path-manager

A shell function to easily manipulate your $PATH.

Installation

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew install boochtek/tap/path

Then add to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

source "$(brew --prefix)/opt/path/path.sh"

Manual

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/boochtek/path-manager.git ~/.path-manager

Add to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

source ~/.path-manager/path.sh

Usage

path <command> [args]

Commands

Command	Description
list, ls, show	List all paths (numbered)
add, a	Add a path
remove, rm, del	Remove a path
move, mv	Move an existing path
check, validate	Show missing paths and duplicates
dedup	Remove duplicate entries
clean	Remove duplicates and non-existent paths
contains, has	Exit 0 if path exists in PATH, 1 otherwise
help, -h, --help	Show help

Options for add and move

Option	Description
--beginning, -b	Add/move to beginning of PATH
--end, -e	Add/move to end of PATH (default for add)
--before <path>	Add/move before the specified path
--after <path>	Add/move after the specified path

Examples

# List all entries
path list

# Add ~/bin to end of PATH
path add ~/bin

# Add ~/bin to beginning of PATH
path add ~/bin --beginning
path add ~/bin -b

# Add ~/bin right before /usr/bin
path add ~/bin --before /usr/bin

# Remove a path
path remove ~/bin

# Move /usr/local/bin to the beginning
path move /usr/local/bin -b

# Check for problems (missing directories, duplicates)
path check

# Clean up PATH (remove duplicates and non-existent directories)
path clean

# Check if a path exists (useful in scripts)
if path contains ~/bin; then
    echo "~/bin is in PATH"
fi

Features

• Idempotent: add silently succeeds if path exists; remove silently succeeds if path doesn't exist
• Duplicate detection: Warns when operating on paths that appear multiple times
• Path normalization: Expands ~ and removes trailing slashes (preserves $VARIABLES)
• Validation: check shows which paths don't exist on the filesystem
• Cleanup: clean removes both duplicates and non-existent paths in one command

Compatibility

• Bash 3.2+ (for built-in macOS version)
• Zsh 5.0+

Why a shell function?

A standalone script cannot modify the parent shell's environment variables (like $PATH). The path command MUST be a shell function that gets sourced into your shell session.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Development

Making a Release

Use the Makefile to manage releases:

# Full release workflow (bump version, tag, push, update Homebrew formula)
make release VERSION=x.y.z

# Or run individual steps:
make bump-version VERSION=x.y.z  # Commit version changes
make tag VERSION=x.y.z            # Create signed git tag
make push                         # Push commits and tags
make update-formula VERSION=x.y.z # Update Homebrew formula with SHA

The release target automates:

1. Bumping version in relevant files and committing
2. Creating a signed git tag
3. Pushing commits and tags to GitHub
4. Downloading the release tarball and computing SHA256
5. Updating the Homebrew formula with new version and SHA

Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome at github.com/boochtek/path-manager.