How can I set the RAILS_ENV in a Windows console?

Question

On Linux and OS X, I'm accustomed to running Rake tasks in specified Rails "environments" by doing this:

$ export RAILS_ENV=monster_island ; rake monsters:destroy_all

How can I do the equivalent if I'm running the task on Windows XP in a Windows console?

Answer 1

c:>set RAILS_ENV=monster_island

If you run set without any other arguments, you will see the environment variables that are set. Running set in a console will set that variable for just that console and won't be persisted across sessions or to other consoles.

You can also set it permanently in the Control Panel - open System, select Advanced, and then Environment Variables (this may vary slightly depending on your version of Windows).

Answer 2

Of course you can use 'setX' (instead of simply 'set' if you want the variable to persist between console sessions (and you don't want to navigate through the various screens/tabs in the Control Panel