. In Bash (and other shells), words prefaced by a dollarsign are variables. You can change the value of $PATH with the export command (as you probably already know).

export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/something/you/need/bin

So in your shell when you just type $PATH you're basically telling your shell to run the command /usr/bin/:/bin/:/usr/local/bin:/etc//etc//etc/ which isn't a valid shell command.

@patrix was right, you should use echo to inspect your $PATH. I suspect that the "zsh: no such file or directory" is just your shell telling you that your command doesn't make sense.

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Many programs notify me that “grep/sed/uname/… not found”; some run, some don’t. My system(?) path is damaged, how to go about a diagnosing it

Your question is unclear as it seems to ask several things. However the issue re launching from the Dock can be answered.

The Dock does not call a shell. .profile and other startup scripts are only run when Terminal.app or similar starts a shell or you run a shell script via launchd etc.

To change the path used for Apps launched from the Dock, Finder or other GUI then you need to change the path your Workspace uses this is in ~/.MacOSX/environment.plist e.g. mine is

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
  <key>WAFDIR</key>
  <string>/Users/mark/src/third_party/git-svn/waf</string>

  <key>PATH</key>
  <string>/Users/mark/bin:/Users/mark/env/bin:/Users/mark/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/opt/local/bin:/usr/local/git/bin:/bin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/usr/libexec/binutils:</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Also have a look at this question.

Strange path environment

The issue is how you have uninstalled python. Deleting the app does remove the code but does not affect anything you have changed elsewhere will not have been undone. In this case the changes to the path have not been undone and as the installer is a simple one it keeps adding the new bit of the path to the existing path.

To fix the path you need to find the file where the PATH environment variable is altered. If you are using the bash shell (the default in recent OSX) then. . ideally it should be ~/.bashrc but probably ~/.profile or ~/.bash_profile. See other questions or manuals on what startup file bash uses) Then edit this file so that you have only one Python in it, the lines changing PATH will begin export PATH=

In general things are uninstallable if only you know exactly what they changed in install and what they write to at run time. There is no generic way to do this. The best apps have uninstallers which will do the best. You can stop the app running by deleting the .app bundle and most configuration takes up little disk space so the cost of leaving it is not high. Also most .apps do not need edits in bash files so are more self contained.

Best Answer

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Many programs notify me that “grep/sed/uname/… not found”; some run, some don’t. My system(?) path is damaged, how to go about a diagnosing it

Strange path environment

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