$PATH variable on Mac OS 10.6 Server keeps resetting back

Question

In a terminal window I run:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/mysql/bin>> ~/.bash_profile

Then when I echo $PATH the new path shows alright.

But if I close that window, open another window, the path disappears!

How to change the PATH variable?

Answer 1

The command you have will set the path and then put the output from that command at the end of your .bash_profile.

You want to put the command itself into the .bash_profile.

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/mysql/bin' >> ~/.bash_profile

It won't take effect until you start a new terminal session.

Answer 2

You don't need to start a new Terminal session in order to apply the changes to the ~/.bash_profile.

Just type in the Terminal

    source ~/.bash_profile