How do I change where Bash looks for Python in Linux?

Question

I just updated my ReadyNas from python 2.3.5 to python 2.6.6. The upgrade placed the new version in the /usr/local/bin directory. So

• /usr/local/bin/python is Python 2.6.6
• /usr/bin/python is Python 2.3.5

When I type python at a bash prompt tries to run /usr/bin/python or my old version. I relocated my old version, and now I get:

bash: /usr/bin/python: No such file or directory

How can I change where bash looks for python? How is bash currently deciding that when I type python that it only looks in /usr/bin for python?

Answer 1

Your PATH environment variable. It has a list of directories which bash searches (in the same order) when it's looking for an program to execute. Basically you want to put /usr/local/bin at the start of your PATH environment variable. Add the following to your ~/.bashrc file:

export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH

You can have a look at the current setting by running the set command in bash.

Alternatively, you can simply rename /usr/bin/python to /usr/bin/python2.3 and create a symlink pointing to the new version, e.g.

ln -s /usr/local/bin/python /usr/bin/python